Doubts quickly turned to adoration for Gianluca Festa in Middlesbrough spell he'd happily relive

Gianluca Festa admits he had doubts about moving to England when he joined Middlesbrough in January 1997. But those doubts quickly turned to adoration as he admits he'd relive that special five-year stay on Teeside again in a heartbeat.

The steely Italian defender arrived from Inter Milan as Boro battled relegation from the Premier League. He was one of the first Italians in the Premier League, joining fellow countrymen Fabrizio Ravanelli at the Riverside. And while the striker would depart as Boro controversially failed to beat the drop that year, Festa would stay and help Boro back to the top flight.

He would eventually leave for Portsmouth in 2002 after giving five years of service and making 164 appearances for the club. Now in charge of Greek Super League side Lamia, the 53-year-old has nothing but good memories of Middlesbrough.

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Speaking to FourFourTwo magazine, he said: "I’ll admit that when I was offered the chance to play in England, I wasn’t too enthusiastic. But after coming back from my loan spell at Roma, I didn’t enjoy myself at Inter. I was on the bench most weeks and had a mentality where I wanted to be playing all the time.

"So I eventually decided to go to England, where I would also earn more money. To be honest, I adored my time there and it’s an experience that I’d do again with my eyes closed. I had a great time at Middlesbrough and ended up playing there for six years. I still know my way around the city and the fans are always nice.

"I had a great relationship with Bryan Robson. He’d been a top player at Manchester United; a leader and fierce captain. He was a bit unfortunate as a coach, even though he had the