Sevilla win the UEFA Cup.

I shouldn't have even bothered watching this game on TV. I should have read a book or watched another channel. Still, there's still Arsenal in the European Cup Final next week - and English teams have the best record in Europe in European Cup Finals.

This was Steve McClaren's last game as Middlesbrough manager. After the World Cup, he becomes England manager. Ex-West Ham and Tottenham star Kanoute scored Sevilla's winning goal. It was the biggest ever defeat by any British team in a European Final - but we can still be happy as British teams have still won more European trophies than any other nation.

The UEFA Cup Final, in Eindhoven.

Middlesbrough 0 - 4 Sevilla
......................Luis Fabiano 26
......................Maresca 78, 84
......................Kanoute 89

The Times May 11, 2006

Despair the final legacy for McClaren after rout
From George Caulkin in Eindhoven

STEVE McCLAREN’S Middlesbrough reign ended as it began, with a 4-0 defeat and questions regarding his aptitude for management. The latter is an occupational hazard for any new incumbent of the England job, but the former ranked as a grave disappointment, with McClaren’s club crushed in last night’s Uefa Cup final.

Having made inspirational comebacks against FC Basle and Steaua Bucharest in previous rounds, Middlesbrough were destroyed by Seville and McClaren will succeed Sven- Göran Eriksson on August 1 without lustre to his reputation. The heaviest loss by any British club in a European final was not the outcome craved by the Football Association.

McClaren’s next match in sole command of a team will be England’s friendly international against Greece at Old Trafford on August 16, by which time he may have banished the memory of this disappointment. Renowned for his belief in positive thinking, McClaren will need all of it.

Yet while his club face a summer of upheaval — Steve Gibson, the chairman, has a new manager to appoint and players approaching the end of their contracts — McClaren denied that his England tenure would begin in disillusion. “It’s the finale of my Middlesbrough career, nothing else,” he said. “It ends on a bad night, but I leave with my head held high.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve been reflecting on my five years and I’m proud of what I’ve done for the club. I’ve left them in a very good condition to go on. They’ve got good players, a good chairman, a great staff and resources. I’m sad to go, but people move on and I start a new chapter tomorrow.”

Beaten 4-0 by Arsenal in his first match in charge in 2001, McClaren has endured a rocky journey. In February supporters were demanding his dismissal; three extraordinary months later, the FA came calling. “The last few weeks have been a rollercoaster, but I’ll be far stronger for the experiences I’ve had,” he said.

In their 64th match of an epic season, Middlesbrough were poor, succumbing to a first-half goal by Luis Fabiano and three in the final 12 minutes. In between, Middlesbrough rallied, but Mark Viduka could not convert a glaring opportunity and the German referee did not award what McClaren termed a “stonewall penalty” for a foul on the same player.

“To come so far and not take the last step is disappointing,” McClaren said. “We didn’t perform as we can, but we still had moments in the game. In the past, the defining moments have gone for us, but they didn’t here and Seville deserved their win.

“I’m so proud of the players. We’ll all be sad for the next couple of days, but we should still celebrate. It’s still a major achievement to get here and, in retrospect, it is still a fantastic night for the club and its supporters. It mustn’t stop here. This must be a stepping-stone for the players to achieve more. It mustn’t be an end, it must be the beginning of a new era.”

Having thrived under Gibson’s leadership since their liquidation 20 years ago — the chairman gave a bullish post-match pep talk in the dressing-room — Middlesbrough will not play in Europe next season. Instead, they will be obliged to compete in the second round of the Carling Cup. After all the comebacks, the comedown.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and George Boateng, whose contracts expire imminently, may have played their last games for the club, while Gareth Southgate, Chris Riggott, Ugo Ehiogu, Stuart Parnaby and Viduka are among those entering their final full year. It will not be McClaren’s problem, but he is unlikely to be enduring a lesser burden with England.

thetimesonline.co.uk

What happened from the 78th to the 89th minute? A solar eclipse? A Sevilla streaker?