Middlesbrough's first game of the 1996/97 Premiership season against Liverpool signalled the start of arguably the most exciting yet fruitless campaign in the club's history.
Juninho had arrived the previous year but now he was joined by compatriot Emerson and recent Champions League winner Fabrizio Ravanelli. It was the era of Curtis Fleming, Gianluca Festa and Nigel Pearson, amongst others.
At the Riverside Stadium, one new boy served up a treat. Ravanelli's hat-trick immediately endeared him to Boro fans as Liverpool took the lead three times yet didn't leave Teesside victorious.
And so began the clichéd roller coaster season in which they would score 51 goals - more than fifth-placed Aston Villa. Bryan Robson's side also reached both the League Cup and FA Cup finals, losing both, but were relegated in between. There was also thatFA Cup semi-final against Chesterfield at Old Trafford.
Ravanelli, the "White Feather", scored an astonishing 31 goals in the process. He would stay for two additional games in Division One the following season, scoring against Charlton, before he left for Marseilles for £5.3m.