The club was founded in 1876 and made their European debut in 1970 as a participant in the 1970 Anglo-Italian Cup.

[12] Middlesbrough were unable to score in their away leg, and were eliminated 4–2 on aggregate after a late goal from Pedro Barbosa.

[13] Middlesbrough finished the 2004–05 Premier League in 7th place and subsequently qualified for the first round of the 2005–06 UEFA Cup.

They were drawn against Skoda Xanthi, winning the first leg 2–0 after goals from George Boateng and Mark Viduka.

[17] Away to AZ, Middlesbrough only managed a 0–0 draw,[18] but finished the group stage with a 2–0 win over Litex Lovech.

[23] Middlesbrough meet FC Basel in the Quarter Finals, losing the first leg 2–0 after goals from Matías Delgado and Philipp Degen.

[25] In the Semi-finals Middlesbrough faced FC Steaua București, again losing the first leg, this time 1–0 after a goal from Nicolae Dică.

During the second half Middlesbrough would complete another unpredictable comeback, with Viduka and Riggott both scoring, followed by the winning goal from Maccarone.