BORO'S record signing became the first player from Serie B to play for the Italian national team in 20 years when he came on as a substitute against England in a friendly at Elland Road in March 2002.

He wasted no time in making an impression, winning what turned out to be a decisive penalty when he was brought down by keeper David James.

Massimo seems to enjoy playing against England.

In the summer of 2002 he scored two stunning goals to knock David Platt's team out of the European U-21 Championships.

Boro scouts had already been alerted to Massimo's talents, but this performance helped convince the club's coaching staff of his huge potential.

A number of Italian clubs were interested in signing him, but Boro were first to make a decisive move and an £8.15m record deal was sealed with Empoli, who had just been promoted to Serie A.

Massimo was unveiled to the English media on the first day of pre-season training and he stated his ambition of being an even bigger success on Teesside than his compatriot Fabizio Ravanelli.

He registered his first goal in a Boro shirt when scoring a late winner against Sheffield Wednesday in a pre-season friendly, scoring again on his home debut, in another friendly, against Alaves.

His first Premiership strike came in Boro's opening home game of the 2002-03 season and he went on to score both his club's goals in a 2-2 draw with Fulham.

But he missed the start of the 2003-04 season with an ankle ligament injury and joined Italian side Parma on loan in September 2004 before completing the remainder of the season with Serie A club Siena, where he scored six times.

His return to Teesside saw him become something of a peripheral figure, but the man nicknamed The Gladiator showed huge character to bounce back and earn a permanent place in Boro folklore towards the end of the 2005/06 season.

First he came off the bench to score the vital last-minute winner in the 4-1 win over Swiss side Basel in the UEFA Cup quarter-final, before he capped that with two goals include the late winner in the famous 4-2 semi-final victory over Steaua Bucharest.