Boro Pride In South America!
A BORO-LOVING librarian in a children's book sparked an Argentine love affair that has lasted 30 years and is still burning brightly.
The story began three decades ago when Gustavo Gavasso, from Quilmes, Buenos Aires, was studying English at high school.
His textbook featured a thin, unlucky librarian called Arthur, who was bullied by his boss but had a burning passion for football.
"He used to wait anxiously every weekend to go to the stadium to watch Boro, with his radio and old red scarf," recalls Gustavo.
"I told that funny story to my kids many years ago and since that moment everybody at home is a Boro supporter and they wait anxiously every Saturday to receive the match results by Internet or ESPN."
Now Gustavo, daughter Melina and son Alejo, gather round the TV or computer screen every week to follow games.
Being a fellow countryman, Julio Arca is naturally something of a favourite in the Gavasso household and Gustavo has a special message for the midfielder in his own language.
"Fuerza Julio, lo mejor para vos en esta temporada 2010 defendiendo los colores de nuestro querido Boro!"
Any other Boro fans in his area can contact Gustavo at
gustavo.gavassa@speedy.com.ar.The Gavasso family are pictured viewing their favourite website, mfc.co.uk.
FORMER Boro star Peter Brine was a big hit when he visited the club's Supporters Club in Brisbane to relive a golden age in the club's history.
Peter, now 56, emigrated to Townsville, Queensland, where he now runs the restaurant A Touch Of Salt, named in reference to his dressing room nickname, Salty.
Born in London but the son of a Boro exile, he joined the club as a teenager in 1970. An attacking player, he made 76 starts and 26 sub appearances for the club, scoring eight goals, before a knee injury prematurely ended his career in his mid-20s.
He visited Brisbane along with his wife, Chris, who is originally from Brambles Farm.
"We all had a great time chatting and laughing about the good old days," said organiser Trevor Harrington - known to many locals as Teesside Trev.
"Peter kept us all entertained with his stories about Big Jack Charlton and all his team-mates from the golden era of the 70s.
Peter added: "They're a really nice bunch of guys and we had a great night."
He is pictured centre of this group, wearing a light blue, collared shirt.
DESPITE having the oldest squad in the tournament, Brisbane Boro Supporters Club recently reached the semi-finals of the Brisbane Supporters Clubs Six-a-side Tournament.
All but two of the players were over 40 and the team had never played together before the competition, which was sponsored by TNT magazine and city's The Pig and Whistle British Pub.
On a pleasant spring day the Boro team got off to a flyer in the group stages with an emphatic 3-0 win over bitter rivals Chelsea, Phil Gaskin opening the scoring and Gary Hornigold and Aaron Cameron grabbing a goal apiece.
Two goalless draws followed, against a very young and fit Arsenal team and group favourites Red Bull, before another great team performance earned a 2-0 win over Celtic B, Phil Gaskin and Gary Hornigold scoring the goals.
Boro only needed a draw in their last game against a physical Everton team to reach the semi-finals and again the game was scoreless.
The semi-final draw saw Boro drawn against one of the favourites, Manchester United.
However, Boro gave everything and only what goalkeeper Trevor Harrington describes as a "Schwarzeresque moment - just like the Carling Cup final" after a feeble shot somehow squeezed under his body gave United a narrow win.
Celtic A beat Arsenal on penalties in the other semi but United won the final 2-0, so at least Boro can say they lost to the winners.
"Considering our age and the fact that we hadn't played together before we were very solid as a team both in defence and going forward," said Trevor.
"We were roared on by 20-plus Boro fans and the team showed great spirit and threw everything at United in the semi, only for their keeper and the post to deny us a penalty shootout.
"But the main result was that every player and every supporter from every team had a great time."
Boro's fans were voted the best supporters in the tournament.
Our picture shows, back row: Chris Young, Gary Watson, Aaron Cameron, Morrie, Big Phil Gaskin, Simon Ridgeway, Richard Young, Mike Gillen. Front row: Gary Horingold, James Gartry, Trevor Harrington, Nick Curtis. Mascots: Poppy Harrington and Jay Curtis.
FINNISH fan Virpi Kytoaho and her son Joona visited Teesside yet again to take in their first ever Championship game at the Riverside against Watford.
Although it was a disappointing result it didn't dampen their spirits and their only regret was they couldn't stay for the Derby game.
Before the game the pair met friends from Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club in the Ironopolis Social Club where member and regulars gave them a very warm welcome.
Also visiting Teesside, and pictured here alongside Joona and Virpi, was Terry Carter, from Canada.
Our Finnish Boro fans are hoping to return come the spring as their winter is setting in very quickly at home at the moment.
Check out their website http://www.borofinland.net/ for a full report on their past Teesside visits.
MEMBERS of a Boro Supporters Club in Canada have finally come face-to-face - here in Middlesbrough!
Ben Church and Ian Burns are both members of Middlesbrough Official Supporters' Club's hugely-successful Boro Fans United scheme, which brings together fans wherever they are in the world.
Canada-born Ben and Middlesbrough-born Ian Burns finally came face-to-face with each other and other MOSC members before the Doncaster Rovers game.
Ian pointed out that it would take a four-hour flight or 12-hour car journey from his home in Alberta to meet up with Ben, who lives in Toronto.
So instead, after travelling thousands of miles, they met in the Boro.
Ian is taking in as many games as possible during a visit back home 22 years after he emigrated to Canada.
He is in the area visiting family and friends his brother, Gary, who lives in Newcastle.
Our picture show Dave Elstob, MOSC chair and BFU coordinator Sue Gardener, Gary Burns and Scarborough Boro Supporters Club founder Craig Close, with Ben Church, Brogan and Bethany James and Ian Burns in the front row.
TWO Boro fans who got to know each other through the Boro Fans United scheme met up face to face recently in the Royal Botanical Gardens in Ontario, Canada.
Ron Serge is coordinator Sue Gardener's oldest BFU contact and although born in Malta and now living in Canada, he follows Boro with a passion.
He travelled two hours each way on the train to meet up with fellow fans Dave Marshall and his parents, who were over visiting from Teesside.
"We spent about five hours touring the various gardens especially the extensive rose gardens that have about 2,600 roses," said Dave.
"We swapped Boro books and old Boro stories. My Mom, Dad and Ron could go all the way back to watching Micky Fenton, George Hardwick, Lindy Delapenha and company.
"I only go back to Hickton and Gibson, so they left me in the dusts of time."
Our picture shows Ron and the left and Dave on the right.
AMERICAN Boro supporter Bob Waeltermann met a fellow fan in the flesh for the first time in another success story for the Boro Fans United scheme.
Since it was launched by Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club chair Sue Gardener, BFU has helped hundreds of fans scattered all over the globe to get together.
Bob randomly picked Boro as his English club a few years ago and has since become a loyal follower.
But until another of Sue's BFU contacts, David Marshall, from Toronto, visited his hometown St Louis recently, he had been all on his own.
David was in the area for a convention and when Bob heard he had car rental trouble, he happily stepped in to taxi them around.
"This is the absolute first time that I have physically met another Boro fan," said a delighted Bob.
Our photo shows David Marshall, Bob Waeltermann, David's wife Kathy and his business associate, Michael Anstey.
Meanwhile, father and son Anthony and Aaron Hughes and two of Aaron's uncles travelled to Teesside from California for the Manchester United game.
Anthony has been supporting the Boro since the 1960s and they decided to come over for the game.
They read about another visit from American fans on this page and wanted to find out if there are any other Boro supporters in California.
Sue has put then in touch with our USA-based Supporters Club.
The photo is of Aaron and his Dad.
BORO'S Supporters Club in Singapore is celebrating its fifth birthday.
Set up by Boro-mad Ariff Ahmad on June 3 2004, the thriving club united local fans and expatriates.
Our picture shows Ariff with Steve Gibson during one of the Boro chairman's visits to Singapore.
For more information visit http://mfc-sg.blogspot.com/.
BORO fans from the United States and Canada made the pilgrimage to the Riverside for the Manchester United game.
Matt Lamont was over from New York while Ben Church visited from Toronto, enjoying a few drinks with members of Middlesbrough official Supporters Club beforehand.
Matt insisted on having this photo taken holding up a scarf he had brought for the occasion from the local bar where he now watches Boro games, Nevada Smith's in New York.
Matt moved to the US about five years ago and tries to get to see as many Boro games as he can.
Ben is a Canadian national who is currently living in Edinburgh and seeing as many Boro games as he can.
Our picture shows, from left to right, Matt Lamont, Sue Gardener, Joe Elstob, Ben Church and Dave Elstob.
SERBIAN Boro fan Nikola Mandic paid his first ever visit to the Riverside to see Marlon King's last-minute goal grab a potentially vital point at home to Portsmouth.
Nikola, from Belgrade, was a guest of the Twe12th Man's Dave Dyson, from Norton, and Stafford-based Mark Richardson, who took him on a visit to mima and for a few beers before arrival at the stadium.
Nikola said: "Although I had been to two away games in the past, coming to the Riverside was a special feeling and all the Boro fans treated me like a brother.
"In Belgrade, most people support either Liverpool or Manchester United as their English team but only Boro matter for me."
Back home, Nikola supports OFK Belgrade and his father's hometown team, Hajduk Split.
CALLING Boro fans in the Republic of Ireland!
Boro Fans United organiser and Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club chair Sue Gardener is putting together a list of fans who want to get together in the Emerald Isle.
There's already a thriving group north of the border, Northern Ireland Middlesbrough Supporters Club.
If you're interested, contact Sue on suem.g58@googlemail.com.
CANADIAN Boro Fans United contact Ben Church was on Teesside for his first ever live Boro game - and what a game to choose!
Ben saw Boro beat title-hopefuls Liverpool 2-0 at the Riverside, one of the team's best performances of the season.
Unfortunately he also took in the Spurs game before heading home, so he won't have exclusively happy memories of his trip.
The photo was taken in the Central pub in Middlesbrough after MOSC's usual pre-match venue, the Ironopolis Club, was evacuated before the game.
It shows, (back row, left to right), Donna James, Joe Hammilton, Dave Elstob, Ben Church and MOSC secretary Geoff Richardson.
Front row: Sheila Richardson, Joe Elstob and Sue Gardener.
Our second photo shows Finnish Boro fanatic Virpi Kytoaho amd son Joona with Seamus and Kerran Crudden, from Northern Ireland, before the Wigan match.
When Sue's husband, Terry, asked her what she wanted for a wedding anniversary, her answer was instant - if a little unusual!
Sue explained: "I said I'd like a brick and after the usual questions of which type of brick - house brick, Lego brick etc - I said a Boro Brick."
They took advantage of the special offer by ordering along with their Season Card application and she decided on the inscription "Boro Fans United - Cheers Sue G".
"It puts our BFU in the public eye and I thought was a good way to thank all our Boro fans abroad for their help in this scheme," Sue added.
The BFU scheme continues to go from strength to strength with around 30 new supporters club branches formed over recent years.
For more information contact
suem.g58@googlemail.com.To find out more about the Boro Brick Road, click here.
ONE of Boro's youngest fans in South America is flying the club's colours with this Juninho-sized kit presented to him by his grandparents.
Linda and Ian Moore made their first visit to meet little Boro babe Santiago over Christmas.
Santiago's proud dad Craig Moore is a lifelong Boro fan who was with the Boro School of Excellence for a couple of years in the early 1990s.
He is now teaching in Colombia with his Colombian wife, Sandra, and Santiago came into the world on April 1 2008.
Naturally, his grandparents were asked to bring a Boro strip for him.
"As you can see it is a touch big but he looked really sweet in it," said Linda.
BORO scarves have been proudly on display in two major sporting events in the United States.
Lynn and Mike Whisson are pictured at the MLS Western Conference play-off semi-final second leg between Houston Dynamo and New York Red Bulls at Robertson Field in Houston.
Both veterans of Ayresome Parks' South Stand Chicken Run and former White Book holders in the South-East Corner at the Riverside stadium, they now live in Houston and follow the Boro's fortunes avidly from Texas.
They now follow the Dynamo avidly. Thanks to Geoff Thomas for sending the picture in.
American police officer Gary, pictured above, visited a steel plant on Teesside and watched a few games while he was here, becoming a confirmed Boro fan.
The pictures were taken at the 2008 World Series baseball, which the Philadelphia Phillies won against Tampa Bay Rays.
THEY can't all be there for every game, but Boro exiles and fans around the world are making their presence felt on matchdays by bringing some colour to the Riverside.
Teessiders have populated distant corners of the globe since the days of Marton-born explorer Captain Cook and many still travel for work and leisure, while an increasing number of football fans with no connection to the area are adopting Boro as their team.
But the fortunes of the team are never far from their thoughts.
Now, as part of the Twe12th Man's ongoing drive to get the fans at the Riverside working together, supporters clubs from far and wide are leaving a permanent stamp on the stadium in the form of their own banners.
The idea came from Boro fans based in Newcastle, the group behind the imaginatively-titled Smog on the Tyne banner.
They contacted Sue Gardener, chair of Middlesbrough Official Supporters Club and coordinator of the Boro Fans United scheme in conjunction with mfc.co.uk, which has helped establish 27 worldwide Boro fan branches.
She in turn got in touch with Mick Dunne, of the School of Art and Design at Our Lady of St Bede's School in Stockton, to help with designing and making some of the banners.
Along with the main MOSC banner, which bears the legend Angels All Over The World, flags from Sweden, Norway, New Zealand, Canada and Newcastle have already been put up and Northern Ireland, Azerbaijan and Nigeria should follow soon.
A special MOSC banner was put up as a centrepiece for the individual flags and banners from around the world.
Sue says the scheme has come to fruition thanks to the club, MOSC, the Twe12th Man group and the school all working together.
"A lot of hard work by individuals and groups has gone into establishing these new branches of our supporters club," she explained.
"The flags and banners around the stadium are a way of acknowledging this work, as well as making it known that Boro have fans on every continent and not just around the Teesside region.
"As one branch member said to me, 'Even though we aren't big in numbers and can't attend live games at the Riverside, we give huge and excellent support to the Boro from around the world'."
Branches in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Nigeria, Northern Ireland and New York are among groups run by locals rather than Teesside exiles.
MOSC chair Sue Gardener has been helping Boro fans throughout the world get together to form branches of the supporters club.
If you are interested in forming a branch where you live, contact Sue at suem.g58@googlemail.com.
See our Supporters Club page for contact details of all the branches formed so far.
