FOR most footballers, it doesn’t get much better than playing with the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Roberto Carlos.
But former Real Madrid star Geremi preferred passing to Jonathan Greening and Massimo Maccarone.
Geremi fell out of favour at Real Madrid.[/caption]
The Cameroonian international won two Champions League titles during his time with the Galacticos.
He was even nominated for the Ballon d’Or after his first season in Spain.
But, ask Geremi, and he’ll say he preferred his loan spell at MIDDLESBROUGH.
The right-back had just played at the 2002 World Cup when the arrival of new Madrid president Florentino Perez left him out of favour at the Bernabeu.
That’s when Middlesbrough made their move.
Geremi explained “They (Madrid) said that they wouldn’t sell me but that I could go on loan.
“It was one of my biggest decisions because when I went to Middlesbrough, I did something special.”
Ahead of the tournament Geremi had impressed the then England assistant Steve McClaren, scoring in a friendly between Cameroon and the Three Lions.
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McClaren was also Boro boss at the time and had spoken to Geremi after the game.
Speaking at the launch of Ladbrokes’ ‘Gaffer of all Accas’, Geremi revealed: “He came to me at full time and said, ‘look, I need you for my team.’
Geremi played under Jose Mourinho and won back to back Premier Leagues with Chelsea.[/caption]
“When I arrived, I spoke with McClaren and said, ‘I want to play further forward.’
“That was the deal with McClaren, and he decided to put me on the wing.
“That was one of the best seasons of my career. I scored a lot of goals, and this kind of feeling is special because when you score people, sing your name.”
You won’t believe me, but honestly the most enjoyable club that I played for was Middlesbrough.
Geremi
Geremi played 34 times for Middlesbrough during his loan spell, scoring seven times and relished being the Boro’s main man in the Premier League.
He added: “You won’t believe me, but honestly the most enjoyable club that I played for was Middlesbrough.
“That was me, because I was either assisting goals, scoring or I was man of the match. It felt great!”
Geremi’s spell at Middlesbrough attracted Chelsea, where he won two Premier League titles in four years under Jose Mourinho.
