Middlesbrough will never regret Aston Villa deal that helped end 128-year wait: View | OneFootball

Gareth Southgate signed for Middlesbrough in 2001, and would go on to achieve what no other Boro captain has ever been able to do.

Middlesbrough signed Gareth Southgate from Aston Villa in 2001, and went on to cement his legacy as one of the club's finest defenders in modern history, and captained a Boro side that would end a 128-year wait for silverware.

Signed for a fee of £6.5m in July 2001, Southgate would become Steve McClaren's first signing as Middlesbrough manager, as the pair of future England managers looked to continue on from the largely successful Bryan Robson era on Teesside.

The central defender was an experienced and quality addition to the heart of Boro's defence, after racking up hundreds of appearances across spells with Crystal Palace between 1988-95, and Aston Villa from 1995-01 respectively.

What Southgate would go on to achieve during his five-year stay at the Riverside Stadium would see him heralded as one of the club's most successful captains of all-time, and a signing that will carry absolutely no regret by Middlesbrough's decision makers.

Some signings take time to bed into their new surroundings, but that wasn't the case with Southgate at Middlesbrough.

In his debut 2001/02 season at the Riverside, he would make 37 Premier League appearances for McClaren's side, whilst also racking up six FA Cup appearances and a further outing in the League Cup.

His first season on Teesside saw him become Middlesbrough captain in everything but the armband on his arm, but as fate would have it, he wouldn't have to wait much longer in that regard.

Paul Ince had been Boro's captain during Southgate's debut season at the club, but upon his departure to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer of 2002, McClaren needed to appoint a new Middlesbrough captain.

Southgate was the clear and obvious choice, and so the decision to hand him the armband wasn't one that required much debate among Boro's coaching staff.

Southgate skippers Middlesbrough to silverware success

Now tasked with leading Middlesbrough into the future, Southgate and McClaren hoped that they could become the first Mangager-Captain duo that could officially declare Middlesbrough's trophy cabinet open.

Players such as Juninho, George Boateng and Massimo Maccarone all arrived at the club in the 2003/04 season, but an 11th-placed finish in the Premier League and early exits in both the FA Cup and League Cup highlighted the need for Boro to strengthen further should they want to make that dream of winning something become reality.

That's precisely what they did, with the likes of Danny Mills, Gaizka Mendieta, Doriva and Bolo Zenden all signing on the dotted line at the Riverside Stadium during the 2003/04 season.

With a fourth round exit in the FA Cup and a mixed bag of results in the Premier League saw pressure on McClaren and Southgate to start delivering the goods, with the League Cup offering Middlesbrough's only hope of hoisting silverware that season.

A two-legged semi-final win over Arsenal's Invincibles team saw Boro reach the final of the 2003/04 Carling Cup (League Cup), and a 2-1 win over Bolton Wanderers at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium saw Southgate and his team finally bring a trophy back to Teesside.

That win opened the doors to European football for the first time in the club's history, but after a round of 16 defeat to Sporting Lisbon, Southgate's dreams of lifting a European cup looked over.

However, after a Mark Schwarzer penalty save against Manchester City on the final day of the 2004/05 season saw Boro secure a seventh-placed finish in the league, Middlesbrough had once again booked their spot in the UEFA Cup (Europa League) for another season.

This time, Boro would go all the way to the final after a pair of remarkable quarter and semi-final comebacks against Basel and Steaua Bucharest respectively, as their date with European destiny was set with Sevilla.

Unfortunately for Southgate and his side, the Spanish outfit proved to be a step too far, as they ran out 4-0 winners on the night. But, under Southgate's stewardship, Middlesbrough as a club had gone to places and achieved things that had previously never been thought possible.

His time in the Boro dugout shouldn't tarnish achievements as a Middlesbrough player

Upon retiring as a player in 2006, and after McClaren left his role as Middlesbrough manager to take up the vacant England national team post, Boro chairman Steve Gibson would turn to Southgate to be his former coach's successor.

And so he was named as Boro's new manager in the summer of 2006, despite not initially having the UEFA Pro Licence qualification that is required to become a Premier League manager.

But after arguing that Southgate did not have the time to earn this qualification due to him recently being an international player, the club received special dispensation from the Premier League to allow him to continue on in his role, whilst completing the course on the side.

However, after failing to rebuild a Middlesbrough side that had seen the vast majority of their UEFA Cup squad depart in the fairly immediate aftermath, Southgate commandeered a rapidly sinking ship.

The club would eventually take on too much water in the 2008/09 season, as after multiple transfer windows that saw Southgate get little return on his investments, Boro would be relegated to the Championship just three years after contesting a European cup final.

Southgate would later be sacked in October 2009 to be replaced by Gordon Strachan, with the club sitting in fourth place in the Championship at the time.

So, despite his managerial career not going to plan with Middlesbrough, what Southgate was able to achieve on the Riverside pitch as a player has ensured his legacy at the club, and indeed the feeling towards him on Teesside, has always remained strong.

No other captain in the club's long history had ever before, or since been able to accomplish what Southgate did. For that, he will always be a Middlesbrough legend.