Middlesbrough worked wonders with Chelsea transfer - but how much does he owe Gaizka Mendieta? | OneFootball

Bolo Zenden wasn't a roaring Boro success after his Chelsea switch, but an injury to Mendieta would change that.

Bolo Zenden became a cult hero on Teesside after his 2003 move from Chelsea, but how much of his Middlesbrough success does he owe to teammate Gaizka Mendieta?

Having begun his career with PSV Eindhoven, Zenden spent three seasons with footballing giants Barcelona prior to arriving at Stamford Bridge in 2001.

However, the Dutchman would struggle to cement a place in the two seasons he spent in Claudio Ranieri's Chelsea side due to recurring injury setbacks.

As such, he would leave to join Middlesbrough on an initial season-long loan in the summer of 2003, before making a permanent move to the club on a free transfer the following summer.

Zenden would enjoy a fruitful and memorable Middlesbrough career, but if it hadn't been for some unfortunate bad luck for Mendieta, he may not have flourished the way he did in his final season at the Riverside Stadium.

Having predominantly operated as a left-winger during his days with PSV, Barcelona and Chelsea respectively - despite playing as a left wing-back at times - slotting into that part of Steve McClaren's Middlesbrough side was the natural starting point for his Boro career.

2003/04 was a season forever edged into the club's history as one of Middlesbrough's best. McClaren's side would finish 11th in the Premier League, and would finally open their trophy cabinet after 128 years with a Carling Cup (League Cup) victory over Bolton Wanderers at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium.

Zenden would score the winning, and indeed controversial, goal that day from the penalty spot. He would slip and accidentally kick the ball twice, but referee Mike Riley allowed the goal to stand.

It was a moment that forever crowned him as a Middlesbrough cult figure, but at the time, not every Boro fan had truly warmed to Zenden's signing.

He'd scored four goals and provided five assists in 31 Premier League games in his debut season, which was a respectable return, but given his previous pedigree coupled with the emergence of academy talent Stewart Downing, there was a sizeable section of the fanbase that felt slightly underwhelmed.

Middlesbrough's Carling Cup win threw open the doors to European football for the first time in the club's history.

Boro put up a solid showing in their first season playing on the continent, but were knocked out of the UEFA Cup (Europa League) at the Round of 16 stage.

McClaren's side would finish seventh in the Premier League, after a last-minute penalty save by Mark Schwarzer on the final day of the season against Manchester City enabled Boro to pip the Cityzens to a place in the UEFA Cup once again.

Their success that season had a lot to do with the form of Zenden, which, in turn, also had a lot to do with an unfortunate injury to another one of Boro's superstar players: Mendieta.

A 40-time Spanish international and a former star of Valencia, Lazio and Barcelona, Mendieta was a truly superb central midfield player. However, after suffering knee ligament damage in October 2004, he would be ruled out for the season, and that would see Zenden move out of his left-wing role to fill in at the heart of Boro's midfield.

This unforeseen and unplanned transition worked wonders for him and Middlesbrough, as he developed into a key creative cog in the middle of McClaren's team, attaining a new-found freedom to get on the ball more often and hurt teams with his exquisite technical ability.

Zenden would win the Middlesbrough fans' Player of the Year award at the end of the 2004/05 season, scoring eight goals and providing a further two assists in all competitions.

Boro fans even came up with a rather unsavoury song to chart his rise from being, to put it in polite terms, not that good, but now being 'alright'.

In truth, he was more than just alright that year. Bolo was brilliant. 'The Dutch Master' possessed a wand of a left foot, which was the architect behind some magnificent goals and unforgettable moments, whilst also being deceptively good in the air too.

He would eventually leave for Liverpool in the summer of 2005 as a true Boro icon, but had it not been for that sliding door injury to Mendieta, his Middlesbrough career may not have been the roaring success that it turned out to be.