Former Middlesbrough and Derby County striker Fabrizio Ravenelli has revealed that he slipped through Tottenham’s net in 1997.
In an interview with The Athletic, the Italian recalled how a phone call from Sir Alan Sugar came 24 hours too late to bring him to Spurs, as he looked to leave Middlesbrough after his sole 18-goal season on Teesside.
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“Before leaving Middlesbrough, I received a call from Alan Sugar, the Tottenham chairman,” Ravenelli told The Athletic. “He said to me, “Please come in to Tottenham, please come in to Tottenham.” But I was literally in the taxi to take the flight to Marseille. If this call had arrived one day earlier, I am sure I would have been in London and signed for Tottenham.
“It is a shame because I liked the Tottenham team. They had Teddy Sheringham, a quality player, and they had Sol Campbell behind.”
Had ‘The White Feather’ ended up at White Hart Lane, we may never have got the second coming of Jurgen Klinsmann, who rejoined us on loan from Sampdoria a few months after our failed attempt to snap up Ravenelli.
Ravenelli was an international star in his own right but wasn’t at the level of Klinsmann whose nine goals in 15 matches saved us from relegation that season. We were 19th when he returned and finished safely in 14th.
Had Sugar’s Plan A worked out the course of history could have been very different…
