Schwarzer staying put
Wednesday, January 19, 2005
Article summary
Goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer has agreed a new contract that will keep him at Middlesbrough FC until 2008.
Article body
Long stay continues
The 32-year-old's current deal expires this summer and there had been speculation that he could leave the English Premiership side on a free transfer. But the Australian international has opted to continue a stay at Middlesbrough that began nearly eight years ago.
'Eight great seasons'
Schwarzer said: "I have had eight great seasons at the club, including a League Cup winner's medal last February, and now a good run in the UEFA Cup. The club has come a long way since I signed from Bradford City [AFC] in February 1997, and this is our best ever season in the league, currently in sixth place having played nearly two-thirds of the season. The club has shown that they are ambitious and I want to continue to be a part of that."
GAK tie
Middlesbrough's first UEFA Cup campaign, in which Schwarzer has been ever-present, keeping four clean sheets in six games, continues with a last-32 tie against Austria's Grazer AK. The first leg is scheduled for 17 February in Graz with the return a week later.
