BY the end of this evening, Gareth Southgate could have become the biggest winner in Middlesbrough's 130-year history. Should he become the first of the club's players to lift the UEFA Cup above his head in the state-of-the-art environs of the Philips Stadion, the skipper would achieve something none of his predecessors has even come close to during more than a century of playing the game.

Yet in the eyes of the wider population at large, the affable centre-half will always be known as one of England's biggest losers.

It is now almost ten years since he suffered his darkest moment on a football field, but the 35-year-old still struggles to shake off the reputation he was saddled with that day. In football, as in life, mud appears to stick.

"I think if people still have that view of me, they're never going to change," said Southgate, who won the last of his 57 international caps in March 2004. "That's part and parcel of my life and I live with it every day.

"People still go past and whisper, 'That's the guy who missed the penalty'. Such is life - you play for 15 years and people remember 15 seconds of it."

But what a 15 seconds it was. With the nation in the throes of football fever, Terry Venables' England side had drawn with Germany in the semi-finals of Euro '96.

Extra-time failed to produce a winner, so the penalty shoot-out, for so long the nemesis of the England team, came into play.

Things seemed to be going well when Alan Shearer, David Platt, Stuart Pearce, Paul Gascoigne and Teddy Sheringham were all successful from the spot. But, with typical efficiency, their German opponents held their nerve.

With the scores tied at 5-5, it was time for sudden death. After Southgate saw his penalty saved, the fall-out was anything but sudden.

By his own admission, it took the defender more than two years to overcome the pain of such a public humiliation. A self-deprecating advert helped to remove the stigma that hung like a noose around his neck but, to those outside Middlesbrough, who know little of how well Southgate has recovered from his mishap, the reputation as a failure remains.

Perhaps, tonight, it will be removed forever. On a global stage, in front of an audience of millions, Steve McClaren's most trusted lieutenant can re-write the record books. It is an opportunity he is right to relish.

"I've probably come full circle now," said Southgate.

"After the disappointment of everything that happened, I had a couple of years playing for England where I found it really difficult. I felt that everybody would be waiting for me to make another mistake.

"Eventually, experience carries you through that. You go out and you realise that you have to get back into the flow of things.

"You realise it's not important, although you still want professional approval as much as anything. You want the approval of your peers and people you've worked with, because they know you better than anybody.

"So, for my own peace of mind, it would be nice to have another winner's medal to disappear off into the sunset with."

Yet as he begins to draw towards the end of his playing career, Southgate has come to learn that medals are not everything.

It is not as though he has been immune to success. He boasts a First Division title from his time with Crystal Palace and two League Cup winners medals with Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. It is just that, over time, he has begun to measure the parameters of achievement differently.

Winning the Carling Cup with the Teessiders was the realisation of a dream, and lifting the UEFA Cup this evening would be an even more incredible exploit.

But altering the entire outlook of a town means more.

Before Southgate arrived at the Riverside, Middlesbrough was reluctant to embrace its football club. Now, the two exist hand in hand. All the silverware in the world cannot guarantee a transformation like that.

"There was a period before I came here when I felt you had to win medals to justify your existence," said Southgate, who intends to see out the final year of his playing contract next season.

"But I'm extremely proud of my role in taking Middlesbrough forward.

"One of the things Steve told me when he was trying to get me to join was that it's great to go to a big club and want to win things, but sometimes you can take more satisfaction from building something right from the start.

"I have to admit I wasn't sure about that at the time, and I certainly wasn't sure about it after the first three months. But, ultimately, it has proved to be more satisfying.

"To be a part of the team that won Middlesbrough's first trophy was a fantastic feeling and you can see the pleasure that this cup run has given to the people in the town.

"We're building Middlesbrough as a place on the map - not just the club. It's OK achieving things but, if you can't share it with people, it doesn't really mean very much.

"I feel that we are sharing this with everybody that was jumping up and down after the games against Basle and Steaua Bucharest."

Those same fans will be jumping even higher if Boro complete their UEFA Cup journey with a win tonight.

For Middlesbrough, it will be the perfect way to mark the 20th anniversary of 1986's liquidation, an experience that left scars that took more than a decade to heal. For Southgate, it might finally remove a more recent stain once and for all.