unused substitute on 29 February 2004, when they won the 2004 League Cup Final against Bolton Wanderers. The 2004–05 season saw Downing make 49 appearances, scoring six goals, as well as providing numerous assists. In a UEFA Cup match against Lazio in November 2004, both Downing and Zenden were in the starting line-up. Though Zenden scored both goals in the 2–0 victory, Downing drew praise for his performance down the left. Such performances that season saw him called up to Sven-Göran Eriksson's England squad in February 2005 for a friendly against the Netherlands. A knee injury saw Downing sidelined for five months at the end of 2005, though he returned to play his part in the run to the 2006 UEFA Cup Final, including three assists in the 4–2 (4–3 agg) victory over Steaua București in the semi-final second leg. He started in the final as Middlesbrough were beaten 4–0 by Sevilla at the Philips Stadion. On 26 February 2008, Downing signed a new five-year contract, keeping him signed on at Middlesbrough until summer 2013. With the departure of Mark Schwarzer in May 2008, Downing became Middlesbrough's second longest serving player after Brad Jones. The 2008–09 season was a mixed one for Downing. Middlesbrough had their best start to the season in six years which saw them climb to 8th in the table, however, a terrible winless run which started in November 2008 saw them fall into the relegation zone. On 5 January 2009, he handed in a written transfer request expressing his desire to leave the club but the request was turned down on the same day. In the penultimate match of the season, he sustained a foot injury after a challenge from Stiliyan Petrov in a home match against Aston Villa in May 2009, which needed an operation, ruling him out for at least four months. After spending the whole of the second half of the season in the relegation zone, Middlesbrough were relegated on the final day after they lost 2–1 away at West Ham United. Downing, having started every league match, except the last match, ended the season with no league goals, having only scored two against West Ham United in the FA Cup. Aston Villa Following Middlesbrough's relegation, Downing signed a four-year contract with Aston Villa, becoming Martin O'Neill's first signing of the 2009 Summer transfer window for a fee of £10 million with an