The Unexpected European Final: Fulham v. Atlético

By Dominic Vieira

Madrid vs Fulham, Europa League Final, 12th May 2010, 19:45 GMT, Hamburg

Tomorrow night, either Atlético Madrid or Fulham will be crowned as the first winner of the Europa League. It’s been an extravagant and revolutionary European campaign for both clubs and nobody, including me, would have expected the final to be disputed between these two clubs. How often is it that we find Los Colchorenos and The Cottagers disputing a European cup final?

Fulham have been the surprising and outstanding underdogs of the competition, who would have thought they would have knocked out numerous European giants on their path to reach the final. Some didn’t even expect them to pass the group stages. It has been a mythical journey for them and the culmination of hard work and team spirit has rewarded them with their first ever European final. Victory tomorrow night for Fulham would be the perfect ending to their European fairytale.

Atlético Madrid, who were knocked out of the Champions League grouped stages, also endured a challenging ride to the final. The Madrid based team may be underperforming in La Liga, but they’ve played their best football in the Europa League which has been highlighted by their efficient and offensive football. However, there is a tradition, when Atlético are considered favourites, the team fails to deliver. Will being crowned as champions save their season?

The Path to the HSH Nordbank Arena, Hamburg

Fulham started participating in the third round qualifying stage where they easily beat Lithuanian side FK Vètra 6-0 aggregate. They then met the Russian FC Amkar Perm in the play-off round which they won 3-1 aggregate, the victory qualified Fulham for the group stages. The Cottagers were drawn into Group E alongside Roma, Basel and CSKA Sofia; Fulham finished second with 11 points. Their fairytale began in the final phases of the competition where they beat current cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk, the almighty Juventus, 2008/09 German champions Wolfsburg and finally HSV, the club which plays at the venue of the final. 90 minutes separate Fulham from completing their conquest to lift the first Europa League trophy.

Atlético’s European campaign started in the Champions League, as they finished third in Group D, behind FC Porto and Chelsea, they were demoted to the Europa League. Their journey did not start easily as they narrowly beat Galatasaray 3-2 aggregate in the round of 32 teams. The Madrid based club then went on to beat Sporting, Valencia and favourites Liverpool to book their place in the final. Will Los Colchorenos manage to control the intense pressure of being tagged as favourites and beat Fulham?

The Stars

The final may not have the same dimension as a Champions League final, but I reject the statement that the Europa League is described as ‘the losers league’. World class players such as Steven Gerrard, Del Piero, David Villa, Francesco Totti and Luis Suarez have all played in the competition this year.

Atlético’s strength is in the final third of the field and Fulham must especially watch out for Aguero and Forlán, the South American deadly striking partnership. The Cottagers centre-backs Hughes and Hangeland will have to mark them tightly and close them down, one simple mistake can lead to a goal. And we all know that Forlán is a clinical poacher in the box. If Aguero wants to establish himself as one of the best forwards in the world, he must deliver and play beautifully tomorrow night. Reports suggest that it may be his last match for the Spanish side and he’ll want to finish his Atlético chapter in winning style.

Their quality is also on the flanks where Simão Sabrosa plays on one side andReyes on the opposite. They will be a constant headache for Fulham’s fullbacks with their speed and dribbling abilities. Their vision is essential for the club as they lead the team’s assists charts. If they two won’t be enough for The Cottagers to withstand, the talented young Argentine Eduardo Salvio will be sitting on the bench.

Fulham’s attacking sector is also a lethal force and a great amount of their success has been accomplished by Bobby Zamora. The striker will be motivated on the night as it is his first European final and will want to prove to England manager Fabio Capello that it was a mistake excluding him from the provisional squad. The 29 year old is Fulham’s leading goalscorer in the competition with 6 goals.

American forward Clint Dempsey has been a key pillar in Roy Hogdson’s team and showed his class against Juventus when he scored that fabulous chip. He won’t be an easy player to mark as he is constantly switching positions and his experience will be vital tomorrow night, he is a match winner.

A key figure in the team is Brede Hangeland, the Norweigen centre back does not always receive the credit for his outstanding displays which he rightfully is entitled to. The defender is a solid rock at the back and possess a great aerial ability, if Atlético want to score from crosses, they may have to think twice. Hangeland will be an emperor on the pitch and his passing ability allows him to move up the field and start the team’s attacking plays.

Team News

Quique Flores will be anxious over the fitness of Perea who may not fully recover in time. To add to his injury troubles, their number one goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo is out injured for 6 months, the young De Gea will be defending Los Colchorenos goal tomorrow. Tiago and Ibrahima are ineligible. The team are well prepared for the final and the key players were rested on the weekend.

Starting Line-Up (4-4-2): De Gea; Ujfalusi, Perea, Domínguez, Antonio Lopez ©; Reyes, Paulo Assunção, Raul Garcia, Simão Sabrosa; Aguero, Forlán

Roy Hodgson has been boosted by the returns of Bobby Zamora and Damien Duff who were in doubt for the encounter. The manager will also be delighted with Hangeland, Paintsil and Konchesky who have all shaken off minor injuries. Similarly to Atlético, Hodgson rested many players on the weekend as his side lost 4-0 to Arsenal. Okaka and Sorey are ineligible.

Starting Line-Up (4-5-1): Schwarzer; Paintsil, Aaron Hughes, Hangeland, Konchesky; Duff, Murphy, Etuhu, Gera, Dempsey; Zamora

Prediction

Atlético Madrid 1 – 2 Fulham.  Neither team are underdogs tomorrow night, both deserve to win the trophy but there can only be one champion. It will be interesting to see if Atlético can withstand the pressure being classified as favourites, as it’s affected the team in the past and they don’t want to disappoint they fans expectations. I think Fulham will win the close battle as their free flowing game won’t be able to be stopped by Atlético. However, a final will always be intense and competitive and the team which creates the most chances at the end of the day, will probably win it. The result can swing either way, but if Fulham are relaxed and fully focussed they can create history tomorrow night.

As there are no Spanish or English teams in the Champions League this season, both countries will draw their attention to this game and hopefully both clubs will have strong domestic support.

Get ready for an exhilarating final! Who do you think will win?