Ernie Koh
allym286Atletico triumph in the Europa League
May 13th 2010 16:40
Forlan inspired Atletico to glory.
Atletico Madrid won the inaugural Europa League against Fulham after dramatic, if not inspiring, extra-time victory.
There wasn’t a lot to separate the two teams, but Diego Forlan showed that extra bit of quality, and the two goals he bagged were enough to give the Spaniards a two-one win.
It’s an amazing turnaround for a side that were deep in relegation trouble at Christmas. Their Champions League campaign echoed that of their domestic one.
Turnaround
Hammerings from Chelsea and Porto meant they just squeezed into third place, which allowed Madrid to embark on a European run, albeit in its secondary competition.
This proved to be the salvation of their season - along with a domestic cup run which culminates in the final at Barcelona against Sevilla.
However, it was the appointment of Quique Sanchez Flores - after the sacking of Abel Resino – that really turned around their season.
Defensively under Resino, Atletico were a mess, and many players were unhappy with the coach’s time at the club. Antonio Reyes, in particular, publicly announced his delight at the sacking of his former mentor.
Without making too many changes to the personnel, Sanchez Flores managed to regroup a confidence stricken side.
Performances have improved ten fold, and he has managed to get the best out of his forward line – Sergio Aguero and Forlan.
They are, in fact, the only side to defeat Barcelona in La Liga this season. Nobody would have predicted this six months ago.
The European triumph is one of the greatest achievements in the club’s history, and it just shows you how quickly football can change.
On the other side, Fulham did a remarkable job reaching the final in Hamburg.
Roy Hodgson’s side swept across some of Europe’s big names - Juventus, Roma, Shakhtar Donetsk and Hamburg.
Proud
For a small club like themselves, they must be mightily proud of what the have achieved. I’m sure the neutrals, of which there were many, were willing them on in extra-time. Sadly, it appeared as if the legs had gone and there was no more fuel left in the tank.
Similar to Rangers two years ago, nobody quite expected little Fulham to do so well, but, ultimately, were undone by a classier outfit.
Where do they go from here?
Well one English commentator, namely Stan Collymore, stated they would go on to bigger and better things. I don’t see how they could top a European Final. Also, it is doubtful they will ever get there again, and they did not even qualify for the competition next year.
They will just try and climb the league table and, if they’re lucky, might be back on the continent in the near future.
Mid table mediocrity is as good as it's going to get for the West London club. A sad and depressing thought, I know, but it is also a realistic one.
As for Atletico, they will hope to complete a cup double next week. If they can’t, 2010 will still prove memorable for them, and at least they can lay claim to a European trophy, unlike their neighbours Real Madrid.
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