TheDailySoccerNews.com

Fulham’s brave bid to lift the Europa League ended in heartbreak as Diego Forlan’s winner deep into extra time gave Atletico Madrid victory at Hamburg’s Nordbank Arena.

The final looked destined for a penalty shoot-out until former Manchester United striker Forlan took advantage of strike partner Sergio Aguero’s persistence to send a deflected finish beyond Mark Schwarzer with only four minutes left.

Forlan poached another close range finish to put Atletico ahead in the first half, but Simon Davies responded swiftly with a volleyed equaliser for Fulham to spark hopes of a first European trophy heading to Craven Cottage.

But Forlan, tormentor of Liverpool in the semi-final, seems intent on making up for his unfulfilling spell at Old Trafford by inflicting pain on Premier League teams every time they cross his path - and how Fulham felt the agony as their players lay on the turf as Atletico celebrated wildly celebrated the decisive goal.
Atletico created the better opportunities in a final short on serious excitement, with Forlan striking a post and Aguero somehow poking wide from almost on the goalline in the first period of extra time. Read more…

The key for Fulham  will be to contain Atletico’s obvious attacking threats, notably Jose Antonio Reyes, Diego Forlan and Sergio Aguero. It means that Roy Hodgson will require major midfield performances from Danny Murphy and Dickson Etuhu. Atletico, however, do have a suspect defence and have conceded 57 goals this season in La Liga.

Managers:

Roy Hodgson v Quique Sanchez Flores: With their teams settled in mid-table of the respective domestic leagues, the Europa League has developed into the priority this season from both Hodgson and Flores. Fulham look to have a decisive advantage in the dugout, both in terms of Hodgson’s experience and tactical acumen. Flores has endured domestic disappointment in what is his first season at Atletico following spells with Benfica, Valencia and Getafe.

Key clash:

Diego Forlan v Brede Hangeland: It is his unpredictability than can make Forlan, the former Manchester United centre-forward, so dangerous. His pace and movement are other major assets, as Liverpool found to their cost in the semi-final, meaning Brede Hangeland will need to rely on much more than his commanding aerial presence.

What they are saying:

Atletico coach Quique Sanchez Flores: “They have excellent players. The physical aspect and strategy come together. We have to take some risk but not open ourselves to dead-ball situations. There are many reasons to be optimistic but we have to be careful. And we need to be courageous.”

Fulham manager Roy Hodgson: “If we lose then I hope it means we’ve been beaten by a better team and not that we’ve been very unlucky or been hit by some decisions that are controversial. At the moment we’re planning not to be second best, we’re planning to try and win the competition. Whatever happens it’s been a very good season for us and we’re determined to crown that season by winning the trophy.”

Atletico captain Antonio Lopez: “We have always been a very united team. A few months ago of course we had some difficulties and the results were not the best. But we went through the stages progressively and here we are in the final.”

Fulham’s Danny Murphy: “It’s phenomenal really - Fulham are everybody’s second favourite club at the moment. Maybe that’s because of our spirit and our unusual position this season in that we’ve overcome the odds and beaten so many good teams. I think supporters appreciate good football and, over the course of the competition, we’ve certainly tried to play the right way.”

Probable teams:
Fulham (4-4-1-1): Schwarzer; Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky; Davies, Murphy, Etuhu, Duff; Gera; Zamora.
Atletico Madrid (4-4-2): De Gea; Valera, Dominguez, Perea, Antonio Lopez; Reyes, Paulo Assuncao, Raul Garcia, Simao; Aguero, Forlan.

ROY HODGSON revealed Bobby Robson will be his inspiration in tonight’s Europa League final with Atletico Madrid in Hamburg.

Fulham’s manager and the ex-England boss were big pals until Sir Bobby’s death from cancer last year.

Robson is the last English manager to win a major European trophy - with Barcelona in 1997. Hodgson said: “To follow a manager like Bobby Robson would be fantastic because, as you know, we were friends for many years.

“He was a great man, a great manager and it would be nice to think I could follow him.”

Robson won the European Cup Winners’ Cup at Barca. Hodgson added: “You work hard to get to a final. You know one of you is going to go smiling and one’s going to leave the field with tears in their eyes.”

Fulham owner Mohamed Al Fayed flies into Hamburg today for a rare away trip to mark the club’s special night.

Hodgson is nursing striker Bobby Zamora along in the hope his injured striker can start despite an Achilles injury which will require surgery. Damien Duff hopes to have shrugged off a knee injury.

Villarreal striker Giuseppe Rossi was the only new name in defending champions Italy’s 30-man provisional World Cup squad, announced on Tuesday by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).

The 23-year-old, who has scored three goals in 14 international appearances, was the only addition to the 29-man group that was summoned to a 48-hour get-together in Rome last week.

Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi missed the rendezvous in the capital due to his participation in the Italian Cup but he has returned to the squad.

Rossi takes the place of Juventus centre-back Nicola Legrottaglie, who has often been called up by Italy coach Marcello Lippi but who has failed to hold down a first-team place with his Turin club this season.

As Lippi had announced on Monday, there were “no surprises” in the list, with Roma captain Francesco Totti, in-form Sampdoria playmaker Antonio Cassano and controversial Inter Milan forward Mario Balotelli all overlooked.

There was no place either for Luca Toni, Lippi’s first-choice striker at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, who is currently on loan at Roma from Bayern Munich.

Ten players from Italy’s triumph at the last World Cup are in the squad: goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, defenders Fabio Cannavaro, Fabio Grosso and Gianluca Zambrotta, midfielders De Rossi, Mauro Camoranesi, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo and forwards Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta. Read more…

Vieira returned to the Premier League from Inter Milan in January and recovered some of his form, but not enough to impress Les Bleus  coach Raymond Domenech.

Benzema, who has had a less than fruitful season with Madrid, has also missed out on selection for the squad, as has midfielder Samir Nasri, whose Arsenal team-mates Gael Clichy, William Gallas, Abou Diaby and Bacary Sagna are included.
Franck Ribery, who is sweating over his participation in Bayern Munich’s Champions League final with Inter on May 22 with the Bundesliga champions appealing his ban to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, is included.

Three members of Marseille’s Ligue 1-winning squad - goalkeeper Steve Mandanda and forwards Hatem Ben Arfa and Mathieu Valbuena - are named, as are two Chelsea players, Nicolas Anelka and Florent Malouda.

France were drawn in Group A alongside hosts South Africa, Mexico and Uruguay, their opponents in their first game in Cape Town on June 11.

Squad: Cedric Carrasso (Bordeaux), Mickael Landreau (Lille), Hugo Lloris (Lyon), Steve Mandanda (Marseille); Eric Abidal (Barcelona), Gael Clichy (Arsenal), Patrice Evra (Manchester United), Rod Fanni (Rennes), William Gallas (Arsenal), Marc Planus (Bordeaux), Adil Rami (Lille), Anthony Reveillere (Lyon), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Sebastien Squillaci (Sevilla); Abou Diaby (Arsenal), Alou Diarra (Bordeaux), Lassana Diarra (Real Madrid), Yoann Gourcuff (Bordeaux), Yann M’Vila (Rennes), Florent Malouda (Chelsea), Jeremy Toulalan (Lyon); Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea), Hatem Ben Arfa (Marseille), Jimmy Briand (Rennes), Djibril Cisse (Panathinaikos), Andre-Pierre Gignac (Toulouse), Sidney Govou (Lyon), Thierry Henry (Barcelona), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich), Mathieu Valbuena (Marseille).

England coach Fabio Capello has made several surprise selections in his preliminary 30-man World Cup squad.

Uncapped duo Adam Johnson and Michael Dawson both feature along with Dawson’s Tottenham team-mate Tom Huddlestone.

Jamie Carragher comes out of international retirement, while fellow defender Ledley King and the injured Gareth Barry have also been picked.

Stephen Warnock, Scott Parker and Darren Bent are chosen, with the final 23-man squad to be announced by 1 June.

Under Fifa regulations, Capello is permitted to bring players into his 23-man squad who were not included in the preliminary party.

But that would be an unusual move, meaning the final party he takes to this summer’s finals in South Africa is likely to come from the one he has already named.

England play Mexico at Wembley on 24 May and Japan in Austria six days later as part of a pre-tournament training camp.
That will provide Capello with time to work with a much-changed squad and put the finishing touches to his preparations.

The Italian has included 23-year-old Joe Hart among his three goalkeepers after the Manchester City player enjoyed an outstanding season on loan at Birmingham. Read more…

LIVERPOOL’S incredible comeback against AC Milan in the Champions League five years ago is rightly considered as one of the truly great European stories.

But if Fulham beat Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final tomorrow, I’d rate it as an even greater achievement. Truly amazing, in fact.

It would be the ultimate victory for the underdogs and almost all neutrals will be cheering for Roy Hodgson’s team in Germany.

It’s brilliant that at a time when big clubs continue to dominate in the Premier League, a less-fancied team is flying the English flag abroad. It’s so refreshing and it would be nice to have more of the same next year.

Throughout this season, I have looked at Fulham’s results in the competition and thought ‘good win for them, but they’ll get knocked out next round’.

But Fulham have continued to surprise me - and probably themselves - and now they are on the brink of the greatest moment in their history.

What Hodgson has achieved is no fluke. He’s a really good manager and let’s be honest, Fulham don’t exactly have any players with much of a wow factor. Read more…

Fulham’s Roy Hodgson has been voted manager of the year by a record margin after steering the west London club to the Europa League final.

Hodgson received the award from the League Managers Association after a poll of coaches, including managers from the top four leagues in England.

Fulham face Atletico Madrid in the Europa League final on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, league sponsor Barclays named Harry Redknapp manager of the year and Wayne Rooney the top player.

Hodgson’s award is recognition for a remarkable season in which he masterminded Fulham’s progress to their first European final, while securing a 12th place finish in the Premier League.

The Cottagers played 18 matches on the road to the final in a campaign that began in July, overcoming the likes of Juventus, Shakhtar, Wolfsburg and Hamburg.

Despite minimal spending in the transfer market, the club never flirted with relegation and only struggled for form at the end of the season when Hodgson began to rest players with the Europa League in mind.

Hodgson arrived at Fulham in December 2007 and led the club on a run of 12 points from their last five games to ensure Premier League survival on the last day of the season.

Last year they achieved their highest ever league position of seventh.
LMA chief executive Richard Bevan said Hodgson received an “overwhelming” number of votes from the association’s 256 members, made up of all 92 league clubs’ bosses, retired coaches, and those still involved in the game below managerial level.

“Roy won the LMA manager of the year award by the most significant margin in the history of the award,” said Bevan.

“He is highly respected within the game and held in the highest regard in the family of football.” Read more…

Chelsea won the Barclays Premier League with an eight-goal spectacular on Sunday and warned Manchester United this was just the start of their quest to dominate English football.

Manager Carlo Ancelotti and captain John Terry vowed to bring more silverware to
Stamford Bridge, starting with the FA Cup on Saturday.

‘After the first year, I hope to stay here a long time and win a lot of titles,’ said Ancelotti, after watching his team beat Wigan 8-0 and become the first Premier League team to score 100 goals in a season. ‘We have the opportunity to win the Double and I hope my players can after these celebrations.’

After lifting the trophy, Terry said: ‘I’ve been hurting inside for three years seeing Manchester United lift it. I can promise you, every one of us has sat there and watched it. It’s their turn to watch today. We need to do what United have done and maintain it for a few years.’

Chelsea finished the season with 103 goals after a second-half hat-trick from Didier Drogba, who threw a tantrum before the break because he was denied the chance to take a penalty.

Drogba had started the day vying with United’s Wayne Rooney to be the Premier League’s top scorer. He won the race, finishing with 29, but that did not stop him arguing with Frank Lampard about who should take the first-half spot-kick.

‘That’s what makes Didier Drogba the way he is,’ said Lampard. ‘He’s hungry. It was 1-0 and I’ve been taking the penalties all season. But there was no problem in the end. We’re a team and it was nothing.’ Read more…