Europa League 2011-2012 Final
The all Spanish affair in this year's showpiece event of the Europa League in Bucharest promises to be a spectacle for a lot of reasons.
The most prominent reason being, the Final will be a showcase of attacking football as both the clubs boast of formidable attacking prowess.
This is evinced in the two teams' impressive performances on their road to the Final of the Europa League. Both the teams have fought out European heavyweights and sometimes even outperformed with the underdog label to their names.
Athletic Club's Road to Final:
Beat PSG in the group stage
Beat Manchester United, in both the legs, at the round of 16 stage
Beat Schalke in the Quarter Finals
and finally Sporting in the Semi Finals
Atletico Madrid's Road to Final:
Beat Udinese in the group stage
Beat Lazio, in both the legs, at the round of 32 stage
and Valencia in the Semi Finals
Photo Courtesy: Uefa.com
Style of play:
Athletic like to keep possession with themselves and play an attacking brand of football comparable to that of Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid too play attacking football and have enviable attacking options at their disposal. They can kill games with the smallest of opportunities and definitely on counter attacks.
Players to watch out for:
Atheletic Club:
Fernando Llorente, Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta, Ander Herrera, Oscar De Marcos and Ibai Gomez
Club Atlético de Madrid:
Radamel Falcao, Adrián López, Diego Ribas, Arda Turan and Thibaut Courtois
Managers:
Both the teams have Argentinian coaches!
Marcelo Bielsa of Athletic Bilbao has honed the attacking style of play into the Basque side and has drawn interest from the likes of Barcelona for his style and tactical approach to the game.
Diego Simeone won the 1998 UEFA Cup with Inter as a player and could join a select band of people to have triumphed in the competition as a player and a coach.
The two men know each other well as Bielsa was Simeone's coach with Argentina between 1998 and 2002.
Club Atlético de Madrid: Atletico will play in the finals of the Europa League for the second time in three years. They won the Cup in 2009-10.
| Atlético |  |  | Athletic | |
| Referee: Wolfgang Stark (GER) – Stadium: National Arena, Bucharest (ROU) | ||||
Courtesy: Uefa.com
The all Spanish affair in this year's showpiece event of the Europa League in Bucharest promises to be a spectacle for a lot of reasons.
The most prominent reason being, the Final will be a showcase of attacking football as both the clubs boast of formidable attacking prowess.
Photo Courtesy: Uefa.com
This is evinced in the two teams' impressive performances on their road to the Final of the Europa League. Both the teams have fought out European heavyweights and sometimes even outperformed with the underdog label to their names.
Athletic Club's Road to Final:
Beat PSG in the group stage
Beat Manchester United, in both the legs, at the round of 16 stage
Beat Schalke in the Quarter Finals
and finally Sporting in the Semi Finals
Atletico Madrid's Road to Final:
Beat Udinese in the group stage
Beat Lazio, in both the legs, at the round of 32 stage
and Valencia in the Semi Finals
Style of play:
Athletic like to keep possession with themselves and play an attacking brand of football comparable to that of Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid too play attacking football and have enviable attacking options at their disposal. They can kill games with the smallest of opportunities and definitely on counter attacks.
Players to watch out for:
Atheletic Club:
Fernando Llorente, Iker Muniain, Markel Susaeta, Ander Herrera, Oscar De Marcos and Ibai Gomez
Club Atlético de Madrid:
Radamel Falcao, Adrián López, Diego Ribas, Arda Turan and Thibaut Courtois
Managers:
Both the teams have Argentinian coaches!
Marcelo Bielsa of Athletic Bilbao has honed the attacking style of play into the Basque side and has drawn interest from the likes of Barcelona for his style and tactical approach to the game.
Diego Simeone won the 1998 UEFA Cup with Inter as a player and could join a select band of people to have triumphed in the competition as a player and a coach.
The two men know each other well as Bielsa was Simeone's coach with Argentina between 1998 and 2002.
Uniqueness:
Athletic Club: Athletic field players of only Basque origin.
Photo Courtesy: Uefa.com
As the finalists at the showpiece event share not only similar names but also similar home jerseys, the National Arena, Bucharest will be decked in candy cane red and white on Wednesday!
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