Atlético Madrid won the Europa League thanks to an inspired display from FalcaoEvening. So often the subject of derision and scorn, even Larry David would have to admit this season`s Europa League has been pretty, pretty, prettaaaaaaayyyyyy, pretteh good. Teams have both swashed and buckled, English pretensions about the strength and depth of the Premier League have been blown out of the water, Tony Pulis has shown himself up to be an ambition-free bore by forfeiting against Valencia and although the 743 matches in the group stages dragged on a tad, we now have a hugely enticing all-Spanish final to sit back and enjoy this evening. Thursday nights on Channel Five haven`t been the graveyard many predicted and not even Traffic Cops at 8pm on BBC1 should be an excuse for not watching this. Sure, it`s actually Wednesday night on Channel Five and it`s not The El Clasico, but we`re all tired of that by now anyway and in any case, this has all the potential to be a mini-clasico.If teams are embodiments of their managers, then perhaps no two currently exemplify this more pertinently than Athletic Bilbao and Atletico Madrid. Bilbao, just like their absurd but inspired manager Marcelo Bielsa, are manic, feverish, obsessed with attack and play like they inject sugar into their veins on the hour, every hour. But Atletico, managed by David Beckham`s old mate Diego Simeone, are tough, uncompromising and intense, but also talented and skillful. Bilbao have captured a continent`s imagination with their all-out attacking style and most neutrals will be backing the Basques. Yet this is far from a foregone conclusion, for Atletico have also been exemplary in this year`s tournament, and were excellent against another Spanish side, Valencia, in the last four. They are fifth in La Liga to Bilbao`s 9th, and have experience of winning this competition against Mr Roy`s Fulham two years ago (although this is a much more impressive Atletico side). As does Simeone, who won it as a player w ...
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