When you support a club like Fulham its easy to get an inferiority complex - its not usually about winning anything but survival. Then in the 2009/10 season Fulham found themselves in the Europa League, and they got their properly by finishing 7th in the Premier League the previous season. The qualifying rounds were survived. The Group stage was got through. Progress was made through the first knock-out round and then Juventus were drawn in the Round of the Last 16. Fulham v Juventus in Europe - it was a dream, surely. But then reality took over and Fulham lost 3-1 in Turin. But we had that away goal. Then in the return at Craven Cottage on Thursday March 18th 2010 those dreams were soon ended when David Trezeguet scored for the Italians after just two minutes. Match over - Juventus were 4-1 up on aggregate and Fulham had lost their away goal advantage. What was I missing on telly I wondered! Then seven minutes later Bobby Zamora made it 1-1 - hey, a draw against Juventus on the night wouldnt be a bad result. Then in the 26th minute the visitors Fabio Cannavaros was sent off for a professional foul on Zoltan Gera with the Hungarian putting Fulham 2-1 ahead shortly before half-time. Winning the lottery must be like this - one number uncovered at a time - but then who do you know who has ever got past three numbers? But then the next number came up when Gera scored from the penalty spot four minutes after the restart. 3-1 on the night, 4-4 on aggregate - surely Fulham wouldnt get beaten now until extra time! Then unreality really took over when Clint Dempsey scored the fourth in the 82nd minute. Another Italian was sent off in the three-week wait for the final whistle but the unbelievable had happened - Fulham had won 4-1 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate. Amazing! And the dream didnt end there. Fulham went on to reach the final in Hamburg where they ran out of steam in what was their 19th European tie of the season. A 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid but Fulham had reached a European final and thats something I still need a daily glance at the special souvenir Europa League final fridge magnate to believe. I bet if you ever hear someone moaning about the Europa League being a second-rate competition its not a Fulham supporter doing the talking!
Posted on: Tue, 18 Mar 2014 08:20:16 +0000
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