How Roy Hodgson's Fulham made it to the final in Hamburg

The Cottagers have a great history, but they have never won a major trophy. They were lying 17th in the Championship, yet just six years earlier Fulham had a great squad that achieved something remarkable in the Europa League.

Roy Hodgson’s players were not especially impressive in the Premier League in 2009/2010, finishing 12th in the standings, but they showed they could beat any team. Fulham began their Europa League campaign in the third qualifying round against the Lithuanian side Vetra. The Londoners had no problems, winning 3-0 in both legs.

Next came the Russian side Amkar Perm in the play-off round. Fulham played really well in the first leg and won 3-1 at Craven Cottage, with goals from Andrew Johnson, Clint Dempsey and Bobby Zamora. In the second leg Fulham defended bravely and lost only 0-1, which took The Cottagers into the group stage.

The Cottagers were placed in Group E with Basel, Roma and CSKA Sofia. Fulham opened with a trip to Sofia and a 1-1 draw, fortunate to equalise through Diomansy Kamara in the 65th minute from one of their very few chances in the match. Fulham then showed real improvement and beat Basel 1-0 at Craven Cottage, Danny Murphy scoring in the 57th minute.

The third group match was at home against the favourites, Roma. Hangeland put Fulham ahead in the first half. Mark Schwarzer saved a penalty and made a couple of great stops before Roma equalised in added time. Predictably, Fulham lost in Italy, but they still had a chance of going through.

The decisive match was against Basel, which Fulham won 3-2 in Switzerland. The Cottagers then knocked out Shakhtar Donetsk before meeting Juventus.

The Old Lady dominated Fulham at the Juventus Stadium in the first leg, but won only 3-1. The Italian side led 1-0 after just two minutes of the second leg at Craven Cottage, and it looked as though Roy Hodgson’s players would be eliminated. Bobby Zamora, however, replied very quickly after Trezeguet’s opener and brought Fulham back into the game. The 27th minute proved crucial, as Juve were reduced to ten men after a red card. Five minutes before half-time, Gera turned things around for Fulham (2-1).

Just four minutes after the break, Zoltan Gera scored his second goal to level the aggregate score. The tie seemed to be heading for extra time, but Clint Dempsey produced a moment of genius, flicking the ball over Chimenti from outside the box to make it 4-1.

Fulham went on to eliminate Wolfsburg and Hamburg. In the second leg against Hamburg, The Cottagers once again came from behind to turn the score in their favour.

Not every fairy tale has a happy ending, though. Fulham came very close to winning the Europa League trophy, but Diego Forlan’s goal in the 115th minute sent the cup to Atletico Madrid.

The final in Hamburg

The final was played at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg on 12 May 2010, in front of 49,000 spectators. Diego Forlan gave Atletico Madrid the lead in the 32nd minute, but Fulham hit back within five minutes through Simon Davies. The score stayed 1-1 through normal time, and in extra time Forlan struck again, only minutes from the end, to win the trophy for the Spanish side. The Uruguayan forward was named man of the match.

Fulham had reached Hamburg through four knockout rounds, beating Shakhtar Donetsk 3-2, Juventus 5-4, Wolfsburg 3-1 and Hamburg 2-1 on aggregate. Including the six group matches, the final was the club’s 14th game of the competition proper, after the qualifying rounds against Vetra and Amkar Perm.

What came next for Roy Hodgson

The European run earned Roy Hodgson the League Managers Association Manager of the Year award in May 2010, which he won by a record margin. It was also his last achievement at Craven Cottage. On 1 July 2010 he was appointed manager of Liverpool on a three-year contract, after the two clubs agreed a compensation deal.