The 2012 UEFA Europa League Final was the final match of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, the 41st season of Europe's secondary club football tournament organised by UEFA (after the UEFA Champions League), and the 3rd season since it was renamed from the UEFA Cup to the UEFA Europa League. The match was played on 9 May 2012 at the Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania, and was contested between two Spanish sides – Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao. The match ended with Atlético Madrid winning 3–0, with Radamel Falcao scoring two goals and Diego scoring another. In doing so, Falcao was named man of the match, and became the first player to win back-to-back Europa League titles with different teams.

The winners earned the right to play against Chelsea, the winners of the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League, in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup.

Venue

The Arena Națională was announced by UEFA as the venue of the 2012 final on 30 January 2010. This was the first final of a European football club competition hosted by Romania.

The stadium was built on the site of the former national stadium, and opened on 6 September 2011 with a UEFA Euro 2012 Group D qualifier match between Romania and France.

Background

This was the second consecutive Europa League final contested by two teams from the same nation, and the ninth time overall (including UEFA Cup). The only other all-Spanish final of UEFA's second club competition was the 2007 UEFA Cup Final, when Sevilla defeated Espanyol. That was also the last final before the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final, where both finalist teams had played only in the UEFA Cup/Europa League in their routes to the final (rather than dropping down from the UEFA Champions League, either after the early knockout rounds or after the group stage).

Both teams have played in one previous Europa League/UEFA Cup final. Atlético Madrid won the first Europa League final after its renaming in 2010, beating Fulham 2–1 after extra time. Athletic Bilbao lost in 1977 to Juventus on away goals after the tie finished 2–2 on aggregate. The two teams have never met in European competition before. They have met each other in three Copa del Rey finals, with Athletic Bilbao winning two and Atlético Madrid winning one. In the 2011–12 La Liga season, Athletic Bilbao won their home fixture 3–0 and Atlético Madrid won their home fixture 2–1.

After losing to Udinese on 20 October 2011, Atlético Madrid went on a run of 11 straight victories to the final, a record in European football, winning their remaining group games to top their group and then defeating four knockout opponents both home and away.

Route to the final

Atlético MadridRound Athletic BilbaoOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legQualifying phaseOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Strømsgodset4–12–1 (H)2–0 (A)Third qualifying roundBye Vitória de Guimarães6–02–0 (H)4–0 (A)Play-off round Trabzonsporw/o0–0OpponentResultGroup stageOpponentResult Celtic2–0 (H)Matchday 1 Slovan Bratislava2–1 (A) Rennes1–1 (A)Matchday 2 Paris Saint-Germain2–0 (H) Udinese0–2 (A)Matchday 3 Red Bull Salzburg2–2 (H) Udinese4–0 (H)Matchday 4 Red Bull Salzburg1–0 (A) Celtic1–0 (A)Matchday 5 Slovan Bratislava2–1 (H) Rennes3–1 (H)Matchday 6 Paris Saint-Germain2–4 (A)Group I winnersFinal standingsGroup F winnersOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd legKnockout phaseOpponentAgg.1st leg2nd leg Lazio4–13–1 (A)1–0 (H)Round of 32 Lokomotiv Moscow2–2 (a)1–2 (A)1–0 (H) Beşiktaş6–13–1 (H)3–0 (A)Round of 16 Manchester United5–33–2 (A)2–1 (H) Hannover 964–22–1 (H)2–1 (A)Quarter-finals Schalke 046–44–2 (A)2–2 (H) Valencia5–24–2 (H)1–0 (A)Semi-finals Sporting CP4–31–2 (A)3–1 (H) Notes

Pre-match Ticketing

The two finalist teams received 9,000 tickets each for distribution to their supporters. 20,000 tickets have been sold to local football fans with a further 3,000 tickets available for sale to fans worldwide via UEFA.com, with prices between 100 RON and 500 RON. The remaining tickets are allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA's 53 national football associations, and commercial and broadcast partners.

Officials In May 2012, German referee Wolfgang Stark was appointed for the final. Joining him were fellow German officials Mike Pickel and Jan-Hendrik Salver as assistant referees, Deniz Aytekin and Florian Meyer as additional assistant referees, Mark Borsch as reserve assistant referee, and French official Stéphane Lannoy as fourth official.

Ambassador Former Romanian player Miodrag Belodedici was named as the ambassador for the final.

Match

Details

GK 13 Thibaut CourtoisRB 20 JuanfranCB 2 Diego GodínCB 23 MirandaLB 6 Filipe Luís CM 4 Mario SuárezCM 14 Gabi (c)RW 22 Diego AM 7 Adrián LW 11 Arda Turan CF 9 Radamel Falcao Substitutes:GK 25 Sergio AsenjoDF 3 Antonio LópezDF 18 Álvaro Domínguez MF 8 Eduardo Salvio MF 12 Paulo AssunçãoMF 19 Koke FW 41 Pedro MartínManager: Diego Simeone GK 1 Gorka IraizozRB 15 Andoni Iraola (c)CB 24 Javi MartínezCB 5 Fernando Amorebieta LB 3 Jon Aurtenetxe RM 21 Ander Herrera CM 8 Ander Iturraspe LM 10 Óscar de MarcosRW 14 Markel Susaeta LW 19 Iker MuniainCF 9 Fernando LlorenteSubstitutes:GK 13 RaúlDF 6 Mikel San JoséMF 11 Igor GabilondoMF 17 Iñigo Pérez MF 23 Borja EkizaFW 2 Gaizka Toquero FW 28 Ibai Gómez Manager: Marcelo Bielsa

Man of the Match: Radamel Falcao (Atlético Madrid)

Assistant referees: Jan-Hendrik Salver (Germany) Mike Pickel (Germany) Fourth official: Stéphane Lannoy (France) Additional assistant referees: Florian Meyer (Germany) Deniz Aytekin (Germany) Reserve assistant referee: Mark Borsch (Germany)Match rules 90 minutes 30 minutes of extra time if necessary Penalty shoot-out if scores still level Seven named substitutes Maximum of three substitutions

Statistics

+First halfStatisticAtlético MadridAthletic BilbaoGoals scored20Total shots65Shots on target21Saves10Ball possession40%60%Corner kicks32Fouls committed178Offsides02Yellow cards11Red cards00

+Second halfStatisticAtlético MadridAthletic BilbaoGoals scored10Total shots911Shots on target42Saves23Ball possession42%58%Corner kicks06Fouls committed86Offsides21Yellow cards03Red cards00

+OverallStatisticAtlético MadridAthletic BilbaoGoals scored30Total shots1516Shots on target63Saves33Ball possession41%59%Corner kicks38Fouls committed2514Offsides23Yellow cards14Red cards00

See also 2012 UEFA Champions League final 2012 UEFA Super Cup Athletic Bilbao in European football Atlético Madrid in European football Spanish football clubs in international competitions 2011–12 Athletic Bilbao season 2011–12 Atlético Madrid season Played between same teams: 1921 Copa del Rey Final 1956 Copa del Generalísimo Final 1985 Copa del Rey Final

References

External links , UEFA.com 2012 final: National Stadium, Bucharest, UEFA.com