2012/13 Europa League thread

[Lineker]

David Luiz: "Last year's final, was me eating beef. This year is the same appetite, but I eat chicken"

[stokeriño]

What a way with words the young lad has.

Tonight I'll be getting one of the last trains down to London with a view to getting on a Chelsea coach that leaves Earls Court at 3am and is scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam at midday (local time). Slightly annoying that I will only have half a day in the city unlike the full day in Munich...but eh. After the match it will be straight back on the coach on back in London around 7am Thursday morning.

And all this with a lovely cold that Stokerina handed me at the weekend. ¬_¬ But my tonsils have been little troopers and hopefully it won't go into full flow and make whoever sits next to me on the coach hate my guts.

Amsterdam, Amsterdam, we are coming!

[Colly]

Benfica should buy him a Nandos.

[brenchill]

David Luiz: "Last year's final, was me eating beef. This year is the same appetite, but I eat chicken"

Isn't chicken more expensive than beef?

What a weird analogy.

[stokeriño]

David Luiz: "Last year's final, was me eating beef. This year is the same appetite, but I eat chicken"

Isn't chicken more expensive than beef?

What a weird analogy.

Depends what kind of shitty beef you're eating. :/

[EddieG]

What a way with words the young lad has.

Tonight I'll be getting one of the last trains down to London with a view to getting on a Chelsea coach that leaves Earls Court at 3am and is scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam at midday (local time). Slightly annoying that I will only have half a day in the city unlike the full day in Munich...but eh. After the match it will be straight back on the coach on back in London around 7am Thursday morning.

And all this with a lovely cold that Stokerina handed me at the weekend. ¬_¬ But my tonsils have been little troopers and hopefully it won't go into full flow and make whoever sits next to me on the coach hate my guts.

Amsterdam, Amsterdam, we are coming!

Megabus from London - Amsterdam would've left at 9.30pm from Victoria and gotten to Amsterdam at 9am. For only 4 quid.

[stokeriño]

And would there have been a Megabus going back just as conveniently or would have I have had to find one of the massively overpriced and/or non-existent hotel rooms to add to my bill?

Plus, if I hadn't gone with the Thomas Cook travel package I probably wouldn't have got a match ticket. Swings and roundabouts...

[GoN_]

After what happened last Saturday I really needed a win here.

[stokeriño]

Benitez confirms that Hazard will not be available tomorrow. Terry will be assessed.

This is the team I'd put out, if neither were involved:

Cech

Azpilicueta - Ivanovic - Cahill - Cole

Luiz - Lampard

Ramires - Mata - Oscar

Torres

Although I could probably go either way on Oscar v Moses. The other would be an inevitable second half sub.

[GoN_]

Chelsea fans waxed lyrical last May that their Champions League triumph was written in the stars. Drama, luck, destiny, fortune - it all came together against Bayern Munich. On Wednesday they have the chance to taste continental glory for the second season running in the Europa League final. But for Benfica, their opposition at the Amsterdam ArenA, the clash represents a chance at reversing a curse and ending a barren spell in Europe that has dragged on for over half a century.

European trophies weren't always spoken about in wistful, nostalgic tones amongst theBenfiquistas. In 1959, the club poached Hungarian coach Bela Guttmann's from Porto, a decision which proved to be a stroke of genius.

His three-year tenure began with a league title which gave them access to the European Cup, a competition which remained in its infancy. Benfica stormed to the final, where they beat Barcelona 3-2 and ended Real Madrid's run of five wins in the first five tournaments.

Guttmann's charges, deploying the trainer's famous 4-2-4 system, scored 26 goals in nine games in that 1960-61 European adventure and racked up an equally impressive 22 goals in their Cup defence. The culmination was two second-half goals in the final from future striking legend Eusebio, who Guttmann signed up as an 18-year-old in 1960, in a 5-3 victory over Madrid at the Olympisch Stadion in Amsterdam.

But Benfica fans' euphoria came crashing down with a thud not long after. With five trophies in three years, Guttmann demanded a bumper pay packet but Benfica's board refused and theAguias' Hungarian hero left the old Estadio da Luz.

Guttmann was a journeyman by nature and coached 23 different clubs during a 40-year coaching career but his Benfica experience cut deep and his words behind closed doors have had the longest-lasting effect on his legacy. He allegedly fumed to the board: "Not in 100 years from now will Benfica win a European Cup."

While it is unclear whether Guttmann was referring specifically to the European Cup, 51 years down the line his words will have remained unbowed, his sentiment unbent and his curse in any European competition unbroken.

Benfica won 13 league titles in 14 years following his departure but European success eluded them, despite boasting Eusebio in attack and reaching three finals between 1963 and 1968.

The Portuguese club had two more chances in 1988 and 1990 to end the hoodoo but failed. In the latter final, Eusebio prayed at the late Guttmann's grave ahead of their match with AC Milan but it was to no avail as the Aquias lost 1-0 to continue their plight.

Benfica have reached the final of lesser European competitions just once since 1962 - a 1983 Uefa Cup defeat to Anderlecht - but Wednesday's showpiece represents a seventh chance to break Guttmann's curse just after its halfway point.

Of course, other factors have played their part in Benfica's woes. Club owners who spout cash have so far avoided the Primeira Division. TheAguias have also had to survive on the European stage in recent years via scouting from South America due to top homegrown players seeking their fortune abroad, in stark contrast to Benfica's 1962 victory when every player was Portuguese. Likewise, the change in format in European competitions has ensured more hurdles for league champions of lesser countries, as three or four top teams from giant leagues have been thrown into the mix.

Finishing third in the group stage of their 2012-13 Champions League campaign saw them relegated to the Europa League. However, Jorge Jesus' side have lit up the competition and swatted aside four tricky opponents to reach May's climax.

Jesus is no publicity magnet like Guttmann but he has grafted his way up the Portuguese coaching ladder to earn his place on the Estadio da Luz bench. He has a host of talented players at his disposal, too. Nemanja Matic has been sublime in midfield this season, Nicolas Gaitan will be key in the playmaker role that he effortlessly owns, and, in attack, Lima and Oscar Cardozo are expected to cause Chelsea problems.

The wind is not in Benfica's sails, however. Defeat to Porto on Saturday saw them concede top spot with just one game left this season. Jesus will have to work astutely to restore positivity after such a critical blow.

Could Benfica's success finally be written in the stars, though? The final is being played in Amsterdam - the same city that 51 years ago hosted the Eagles' last triumph on continental turf - while it is half a century since their 1963 final defeat at Wembley, where Uefa's flagship club event is being held again on May 25. Jorge Jesus said this week: "Benfica created a name for themselves in the 1960s and 1970s. It hasn't been the same in recent years but we've rediscovered our lustre, some of our old prestige."

Most fans of the Portuguese club won't pilgrimage to Guttmann's grave, but expect many to be whispering a silent prayer on Wednesday hoping that the coach's curse will finally end.

A nice text from goal.com about "The Curse".

Edited May 15, 2013 by GoN_

[Matt]

Heard a few people complain that the stadium is too small but I don't really understand why. I mean they can't predict that someone like chelsea would have got there, if they'd got a 70000 seater stadium they could have ended up with 10000 empty seats if a smaller club got to the final which would look poor

[Colly]

How big is the ground? Even Boro sold out their allocation when they got there, once you factor in sponsors, officials, tickets for locals etc there's never a huge amount to sell to actual fans.

[Adam]

I am rally hoping Benfica win tonight but if Chelsea do win, I'll be happy for Benitez.

[Matt]

55000 i think. I'm fairly sure that the Europa league/UEFA cup final doesn't always sell out when it has these size of grounds. It's only because English fans travel well that we tend to sell out our allocations.

[DavidMarrio]

I really want Rafa to win especially after all the shit the Chelsea fans have given him since he has been in charge, but saying that I hope Benfica win because its Chelsea.

Its a good sized stadium for the Europa league final, most of the finals that have took place in recent years have had capacities ranging from about 37,000 up to 52,000 depending on the stadium size. Nice ground too, went on a tour around it when I was in Amsterdam a few months ago.

[Colly]

55,000 sounds about right to be honest, just a pain when all the corporate seats get taken out of it.

[MDK]

David Luiz: "Last year's final, was me eating beef. This year is the same appetite, but I eat chicken"

Isn't chicken more expensive than beef?

What a weird analogy.

Depends what kind of shitty beef you're eating. :/

Chicken more expensive than beef? What crazy world is this?

Tesco value beef, maybe.

[Colly]

Yeah, that had me more incredulous than a Nerf post.

[Nerf]

My posts are unbelievable?

[MDK]

If beef was cheap I'd be having beef in my home made kebab instead of 81p cooking bacon.

No slight against the bacon, its delicious.