2012 UEFA Europa League final
All-Spanish final won 3–0 by Atlético Madrid.
The 2012 UEFA Europa League Final was the championship match of the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League, played on 9 May 2012 at the Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania. It was contested between two Spanish clubs, Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao, with Atlético Madrid winning 3–0. Radamel Falcao scored twice and was named man of the match, becoming the first player to win back-to-back Europa League titles with different teams.
Quick Facts
- Event
- 2011–12 UEFA Europa League
- Date
- 9 May 2012
- Stadium
- Arena Națională
- City
- Bucharest
- Referee
- Wolfgang Stark (Germany)
- Attendance
- 52,347
- Weather
- Cloudy night / 11 °C / 51.8 °F; 83% humidity
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- The Arena Națională was announced as the venue on 30 January 2010, and this was the first final of a European club competition hosted by Romania.
- The stadium opened on 6 September 2011 with a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier between Romania and France.
- The winners earned the right to play Chelsea, the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League winners, in the 2012 UEFA Super Cup.
Background
This marked the second year in a row that the Europa League final featured two clubs from the same country, and it was the ninth such all-national final in the history of the competition and its predecessor, the UEFA Cup. The only other all-Spanish final in UEFA’s second-tier club tournament was the 2007 UEFA Cup Final, where Sevilla beat Espanyol. That 2007 match was also the most recent final before 2019 in which both participants reached the final without having been eliminated from the Champions League earlier in the season.
Each side had one prior appearance in a Europa League or UEFA Cup final. Atlético Madrid won the first final after the tournament’s rebranding in 2010, defeating Fulham 2–1 in extra time. Athletic Bilbao lost the 1977 final to Juventus on away goals after a 2–2 aggregate score. The two clubs had never faced each other in European competition, but they had met in three Copa del Rey finals, with Athletic Bilbao winning two and Atlético Madrid one.
During the 2011–12 La Liga season, Athletic Bilbao won their home match 3–0, while Atlético Madrid won their home match 2–1. Following a loss to Udinese on 20 October 2011, Atlético Madrid went undefeated through their next 11 matches, a European record, winning all remaining group games and all four knockout ties home and away to reach the final.
Pre-match
The final's ticket allocation gave 9,000 to each competing team for their fans. Local supporters bought 20,000 tickets, and 3,000 more were sold globally via UEFA.com, priced from 100 to 500 RON. The rest went to the local committee, UEFA's 53 associations, and partners. Former Romanian player Miodrag Belodedici was the final's ambassador.
More in Spanish Football Clubs in International Competitions
Spotted an error? Know more?
Reader corrections go straight into our review queue. Suggest an edit · How this site is sourced