I'd never been to a major European final before so was delighted when I struck lucky in the UEFA ballot for this match between Chelsea and Benfica in Amsterdam. Something a bit different to my normal exploits! It would be extra special as an English team had reached the final, so this could be a good night for English football. The added bonus was that this was a new ground, taking me to 20 for 2012/13 and 12 for the 2013 calendar year thus far.
The UEFA Europa League (for those of you who don't know) is effectively the old UEFA cup but with a group stage at the start. The competition is massive, with 64 teams starting off in the competition proper, preceded by 4 qualifying rounds. We'd seen Liverpool earlier in the season in action in early qualifiers, before bowing out to Zenith in the last 32. There was some irony to the final tonight, with both finalists 'parachuted' into the competition from the Champions League group stage. Chelseas had overcome a tough Basle side in the semi-finals, whilst Benfica had defeated a strong Fenerbahce in the last 4. The game was to be a key one tonight, with Chelsea's Benitez chasing his last trophy chance, and the club aiming to be the first to hold the two major European trophies at the same time - with the all-German Champions League final taking place later in May.
Then, there is the sheer volume of teams involved. This has two effects - firstly the quality of football (particularly in those early rounds) is poor, and secondly, clubs have to play a ridiculous number of matches. Liverpool, qualifying via a League Cup win in 2011/12, had played 12 matches in reaching the last 32. This was Chelsea's 9th match in the competition, and 15th in Europe in total, in a frenetic season of nearly 70 matches (across no less than 8 competitions).
Some of the routes into the Europa League are bizarre to say the least. There is the UEFA Respect Fair play league, which gives 3 national associations places to award to the 'fairest' team, and obviously the Champions League parachute. This is of course in addition to the normal route of qualifying through league ranks in the previous year. While it has had a chequered history in recent years, the UEFA Cup has been a prestigious competition in the past. English winners include Tottenham, Ipswich and Liverpool, with the latter's wins paving the way for European Cup success. Recent years have seen many British runners-up - Celtic, Arsenal, Middlesborough, and Fulham. The competition certainly hadn't lost any of its lustre for the teams here tonight - this was very much a trophy worth fighting for.
I travelled across from Manchester to Amsterdam on the afternoon of the final - the plane ticket was more than I usually paid for travel, but worth it for a one-off event like this. The atmosphere in Amsterdam reminded me of Euro 2004, when I'd seen Czech Republic vs Denmark in the Quarter-Final in Porto, and had actually been in Lison on the day of the dramatic final between Greece and Portugal. There was plenty of chanting, banter and gathering in the central Amsterdam squares, with a jovial atmosphere building between the two sets of fans. This competition, for all its flaws, really did matter to these fans. As I made my way up to the ground on the local train, it became apparent that many fans had been enjoying the beers of Amsterdam, and were in the mood for a celebration - before a ball had been kicked!
Amsterdam Arena itself is home to Ajax, and also holds various concerts and other events. There is a large complex round the stadium with shop, bars and restaurants, with fans already starting to gather outside. I bought a programme (E7-50) and a pint-sized hamburger (E3-50), and headed to Gate G. This was apparently the 'neutral' section, but as I travelled up the escalator, it became pretty clear that nearly all fans were wearing the red colours of Benfica. Although I don't speak or understand Portuguese, I enjoyed the Benfica chant along to the tune of 'The Entertainer'! The escalators were encased in what looked like a tube, which with its bold colours, reminded me of the Pompidou Centre in Paris (though there is no football ground there I'm afraid). I then made the fateful decision to buy a cup of tea - and, for E1-50, I received a mug of hot water, a teabag and a sachet of powder milk - not as good as many non-league grounds in England, where at least the teabag is allowed to brew in the water. I sat in the neutral section in the upper tier, directly above the majority of the Benfica fans behind the goal. The 'neutral' section was made up mostly of Chelsea and Benfica fans, with only a handful of actual 'neutrals' like myself. Benfica fans came with great hope, but maybe not expectation - after all, they had not won a European final in 8 attempts.
The Portuguese team started more brightly, frequently carving open Chelsea open with intelligent passing, particularly from Perez and the Serbian Matic. On a couple of occasions, they took free kicks short when on the edge of the penalty box, wrong-footing the Chelsea defence in the process. For all their dominance, Benfica didn't really create many clear-cut chances or capitalise on their position - the best chance falling to number 7, who skewed a good chance over the cross-bar. The London team were definitely the weaker team, but still had flashes of chances. Ramires was agonisingly close to picking up a through ball from Mata, while Oscar and Lampard forced smart saves from the Benfica keeper.
The second half began more brightly for Chelsea, with the midfield getting hold of the ball more often. Benfica's 18 had a shot saved by Cech, but just on the hour mark, Chelsea took the lead - Torres latching onto a through-ball, before rounding the keeper and slotting home. Now that they'd taken the lead, I couldn't see anything but a Chelsea win, particularly with a coach as defensively astute as Benitez. However, the lead didn't last long, with a clear penalty for Benfica converted calmly by their highly-rated Cardozo. They finally had something to show for their first half dominance of the ball. Shortly after, Cardozo's flicked volley was saved by Cech, and suddenly it looked like the game had opened up again. Lampard rattled a post with a rasping drive, warning Benfica of Chelsea's attacking threat. It looked like this was heading for extra time until a late Mata corner was swung onto the head of Ivanovic at the back post, whose header looped across the keeper to put Chelsea ahead in injury time. Benefica hearts had been broken again, and again Chelsea had snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. The game (particularly the first half) was not a classic, but the atmosphere and sense of occasion and the fact it was an English win, meant this was a great game to get to. 23 Europa League matchdays starting in July 2012 had culminated in an English win in Amsterdam. It was also fair reward for Benitez, who had done a terrific job at Chelsea in difficult circumstances. What a way to end my run of cup finals in style!
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