The Europa League Final took place this year in Bucharest, Romania on May 9, 2012, at the National Arena Stadium. National Arena was built in 2o11 on the site of Lia Manoliu Stadium, an old structure that existed since 1953. The National Arena was inaugurated on 10th Aug. 2011. It has a maximum capacity of 63.000 places, the VIPs have at their disposal 3600 places and press between 364 and 584 places. The stadium facilities are 360 restrooms, a retractable roof, 3.600 parking places, its surface measures 2.800 m2.

Celebrities present at this event were:

  • the Romanian former professional tennis player, one of the world’s top players in 1970 Ilie Nastase
  • the former Romanian football player Gheorghe Hagi
  • Pierluigi Collina, a former Italian football referee and member of the UEFA Referees Committee
  • Gheorghe Popescu a former captain of F.C Barcelona
  • the manager of the Spanish National Football team
  • the president of the Union of Europa Football Associations Michel Francois Platini
  • Gabriel Balint, a former football player who won the European Cup in 1986
  • Miodrag Belodedici the ambassador of the Europa League Final in Bucharest
  • Sorin Oprescu mayor of Bucharest
  • Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta
  • Prince Felipe de Asturias, succesor of the throne of Spain

The first supporters began to enter the stadium at 18:45 P.M, 3 hours before the game started. Players who started the game were:

Atletico Madrid: Curtois-Juanfran, Godin, Joao Miranda, Felipe Luis-Mario Suarez, Gabi-Diego, Adrian, Ardo Juran-Falcao, coach:Diego Simeone

Athletico Bilbao: Iraizoz-Iravola, Javi Martinez, Amorebieta, Aurtenexte-Herrera, Iturraspe, De Marcos-Susaeta, Munian Llorente, coach: Marcelo Bulsa.

The two teams came onto the field around 21:00 P.M, about 5.000 Romanian and Spanish fans watched Europa League Final on huge screens installed in the square of The Constitution Market. Six subway stations have held the name of former football players.

For the second time in history, Atletico Madrid has won Europa League. The goals were scored by Falcao in minutes ‘7 and ’34 and by Diego in minute ’85. Falcao came into the square, returned a quarterback, and scored from 11 meters, right side, in the long corner. Falcao scored the second goal from 11 meters after Arda Turan centered the ball recovered from a lost ball of Amorebieta. Diego scored the last goal of the match after a personal action from 40 meters away from the Athletico gate, he scored from 11 meters in the long corner. The game was disrupted for a short time in minute 19 when two supporters entered the field and ran until close to the square of the Atletico Madrid team located on the opposite side.

At the end of the game football players of the Athletico Bilbao team Ikar Muniain, Fernando Llorente, and Ibai Gomez cried. Football players of Atletico Madrid received the Europa League Cup from UEFA president Michel Platini in a ceremony that took place after the final. The first honored players were the ones from Athletico Bilbao, they passed through a column of two rows of football players from Atletico and received medals from the UEFA president Michel Platini. The first member of the winning team that has been awarded was Diego Simeone who was congratulated by Sorin Oprescu and Prince Felipe de Asturia, successor of the throne of Spain.