Supporting Fulham For The Final

Tonight is the Europa League Final in Hamburg, between Fulham and Atletico Madrid. I will be getting behind the English club this evening, hoping for a Fulham win. I've had a bit of a soft spot for The Cottagers for a couple of years now. I love Craven Cottage; there is something about small, rustic stadiums that appeal to me. Fulham's kit is pretty nice too, much nicer than that other London club that play in white. It was a couple of years ago that Fulham really gained my appreciation.

In November 2008 I was studying for a presentation I had to give in my history class about 19th century sport in London. I sent out emails to every club in the city, hoping they could help me in any way possible, particularly if I could meet a representative from the club face to face for a chat. My boys at Arsenal came through for me of course, gave me a tour around their museum and that season's yearbook for free. But practically every other club ignored me, especially the scum at Chelsea and Spurs - all except Fulham. They sent me an email back saying unfortunately they could not arrange a face to face meetup, due to their busy schedule (understandable), but they could answer any questions I had or help me in any other way possible. They also chucked in one of their media guides for that season, completely free of charge, which I felt was a really nice touch, and I've admired them ever since.

Fulham have had quite a sensational journey to the Final, especially THAT game at home against Juventus, in which they came from being 4-1 behind on aggregate to win it 5-4. I just hope Roy Hodgson and his men can get the win tonight, and lift that trophy at the end. It's easily Fulham's most important game in their history, and their fans are loving it I'm sure. I'd also like to see Bobby Zamora get a goal or two, and show a certain Mr Capello that he is crazy to have left Bobby out of the initial 30 man England squad for the World Cup. Zamora has been in fantastic form this season, and has quickly become Fulham's talismanic hero, especially in their European run. He is a slight fitness doubt tonight, but I hope he's 100% as Bobby is great to watch when he's firing on all cylinders.

I'll just leave you a little reminder of how dangerous this Fulham side can be. And how can you not love Dempsey's chip?

Thanks for reading.