1) An all-Spanish affair
Most people expected an all-Spanish affair final on the European stage this season, but few would have predicted it to come in the form of the Europa League final between Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.
Due to the fact that Barcelona and Real Madrid appeared to be almost unstoppable with their exploits throughout the season, and with the way things were spanning out everyone and everything pointed to a Champions League final between the Spanish powerhouses.
However, to the shock of clearly a great percentage of the world's soccer lovers, both sides bowed out of European soccer's biggest club competition after rather astonishing circumstances.
The good news is that we still have an all-Spanish final to look forward to, even if it is rather low-key when compared to what could have been a Champions League showdown between Barca and Real, arguably the two most storied club sides on the planet. Moving on to Wednesday's final, it still brings together two good sides, which have seen their fortunes change dramatically since they hired Argentine coaches, one with a great reputation, and the other with plenty to prove.
2) Argentine masterminds face-to-face
Believe it or not, Marcelo Bielsa was Diego Simeone's coach with the Argentine national team between 1998 and 2002. In fact, Simeone made his final appearance with Los Albicelestes when they suffered a devastating 1-0 defeat to England in the 2002 World Cup.
Ten years on, the two meet once again, but on opposite teams. While the two have met once in La Liga this season, with Atletico claiming a narrow 2-1 victory in March (with two goals from Falcao), it is difficult to predict who will come out on top this time around, particularly because it is almost impossible to predict the outcome of any final. But one thing's for sure, if both coaches employ their usual tactics, it will surely be an open contest and perhaps could even end up being high-s
coring.
When taking into account the styles both coaches prefer to adopt, 4-2-3-1 formations, one can only notice the similarities between them. They both stress the importance for an aggressive-approach, constant pressuring, fast non-stop soccer and intense pressure up front.
While Bielsa can be considered a mastermind, perhaps Simeone can't just yet, but what he has accomplished with Atletico so far clearly indicates that he has the potential to become a top coach in the near future. Perhaps by winning the title he could alert the likes of former clubs Lazio, Inter Milan or even the Argentine national team.
3) A date with destiny
With several strong teams, such as Manchester United, Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto, Udinese, Valencia, Sevilla, Roma and Schalke having participated in the 2011-12 Europa League, pitting together Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao in the final perhaps would have surprised a few. But both teams have proved that they are worthy finalists, after putting on extremely impressive performances en route to the final.
While both will be looking to hear from their own individual plaudits following the final, the fact that two Spanish clubs are up against each other in a European final is definitely good news for the league, and it's even better news that neither does it involve Barcelona or Real Madrid (Barca or Real have won the last eight Spanish leagues).
Historically, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao are the second and third most successful teams in Spain, with nine and eight championships, respectively. But while Atletico's last title triumph came in 1995-96, Bilbao's came way back in 1983-84.
But if other Spanish clubs follow the footsteps of Atletico and Athletic, in making a stand in Europe, perhaps the domination of the big-two, both in the local and international fronts could possibly be broken, or at least threatened. A significantly more competitive Spanish league would surely be welcomed by any soccer fan.
4) Record-breaker Falcao
If there's one player who is likely to make an impact in the final, it would have to be Colombian striker Radamel Falcao Garcia. The Atletico scoring-machine, who was incidentally coached by Simeone during his time at River Plate, leads the Europa League scoring charts with ten goals, and has been much of the reason why Los Colchoneros have reached this instance, particularly for the goals he scored in the decisive knock-out stages.
Falcao, 26, will be hoping to make it two Europa League titles in a row, after it was his goal that gave his former club FC a 1-0 victory over Sporting Braga in last year's final. Falcao finished as the top-scorer of the competition with a record-breaking 17 goals. Will he be able to repeat the feat with Atletico in Bucharest on Wednesday?
5) Will history be made?
Athletic Bilbao will have the rare opportunity to win their first ever European competition against Madrid, after having faltered in their only other finals appearance, when way back in 1977 they were beaten by Juventus over two legs for the UEFA Cup. The Basques know that they will possibly have to wait several more years to find themselves within touching distance of a major club trophy, and because of this will play their hearts out in Romania.
For Atletico, on the other hand, this will be their eighth major European finals appearance, with their last coming in 2010 when they beat Fulham 2-1 in the first edition of the Europa League, courtesy of a double-strike from Diego Forlan.
