Atletico’s Forlan fears giant-killers Fulham

Atletico Madrid’s Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan said his Spanish side must be wary of giant-killers Fulham with the sides set to meet in the Europa League final here on Wednesday.

The former Manchester United forward scored the crucial extra-time goal against Liverpool at Anfield a fortnight ago in the Europa League semi-final which booked the Spanish their Hamburg berth.

The Uruguay star is a self-proclaimed fan of English football, but says Fulham’s fluid attacking style, which saw them hammer Juventus 4-1 in the Last 16 round second leg clash, makes them dangerous.

“I watch the English league every weekend and English teams are tough,” said Forlan.

“Fulham have earned their place in the final, they’ve played some tough opponents.

“They play really good football, they like to play the ball and they are different from most other English teams.

“They have excellent players and are well organised.

“We have to see who will win, but we know it will be a very difficult game for us.”

Atletico have won both the Spanish league and cup nine times, but the last time they enjoyed silverware success was when they won the domestic double back in 1996.

They have won only one of their four previous European finals, the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup in 1962, and the Spaniards have done it the hard way this time in Europe, winning their last three ties on away goals.

They had a turbulent start to the season which culminated in their 4-0 defeat by Chelsea last October in the Champions League which led to the sacking of manager Abel Resino who was replaced by former Spain defender Quique Sanchez Flores.

Sanchez Flores has steered the side to ninth in the Spanish league and Forlan says the team have the perfect chance to bring a turbulent season to a successful close.

“We are a great club with a great history and we intend playing our part in a great final, but we don’t think about history as much as we think about playing well and winning,” said Forlan.

“We want to win before we think about history, we have the chance of bringing this up-and-down season to the perfect end.”

Having scored four Europa League goals this season, Forlan says winning the trophy is far more important than finding the back of the net here.

“Scoring goals at this stage is very nice, I will try and play my best game for the team, but at the end, it doesn’t matter who scores just that we win the trophy,” he said.