http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11681_6123910,00.htmlHodgson hails Euro heroesCottagers boss delighted with run to final
Fulham manager Roy Hodgson believes a place in the Europa League final marks an amazing journey from the brink of the abyss for his club. The Cottagers defeated Hamburg 2-1 in London in their semi-final second leg on Thursday night to book a trip to their German opponents' home ground on 12th May for a showdown with Atletico Madrid, who defeated Liverpool on away goals.
For Fulham, goals from Simon Davies and Zoltan Gera, which cancelled out Mladen Petric's stunning free-kick, offer time in the spotlight after years in the shadow of London neighbours Chelsea.
Hodgson, a strong contender for the Manager of the Season, also acknowledges a major turnaround in fortunes at Craven Cottage after guiding the club to a last day escape from Premier League relegation in 2008.
"This club has had some bad times and we've looked into the abyss once or twice," said the former Inter Milan and Switzerland boss, who has seen his side eliminate Shakhtar Donetsk, Juventus and Wolfsburg in the knockout rounds.
"Everyone is proud that we're about to start our 10th Premier League season.
"And to have reached a Europa League final - and I don't care if you're Fulham or one of the top four - is an outstanding achievement. That will be recognised by everyone.
Glory"I can only enjoy the moment and make sure that the glory on the players is not deflected elsewhere.
"We're in the final because we've played very, very well throughout and knocked out some very difficult teams, not least Hamburg.
"It's been a wonderful journey that I'm really proud of. The team have produced better football than we're entitled to ask of them."
Hodgson hailed the character his side showed after staging a spirited second-half fightback in their 59th match of a campaign that started in July.
"It was a great performance because it would have been so easy for us to lose our heads after the great goal they scored," he said.
"I thought we were good value for our victory and the character of this team has been proved time and time again.
"Normally success softens you and makes you less determined but that hasn't been the case with this team throughout this season.
"It's been an amazingly long season yet watching the players run around in the second half it didn't look as though we'd played 59 games this season."
MonizInterim Hamburg coach Ricardo Moniz had no complaints with the result.
"We just didn't do what we needed. We needed to go forward more," he said. "When we were 1-0 up I told the team to get the ball to the wingers but they couldn't.
"It's a sad evening for us. We lost the game and didn't do well enough and that's that."