But Roy Hodgson remains the real hero of the hour.

But Roy Hodgson remains the real hero of the hour. He rather resembles an English coach of the '30s or '50s, having dragged his suitcase of coaching manuals around eight countries. Should Fabio Capello call it a day now, he would appear an inspired choice to replace him.

Into his seventh decade, Hodgson has distilled a simple football philosophy which has guided one of the Premier League's poorer teams into a European final for the first time. Fulham, that cosy little club by the Thames no-one has a bad word to say about.

Like Odysseus, he has led his warriors on an odyssey play bazaar through many trials, the last of which is tonight, before he can bring them home with their booty.

Possible lineups:Fulham - Schwarzer; Pantsil, Hangeland, Hughes, Konchesky, Davies, Murphy, Etuhu, Duff, Gera, Zamora

Atletico - De Gea, Valera, Dominguez, Perea, Antonio Lopez, Reyes, Assuncao, Raul Garcia, Simao, Aguero, Forlan

(c) Sean O'Conor & Soccerphile