The Professionals 
Roy Hodgson spoke proudly of his Team’s performance on Thursday night following Fulham’s historic victory over Wolfsburg in Germany.
“I thought we were very disciplined and solid,” said Hodgson during his post-match press conference. “I thought the shape of the Team remained good throughout the game. I thought that our passing for long periods was also very good and we moved the ball well.
“We created a lot of chances in both halves and towards the end we had some good chances to put the game to bed, which we weren’t able to take. Again, I thought the back four and the goalkeeper were very steady and we had the advantage of the early goal, which took some of the pressure off.
“By scoring the early goal they had to score two at least. I thought it was a very professional and solid performance by the Team and I’m very proud of their performance and very happy for them.
“It was nice to get the early goal and it was a very good move. It was excellent combination play through midfield and Bobby was very cool and collected in taking the chance."
Fulham will now play Hamburg in the Semi-Finals and Hodgson knows what a stern test his Team face when they battle for a place in the Final of the Europa League in just a few weeks' time.
“All my thoughts have been focused on this game in the Quarter-Final to try and get through to the Semi-Final. We’ve now got a couple of weeks to do our scouting and we know that Hamburg will be a very good team.
“We know how strong the Bundesliga is and we saw that last night with Bayern Munich. The standard is very high and the players are very good and we will be facing, yet again, a very arduous task if we’re to reach the Final.
“The great thing is we’re in the Semi-Final and we have that chance.”
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Hungry For More 
Zoltan Gera summed up the feeling of immense pride amongst the squad after the Team etched a new chapter in Fulham’s history books by reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League with a 3-1 aggregate win over German champions VfL Wolfsburg.
“It’s a great achievement for us and the Club,” he enthused. “I think tonight we played perfectly - we did everything right, from the ‘keeper to Bobby, and fully deserved the result after a very professional performance from the Team.”
Zolly helped set the Whites on the way in glorious fashion when he unlocked the home defence after just 22 seconds, playing the through ball to Bobby Zamora to score a well needed goal and get the night off to the perfect start.
“We talked about scoring early, especially after watching the game last night between Manchester United and Bayern Munich,” he explained. “That was a good example of how to start a game – although not such a great finish by them. We knew it was important to come here and score a goal, and in the end it proved to be enough.”
But having taken the lead so early, there was still 90 minutes to play against a very good home side who would certainly fight back with a vengeance. However, immense displays by Fulham players all over the pitch ensured that the hosts were not only frustrated by their inability to breach the Whites' defence, but also kept on the back foot by determined advances from the visiting forward line.
“We knew before the game that we had to put in a big performance, in defence, and going forward,” said the Hungarian. “Wolfsburg have good strikers who can score lots of goals and I think it was a very big achievement to keep a clean sheet away from home against them. It was a very professional performance by us and I’m very proud to be in this team.”
And having reached the semi-final, where they will face Hamburg in a fortnight’s time, Zolly says he and his team-mates are more determined than ever to reach the final of the competition, which will also be held in the German city.
“It’s very, very good to be in the last four,” he said. “We’ve beaten the last winners Shakhtar Donetsk, we’ve beaten Juventus and now Wolfsburg the German champions, so already we’ve achieved a lot in this tournament.
“But we’re still hungry, and we want to play two times in Hamburg’s stadium, then who knows what we might achieve.”
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Captain's Pride Speaking after Fulham's magnificent victory over Wolfsburg in the Quarter-Final of the UEFA Europa League, Captain Danny Murphy was clearly proud of the Team's achievements.
"It's just a fantastic adventure that we're on at the moment and last night was another wonderful part of that journey," he told fulhamfc.com. "There have been so many great nights to think back on and that was one of them. It was a good performance and going through means everything. To actually be at this stage of the competition is above and beyond so many people's expectations.
"We saw the pleasure it brought the supporters and equally it brings the same pleasure to the players and staff because we've been fighting against the odds the whole time in this competition. To be where we are is a credit to everyone - it's been a squad effort in the Europa League this season."
Murphy, as usual, helped control the direction and pace of Fulham's play through another influential midfield performance - and he was eager to clear up any confusion which may have arose as a result of his throwing of the captain's armband.
"I've read and been told that the throwing of the armband was to do with some annoyance at myself or someone else, which is completely untrue," he explained. "The simple fact is that the armband I have to wear in Europe is ridiculously huge and I have to tape it on my arm. But the tape had come off and the armband wouldn't stay on. So instead of throwing it in the middle of the pitch, I waited until I was near one of the goals and just threw it behind.
"I take very seriously my role as captain and would never be so disrespectful to my team-mates or the supporters to be throwing the armband in disgust or anger. I certainly wouldn't want anyone thinking it was disrespectful."
With a place in the Semi-Final now secured, Murphy is looking forward to leading the players out on another historic European night.
"The semi-final is something we're really looking forward to," he said. "There was disappointment around the camp when we lost out on the opportunity to progress in the FA Cup. The Europa League is the one thing we have left and to have beaten the teams we've beaten so far is remarkable.
"We've knocked out the holders Shakhtar Donetsk, who I thought were a terrific side, Juventus who are one of the big forces in Italy and we've just knocked out the German champions. So the fans have a lot to be proud about and that's what we aim to do when we go out on the pitch. Now that we've come this far, we truly believe that we can go on and win it."
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Бенитес желает в финале Лиги Европы встретиться с "Фулхэмом" 
Главный тренер "Ливерпуля" Рафаэль Бенитес после крупной победы над "Бенфикой" со счетом 4:1 похвалил своих подопечных, но отметил, что это была не лучшая игра команды в сезоне.
Наставник пожелал встретиться в финале Лиги Европы с "Фулхэмом".
После поражения в Лиссабоне неделю назад (2:1) "красные" были обязаны побеждать дома. Именно с таким настроем они выходили на домашний матч. Счет был открыт уже на 27 минуте, когда Дирк Кейт сыграл головой при подаче углового. Вскоре Лукас Лейва продолжил начатое, реализовав выход один на один с голкипером.
Во втором тайме Фернандо Торрес оформил дубль, а между его двумя голами успел отличиться нападающий "Бенфики" Оскар Кардосо, реализовавший штрафной удар. Мяч, забитый гостями, внес определенные сомнения в игру "Ливерпуля", но подопечные Бенитеса все же выстояли и завоевали путевку в полуфинал турнира.
В 1/2 Лиги Европы мерсисайдцам предстоит поспорить с мадридским "Атлетико", бывшим клубом Торреса. Бенитес считает, что в нынешнем сезоне его команда играла и лучше, нежели сегодня. Тренер выразил надежду, что "Ливерпулю" удастся дойти до финала и сыграть там против "Фулхэма", который также пробился в следующий раунд Лиги Европы.
Бенитес в интервью официальному веб-сайту клуба сообщил:
"Не думаю, что это был наш лучший матч в сезоне. Игра получилась очень хорошей. Может быть, потому что другая команда была сильна, а мы забили 4 гола, вы и назовете эту игру фантастической, но я думаю, что у нас были матчи и лучше с точки зрения владения мячом и инициативой. Тем не менее, мы очень рады, что так хорошо сыграли".
"Каждая отдельная победа очень важна на данной стадии турнира. Надеюсь, в дальнейшем мы будем играть еще лучше, продолжим забивать, и болельщики будут очень рады, если мы сумеем приблизиться к четверке Премьер-Лиги и, может быть, выйдем в финал Лиги Европы".
"Надеюсь, мы сможем дойти до финала. Хотелось бы увидеть там дуэль двух английских команд".
Добавим, что уже в ближайший уик-энд у Бенитеса будет возможность провести репетицию в преддверии желанного финала Лиги Европы. В рамках очередного тура Премьер-Лиги в гости к "Ливерпулю" на "Энфилд" пожалует, как раз, "Фулхэм".
მიმაგრებული სურათი
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ფულჰემი, F. F. C. FULHAM (II ნაწილი)
