Fantastic:

He is ‘The Special One.’ No, not Josć Mourinho, although his achievements at Inter merit consideration – I’m referring to Fulham manager Roy Hodgson. The Cottagers’ league position is nothing to shout about. Carlo Ancelotti has won the Premier League in his first season and may win the FA Cup too – a feat never achieved in the era of the Premiership. Harry Redknapp has broken the Big Four’s monopoly on Champion’s League qualification, but his peers recognised that there was only one man who deserved their recognition – Roy Hodgson.

“If we get to a comfortable position in the league this year after doing so well in Europe and in the FA Cup then I think I’ll probably be comparing this season with last season, albeit we may not finish as high in the league” Hodgson said after beating the last UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk at home. That turned out to be typical Hodgson understatement. It is beyond doubt that this is Fulham’s best ever season whether they beat Atlćtico de Madrid in Hamburg on Wednesday night or not.

Phenomenal:

The European run was phenomenal and led to calls for Hodgson to be honoured. Simon Davies – an unsung hero of Fulham’s season – led the calls after scoring a sublime goal to cancel out Mladan Petrić’s fantastic free-kick. Zoltán Gera scored the scrappy winner that vanquished Hamburg and send Fulham to Germany to contest their first European final. Hodgson also got the best out of the enigmatic Bobby Zamora.

Nobody talked about the Fulham striker as an England player when he struggled to impress at Tottenham Hotspur or even during five years at West Ham, but Hodgson has forced critics to eat their words. Fabio Capello had to keep tabs on Zamora’s progress, but the striker missed out on the thirty-man pre-squad announced by the Italian today.

Despite the disappointment, Zamora has had a fantastic season and, but for injury might have made the final thirty. The Fulham forward is no doubt where the credit for Fulham’s remarkable season lays – Roy Hodgson. “He’s got to be in line,” said Zamora. “He’s taken this club from almost relegation to a European final in two seasons. It’s unheard of.”

Fulham’s players were not alone in appreciating the achievements of Hodgson and his team. Sir Alex Ferguson, Arsène Wenger, Harry Redknapp and Sam Alardyce do not agree on much collectively, but Hodgson’s achievements united them. The Fulham manager deserved the Manager of the Year award. The League Managers Association voted Hodgson their Manager of the Year and rightly so. Hodgson joined the Cottagers with relegation a mere formality.

“When I came I was hoping we could avoid relegation and we managed to do that on the last day,” said Norwegian colossus Brede Hangeland. “It’s just been a fantastic journey to be part of, to reach the final I think that’s really something. It’s a great achievement by a small club by English and European standards to reach the final and it’s something we’re really proud of.”

Priorities:

Having achieved the miracle of survival against the odds, Hodgson quietly consolidated the Cottagers’ position in the Premier League. From staving off relegation Hodgson improved their position to such an extent that Fulham qualified for the inaugural Europa League – some turnaround.

When Fulham set out on the European odyssey back in July against FK Vetra, Hodgson was blunt – it wasn’t a priority. They wanted to win and go as far as they could, but the Premier League was the priority. Juggling priorities was difficult with a squad depleted by injury and nobody looked too far ahead.

One of Fulham’s most improved players this season is the Hungarian international Zoltán Gera. He scored the winning goal that eased Fulham past Hamburg and into the final. “To be honest we were happy to be in the Europa League, just to play against good teams in Europe,” said Gera.

They achieved the goal of league survival and gradually changed priorities during the season. The Europa League started as the least of them. Hodgson had other priorities – league survival, improving their position, the FA Cup – but success came in Europe. “We’ve gone all the way,” said Bobby Zamora. “What’s the point in going out there not thinking you want to win it? It would be stupid, so we’re going to go out and give it our all.”

The unlikely run began last July and will end in Germany tomorrow night, so how did Fulham defy conventional logic and reach the final? “When we played we think about feeling to be in last eight and to be honest we didn’t play with pressure, because it was a big game,” said Gera. “If we win the game we’d be in the final, so we didn’t play with pressure. Maybe that’s why we are in the final now. It was the most important I ever play for Fulham – not just Fulham, for my whole career, so I’m very happy. I’m very proud.”

So how did it feel to be part of that historic march to the first Europa League final? “Oh unbelievable,” said Fulham’s Nigerian international midfielder Dickson Etuhu. “Like a dream come true. We didn’t expect to get so far, but with luck and hard work, we’re there. Everybody’s excited. The whole place is going crazy. We’ve worked hard to get here, so let’s just enjoy the moment.”