Source: Team_Talk
Hodgson aims to emulate Sir Bobby
Roy Hodgson has his heart set on emulating Sir Bobby Robson by becoming the first English manager to lift a European trophy for 13 years.[LNB] Fulham hope to defy the odds one last time when they meet favourites Atletico Madrid in the final of the Europa League at the Hamburg Arena.[LNB]The last time an Englishman tasted success while guiding a club in European competition was in 1997 when Robson led Barcelona to glory in the Cup Winners Cup.[LNB]Ironically, Hodgson steered Inter Milan to the UEFA Cup final in the same year while Steve McClaren is the nation's only manager to reach the same stage since with Middlesbrough in 2006.[LNB]Hodgson, the newly-crowned League Managers' Association manager of the year, hopes he can follow in the steps of Robson, who passed away last year.[LNB]"To follow a manager like Bobby Robson would be fantastic because as you know, we were friends for many years," he said.[LNB]"He was a great man, a great manager and it would be very nice to think I could follow him."[LNB]It has been 25 years since an English manager won a European competition while in charge of an English club with Howard Kendall winning the Cup Winners Cup at Everton.[LNB]Hodgson, whose outstanding season has seen him linked with a move to Liverpool, offers a simple explanation for the lack of success.[LNB]"The best English teams don't have English managers and the best foreign teams don't have English managers," he said.[LNB]"Therefore, you're looking for an English manager to win a trophy with an unfancied team.[LNB]"If you're really serious about winning a title at this level, especially the Champions League, then you must make sure you're working for big clubs because it's not very often that teams like ours get to the final."[LNB]A Fulham triumph in the biggest match of the club's 131-year history would taste all the sweeter knowing they have done it the hard way.[LNB]Qualifying started 10 months ago and their astonishing march to the final has spanned 18 matches, including contests against Shakhtar Donetsk - the winners in the competition's previous guise as the UEFA Cup - German champions Wolfsburg and Italian giants Juventus.[LNB]Victory would also cap a special campaign for Hodgson, who has been showered with praise for his achievements at Fulham in his second spell in the Barclays Premier League.[LNB]"If we lose then I hope it means we've been beaten by a better team and not that we've been very unlucky or been hit by some decisions that are controversial," said Hodgson.[LNB]"At the moment we're planning not to be second best, we're planning to try and win the competition.[LNB]"Whatever happens it's been a very good season for us and we're determined to crown that season by winning the trophy."[LNB]Hodgson believes guiding Fulham to the Europa League final surpasses what he achieved at Inter Milan 13 years ago.[LNB]"I was very proud to get to that final with Inter but I'm even prouder to be here with Fulham because we were much less fancied in the tournament than Inter were in 1997," he said.[LNB]"Secondly we've had a tougher passage to the final. When I think back to the teams Inter eliminated along the way, they weren't the big names that we've beaten here.[LNB]"I'm hoping the bad memories of 1997 will be expunged by a good victory."
