The biggest game of my life

Wed May 12 07:53

I have played domestic and European finals for Liverpool, I have represented my country and been involved in a relegation dogfight, but tonight's Europa League final is the biggest game of my career.

It is certainly the biggest in the club's history, and I am extremely proud to be leading out the lads in Hamburg. It is a responsibility that I take very seriously and I relish the role of Fulham captain. 

As I have mentioned the fans have been a major driving force behind our success in the Europa League and Premier League. They become our twelfth man, and their vocality is fantastic every time we step onto the pitch. Despite only having a limited ticket allocation, which is obviously a big disappointment for a lot of fans, the fans that are present are sure to make their presence felt which will hopefully give us the momentum we need to see the game through. It has been a great run for us this season in the competition and we are so close now to rewarding the fans with exactly what their support deserves.

It would have been interesting to have played Liverpool in the final, but we prefer the challenge of taking on Atletico Madrid. Liverpool are traditionally very strong in finals and it would have been a real challenge for us to take them on, and also we play Liverpool twice a season in the Premier League. The challenge we face from Atletico is a very different proposition.

Atletico Madrid are a very strong side packed with attacking talent. They have match-winners all over the pitch. The likes of Diego Forlan, Simao and Sergio Aguero will pose a threat and the key is that we don't let them settle into their game plan early. In order to combat their attacking threat, we are going to have to be very tight and compact and then look to hurt them on the break. It was a little disappointing that the Premier League didn't move our last game against Arsenal, but it is understandable that they wanted all the games played at the same time.

Naturally, we take confidence from the fact that we have beaten some very strong sides to get to this stage in the competition, and the final is all to play for! We are confident we can end our season with a Europa League win which will cap a great effort from all our players, staff and fans.