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The 2011 UEFA Europa League Final was a football match played on 18 May 2011 at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland (temporarily renamed "Dublin Arena" by UEFA, due to sponsorship obligations), which decided the winner of the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League. The 40th final of the formerly known UEFA Cup, and second under the new UEFA Europa League designation, was an all-Portuguese meeting between Porto and Braga, for the first time.

The match ended with a 1–0 victory to Porto, which secured their second UEFA Cup trophy, after a successful last presence in this competition in 2003. Colombian striker Radamel Falcao was named man of the match after he scored the winning goal, which raised his tally to a tournament record of 17 goals, and further cemented his 2010–11 UEFA Europa League top scorer status.

As winners, Porto will play against FC Barcelona in the 2011 UEFA Super Cup, to be held on 26 August 2011 at the Stade Louis II in Monaco.

Porto
Having won the Portuguese league in the previous four seasons, Porto finished the 2009–10 Primeira Liga in third place and thus missed qualification for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League. It was the first time that Porto did not qualify for the UEFA Champions League since the 2002–03 season, when they entered (and won) the UEFA Cup. As 2009–10 Portuguese Cup winners, Porto were given direct entry in the 2010–11 UEFA Europa League play-off round, where they were drawn against Belgian side Genk. The Portuguese all but secured their presence in the group stage with a 3–0 away win, which was confirmed one week later in the return leg, as Porto stamped a 4–2 victory with a hat-trick from Hulk. For the group stage, Porto were allocated into group L together with Beşiktaş, CSKA Sofia, and Rapid Vienna. On the first matchday, Porto played hosts to the Austrians and inflicted them a 3–0 defeat. Two weeks later, Porto travelled to Bulgaria for the first time in UEFA competitions. Playing at the Vasil Levski National Stadium, CSKA Sofia were not able to cancel out an early goal by Radamel Falcao and avoid defeat. On 21 October 2010, Porto faced Beşiktaş at the BJK İnönü Stadium for the second time after they first met during the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage. Falcao opened the score on the 27th minute but saw his team mate Maicon receive a red card just before half-time. Hulk extended Porto's lead in the second half with two more goals, raising his competition tally to five. Again, just before the final whistle, Fernando was sent off and the Turkish team's two-man advantage came into effect as Beşiktaş netted a consolation goal on the 92nd minute. The teams met again at the Estádio do Dragão on the fourth matchday, and a Porto win would ensure them a place in the next round. The Portuguese took the lead in the 36th minute when Falcao converted a penalty kick. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Cristian Rodríguez was booked for the second time and sent off, and as in Istambul, Beşiktaş profited from the numerical advantage as Nihat Kahveci leveled the score. This draw interrupted a run of five straight victories for Porto but was enough to make them progress. Porto returned to the venue that consecrated them as European champions in 1987 to face Rapid Vienna. Under heavy snowfall, Rapid scored first but Porto soon equalised through Falcao, who scored for the fourth consecutive match. In the dying minutes, the Colombian striker completed a hat-trick to secure Porto as group winners, and become the competition's top goalscorer with seven. In the last matchday, Porto welcomed CSKA Sofia and showed their intention of ending the group stage unbeaten by taking the lead on the 22nd minute, through Nicolás Otamendi. CSKA responded just after the break with a goal from Spas Delev, but Porto soon restored the lead, courtesy of Rúben Micael. James Rodríguez increased it in added time, after Falcao missed his chance from the penalty spot.

The draw for the round of 32 placed group J runners-up and 2006 and 2007 UEFA Cup winners Sevilla in Porto's path, with the first leg at the Andalusian capital. In Seville, Porto took the lead fourteen minutes into the second half, as Rolando deviated James Rodríguez's free-kick past Andrés Palop. Porto's celebrations lasted eight minutes when Kanouté successfully headed a set-piece from Ivan Rakitić. Four minutes remaining, a defensive error by Federico Fazio put the ball between Cristian Rodríguez and Palop; as the keeper collided with Rodríguez, the ball bounced to Fredy Guarín, who slotted it and secured an important away win for Porto. The second leg in Portugal showed a Porto side dominating the first half but failing to convert their opportunities. After the break, Porto maintained dominance but on the 70th minute, substitute Fabiano put Sevilla in the lead; one minute later, Álvaro Pereira was sent off, leaving Porto with ten men while the Spanish increased their pace. Pressure was relieved a few minutes later as Sevilla was also reduced to ten with the dismissal of Alexis. Both sides created chances but the match would end with the first European defeat for Porto in ten matches, but enough to make the team progress on away goals.

In the round of 16, Porto met the 2005 UEFA Cup winners CSKA Moscow. The first leg was played in Moscow at the Luzhniki Stadium and Guarín's 70th minute goal was the highlight of a balanced match in which the goalkeepers showed their skills. The return leg began well for Porto as Hulk scored within the first minute from a set-piece. On the 24th minute, a misunderstanding between Ignashevich and keeper Akinfeev provided James Rodríguez with a cross for Guarín to strike his second goal against CSKA Moscow in two matches. Five minutes later, Zoran Tošić reduced the gap by scoring CSKA's first goal against Porto in six encounters, but Porto held on to assure the win and a place in the quarter-finals.

The draw for the quarter-finals decided Porto would face another Russian team, Spartak Moscow. Hosting the first leg, Porto were all but assured of qualification to the semi-finals, following a heavy 5–1 defeat of the Muscovites. Falcao returned to goals in high fashion as he produced his second hat-trick in the competition. Varela netted Porto's second, while Kirill Kombarov ammended an own-goal with Spartak's goal of honor. Back at the Luzhniki Stadium, Porto gave a repeat of their first leg performance by overcoming Spartak 5–2. Hulk and Cristian Rodríguez put Porto 2–0 up just before the break. Porto struck again after restart, as Guarin registered his third goal in as many matches. Artem Dzyuba made the first for the hosts but Falcao quickly canceled it by heading Porto's fourth. Spartak pulled a goal back but Rúben Micael restored the goal difference with a minute to go. Porto advanced to the semi-finals with a 10–3 aggregate, the largest winning margin in the quarter-finals of UEFA's second club competition.

The last obstacle before the final was called Villarreal. This tie would pit the competition's top two goalscorers: Falcao (11 goals) and Giuseppe Rossi (10 goals). Villarreal visited Porto in the first leg and were the first to score. Just before half-time, Cani materialized the Spanish team's first-half dominance by heading Nilmar's cross past Helton. A few minutes into the second half, Falcao was fouled inside the box and converted the equaliser. An uplifted home side pressed Villarreal, and in the 61st minute, Guarín completed the turnaround. Falcao achieved his third Europa League hat-trick to put Porto 4–1 up, and in the final minute, he went one further to seal a 5–1 victory. The Colombian's first-ever poker allowed him to increase his lead in the goalscorer ranking to 15 goals. At the El Madrigal, Villarreal needed four goals to progress and they made a good start when Cani corresponded successfully to a cross in the 17th minute. However, five minutes before the break, Spanish hopes were dashed as Mateo Musacchio deviated Hulk's shot into his own goal. Three minutes into the second half, Falcao struck Porto's second, elevating his tally to a competition record of 16 goals—one more than Bayern Munich's Jürgen Klinsmann in the 1995–96 UEFA Cup. Villarreal kept playing for their pride and managed to secure a win with two goals in the last fifteen minutes by Capdevila and Rossi. Despite their second defeat, Porto booked a place in the final seven years after their last European conquest.

Braga
Braga, on the other hand, finished the Portuguese league with an historical second place, which allowed the team to participate in the UEFA Champions League for the first time.

Braga reached the group stage by successively knocking out more highly regarded opponents, such as Celtic and Sevilla, in the second and third qualifying rounds, respectively. The club concluded the group stage in third place, behind Shakhtar Donetsk and Arsenal and was therefore relegated into the UEFA Europa League round of 32.

Build-up
The qualification of Porto and Braga to the UEFA Europa League decisive match ensured it would be the first all-Portuguese final in UEFA competitions, and only the second-ever European tie between Portuguese teams, after the semifinal meeting between Braga and Benfica. Even so, it would be the eighth time that two teams from the same national football assocation were featured in a UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League final. Having 47.4 km separating the cities of Porto and Braga, this final would also break the record for the smallest distance separating finalists of a UEFA competition. The previous record was 83.8 km, set at the 1988 UEFA Super Cup between PSV Eindhoven of the Netherlands and KV Mechelen of Belgium.

Porto secured its presence in a major UEFA competition final for the fifth time, after victorious campaigns at the 1986–87 European Cup (2–1 against Bayern Munich), 2002–03 UEFA Cup (3–2 against Celtic) and 2003–04 UEFA Champions League (3–0 against Monaco), and a runner-up place in the 1984 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final against Juventus (lost 1–2). The club also competed three times in the UEFA Super Cup—won in 1987 (2–0, in aggregate, against Ajax) and lost in 2003 (0–1 against Milan) and 2004 (1–2 against Valencia)—and grabbed two European/South American Cup titles in 1987 (1–0 against Peñarol of Uruguay) and 2004 (0–0, 8–7 on penalties, against Once Caldas of Colombia).

Braga qualified for a UEFA competition final for the first time ever. Before reaching the Dublin final, the team's best European result was a place in the last 16 of the 2006–07 and 2008–09 UEFA Cup seasons. Participation in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup was achieved via the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup, where Braga was one of the eleven third-round winners. Having reached the furthest in the UEFA Cup, among the Intertoto Cup teams, Braga were considered the outright winners of the last edition of this competition. In contrast to the extended national and international curriculum of Porto, Braga had just one major title in their history: the 1966 Portuguese Cup.

Venue
The Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, was selected to host the final match of the 2011 UEFA Europa League, at a meeting of the UEFA Executive Committee, on 29 January 2009. A bid from the then under-construction Irish venue was put forward by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and Dublin's City Council. It had competition from Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, but as Wembley Stadium was picked to host the Champions League final, Arsenal's bid was ruled out on the grounds that UEFA does not allow the same country to host its two major competition finals in the same season. This selection confirmed that Ireland would host its first-ever European football club competition final.

The new 50,000 all-seater was built over the old Lansdowne Road stadium ground, with the purpose of continuing the latter's tradition as home of the Irish national rugby and football teams. Site demolition works began in late May 2007 and lasted two months. Erection of the infrastructure initiated in January 2009, and by October, the roof was fully installed; in the following month, construction of the pitch took place. The stadium was completed and handed over in April 2010 to the FAI and Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU). The ground was officially opened on 14 May 2010, and on 11 August 2010 hosted its first international football match, between the Republic of Ireland and Argentina.

On 12 February 2009, the naming rights for the new stadium were bought by the British multi-national insurance company Aviva, for a ten-year period. However, because UEFA sponsorship regulations forbid advertising of brands outside of the organization during competition matches, the venue would be referred as "Dublin Arena" during the final. Venue preparations for the final included the removal of every advertising and stadium branding elements unrelated with UEFA and its official sponsor partners. Stadium director Martin Murphy explained that the whole process was a "big operation", through which they had to "cover the signs on the stadium facade itself" and that "the three tiers [would] have Uefa [sic] branding across them, covering any existing sponsors." It also involved an increase in the number of media facilities and seats.

Visual identity
UEFA unveiled the visual identity of the 2011 UEFA Europa League final in a ceremony held on 30 November 2010 at Dublin's Convention Centre. Attending this event were delegates of the local civic authorities, Irish government and Football Association of Ireland. London-based brand agency Desigwerk was again awarded the task of conceiving the visual identity for a UEFA competition event, after the 2005 and 2007 UEFA Champions League finals and the UEFA Euro 2008. The Dublin Arena was depicted as the focal element of the logo design, as the stadium is "the ultimate destination for the fans on their journey", according to UEFA's head of club competitions Michael Heselschwerdt. He further explained that the visual identity contained "very clear and specific mentions and visual references to Dublin, to the Celtic setting and history, and to the local visual iconography".

Ticketing
Due to security reasons, the 50,000-seat Dublin Arena had its capacity reduced to 47,000 for the UEFA Europa League final. Ticket sales for the general public were carried out in two phases. The first phase was open exclusively for Irish residents from 16 December 2010 to 13 January 2011. Applications were submitted online to UEFA and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for a maximum of two tickets from one of the four available price categories. Validated requests were entered into a ballot to determine which applications would be allocated tickets; successful applicants were notified by 26 January and received the tickets by 25 April. FAI chief executive John Delaney revealed that 7,000 tickets were sold during this phase, from a total of 21,000 applications, and that an additional 3,000 tickets were already allocated to the FAI grassroots. On 21 February, a second phase was opened for the international public, and lasted until 21 March. First-phase procedures were also applied to the international ticket sales. Ticket ballot notifications were concluded by 31 March and tickets were delivered by 18 April.

Each finalist club was assigned 12,000 tickets, most of which from the lowest priced category. Porto requested their full share, which they sold to annual seat-owner club members, during an initial phase, and then to the remaining club membership. Braga did not make complete use of their portion, returning a part of their alloted tickets.

Ambassador
Former Republic of Ireland and Liverpool midfielder Ronnie Whelan was presented by UEFA as the ambassador for the Dublin 2011 UEFA Europa League final, during the draw for the competition's group stage, held on 27 August 2010 at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco. Arriving at the Merseyside club in 1979, Whelan became an important piece of the 1980s Liverpool team, winning six English titles, two FA Cups and three League Cups, as well as the 1984 European Cup. He helped the Republic of Ireland reach the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship, its first major international tournament; he was also in the squads that qualified Ireland to the 1990 and 1994 FIFA World Cups.

Trophy handover and tour
The UEFA Europa League trophy was handed over by UEFA to the city of Dublin, in a ceremony held on 19 April 2011, at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham. During the event that marked the one-month countdown to the 2011 UEFA Europa League final, UEFA president Michel Platini entrusted the cup to Gerry Breen, Lord Mayor of Dublin, so that it would go into public display throughout the Irish capital until the day of the final. Representatives from Atlético Madrid, the first Europa League winners—namely president Enrique Cerezo, managing director Clemente Villaverde, and defender Álvaro Dominguez—; the FAI chief executive John Delaney, and the final ambassador Ronnie Whelan were also in attendance. Upon accepting the trophy, Breen stated that "Irish football fans have travelled the world supporting the Republic of Ireland but this is the first time that an event like this has come to our shores and this will be a major occasion for the city".

A trophy tour was set up so that the general public could see closely the award in various sites of Dublin, such as the General Post Office, the Dublin City Hall, and the recently built airport terminal 2.

Officials
The refereeing team for the 2011 UEFA Europa League final was provided by the Royal Spanish Football Federation and led by referee Carlos Velasco Carballo. Velasco Carballo began refereeing in the Spanish Primera División in 2004, and in April 2005 he was selected as the fourth official for three matches in the elite round of the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. In 2008, he was promoted to the FIFA list of international referees and refereed his first international matches in the elite qualification round of the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He took charge of his first UEFA Champions League qualifying match later that year, followed by another in the 2009–10 season, as well as six UEFA Europa League matches. In 2010–11, he refereed his first matches in the UEFA Champions League proper, including three group stage games and the first leg of the semifinal between Schalke 04 and Manchester United.

Velasco Carballo's refereeing team was all-Spanish: he was supported by assistant referees Roberto Alonso Fernández and Jesús Calvo Guadamuro on the touchlines, and Carlos Clos Gómez and Antonio Rubinos Pérez in the penalty areas, as well as fourth official David Fernández Borbolán and reserve assistant referee Juan Carlos Yuste Jiménez.

Team selection
Porto midfielder João Moutinho missed his team's final league match against Marítimo, following an injury in the previous game against Paços de Ferreira, but recovered in time to be included in André Villas-Boas's picks for the Europa League final. Brazilian players Hulk, Fernando, and goalkeeper Helton were also called by Villas-Boas after resting against Marítimo, in exchange for Polish keeper Paweł Kieszek and Argentine winger Mariano González, who were not inscribed in the Europa League. Among the players unfit to play in Dublin due more serious injuries or physical restraints were the Uruguayans Jorge Fucile (broken collarbone) and Cristian Rodríguez, as well as Portuguese leftback Emídio Rafael (broken fibula).

Braga's manager Domingos Paciência had no major physical impediments among his players. Despite pre-selected for the league match against Sporting, defenders Miguel Garcia and Rodríguez, and striker Paulo César were deemed unfit to play and were left out by caution. They were reintegrated in the group that was to play in Dublin.

Summary
Coming into this final once again as underdogs, Braga quickly showed signs of their intent as Custódio missed an early chance to goal with a wide shot from the right side of the penalty area. In response, on the 7th minute, Hulk jinked three Braga defenders and sent the ball inches away from the top-left corner. Soon after, Braga transitioned into a more defensive strategy, holding much of Porto's attacks. The rest of the first half was characterized by few opportunities and excessive tackling, until the 44th minute, when Porto broke the deadlock. A loose pass from Alberto Rodriguez allowed Fredy Guarín to recover the ball on the midfield and execute a perfect deep cross for unmarked Radamel Falcao to conclude with a header into the top left corner, out of reach for Braga's keeper Artur Moraes. This was Falcao's 17th goal in the competition, which further cemented his already confirmed 2010–11 UEFA Europa League top scorer status, and contributed for his pick as man of the match.

Paciência introduced Kaká and Mossoró into the game, right after half-time, and it took no time for the latter to create Braga's best opportunity to level the score. Stealing the ball from an unaware Rolando, he raced towards Helton only to see his shot defended by the keeper's legs. Braga began pressing Porto and substitute Meyong had a chance for goal on the 77th minute, but his shot at the edge of the box ended in Helton's hands. Porto continued holding off Braga's attempts and created more danger in counter-attacks, but the score would not change until the final whistle.

Statistics

 * First half


 * Second half


 * Overall