Sporting Lisbon faces Athletic Bilbao, while Atletico Madrid hosts Valencia Thursday when the all-Iberian Peninsula semifinals of the Europa League kick off.
An all-Spanish final remains a realistic prospect even though Oguchi Onyewu’s Sporting is riding an 8-0-0 home winning streak since Ricardo Sa Pinto took charge of the team in February. The former Portuguese international has sparked a revival for the Lisbon team that saw them eliminate both Manchester City and Metalist Kharkiv in previous rounds.
Athletic, however, comes into the semifinal as one of Europe's hottest teams. Under Marcelo Bielsa, and sparked by a three-headed attack that features emerging star Iker Muniain, Athletic swept Manchester United aside before eliminating Schalke in the quarterfinals. Perhaps not a good omen for the Portuguese Thursday night, In both cases, Athletic won the first leg on the road in both instances.
Sporting has not been in a European semifinal since 2005, and comes into this one as the underdog Their attack has been led by Ricky van Wolfswinkel and midfielder Matias Fernandez. But questions about the tie revolve around the defense's ability to put the clamps on a Bilbao attack that is both free-flowing and fast.
Muniain is joined by Markael Susaeta and Fernando Llorente up front, forming a trio that always seems to be able to fashion chances. The success of Bielsa's approach, centered on strict attention to detail in match preparation, has also earned Athletic a spot in the Spanish Cup final.
Bielsa though, was quick to praise Sporting Lisbon’s ability in attack. "This is a big challenge but as glib as it sounds, all matches are important for us; equally important," Bielsa pointed out in a press conference. "All matches stir me, no matter who they are against. When the day comes that I am not enthused for a game it would concern me, but that is yet to happen."
Bielsa also believes that Sporting provides difficult tests to his Bilbao side. "It will be a different challenge but like United and Schalke, Sporting are an industrious side," he said. "There is a perception that they do not take the initiative quite so much, that we will have free rein to attack, but I am not so sure."
In the other clash, The all-Spanish affair features a pair of longtime rivals, and may ultimately turn on the fact that Valencia will host the return leg next week. Unai Emery's side, paced by Roberto Soldado and Jonas up front, will look to contain Atletico's Madrid Radamel Falcao in the opener at the Vicente Calderon. That’ same approach dusted Jozy Altidore’s AZ Alkmaar in the quarterfinals.
Soldado scored the only goal in the first La Liga meeting between the teams this season, while Valencia played out a 0-0 draw in the Vicente Calderon in the regular season rematch. No doubt that ‘Los Che’settle for the same this time.
Atletico, under former Argentine international Diego Simeone, will look to its Brazilian midfielder, Diego, to create something for Falcao (who is the second leading scorer in this year's Europa League). With eight goals, Falcao trails Schalke's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (11) with the Dutch international's campaign already finished.
