The match was played on 9 May 2012 at the Arena Națională in Bucharest, Romania,[5][6] and was contested between two Spanish sides – Atlético Madrid and Athletic Bilbao.

[7][8] In doing so, Falcao was named man of the match, and became the first player to win back-to-back Europa League titles with different teams.

This was the second consecutive Europa League final contested by two teams from the same nation, and the ninth time overall (including UEFA Cup).

Atlético Madrid won the first Europa League final after its renaming in 2010, beating Fulham 2–1 after extra time.

The remaining tickets are allocated to the local organising committee, UEFA's 53 national football associations, and commercial and broadcast partners.