West Ham’s road to Conference League glory
West Ham’s journey to that unforgettable night in Prague began nine months earlier. Here we take a look back at the entire run to the trophy:
— greenstreethammers.com/2023/06/14/west-ham-conference-league-glory/
The Final ▶️ Behind the scenes
A moment in time
…forever etched into history!
David Moyes staying on as West Ham manager
Moyes was among those given a hero’s welcome back to east London following West Ham’s triumph in the Europa Conference League last Wednesday securing the club its first trophy since 1980. However in the background, he had been debating whether the time was right to leave on a high, the Mail writes.
But David Moyes now has made his decision to stay on as West Ham manager, Mail Sport reports. Moyes, 60, will enter into the final year of his contract after holding talks with the club’s co-owner David Sullivan.
It was a challenging season for Moyes, who was close to the sack on three occasions due to their dire form in the Premier League. Sources say that was hard on the Scot, adding that he was tempted to move back to the North West to be closer to family.
However, this is out of discussion now, and rightly so. David Moyes has absolutely merited to stay after leading West Ham to European glory and Europa League qualification for another year running.
MCI 1 INT 0
ManCity, Champions of Europe
Istanbul, Ataturk Stadium! Three days after West Ham beating Fiorentina and winning the Conference League, Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City have won the Champions League for the first time and completed their league, FA Cup and European Cup treble.
They came up against formidable opposition in the form of Inter Milan but have prevailed thanks to Rodri’s second-half strike. Fittingly enough, it was the most Manchester City-under-Pep style goal that you will ever see.
Italy had three teams in the European finals, but the Italian clubs lost all three of them. AS Roma came close to winning the Europa League final, but drew 1-1 aet, and then José Mourinho’s team lost out to FC Sevilla in the penalty shoot-out. Fiorentina was beaten by West Ham that won the game 2-1 with a 90th minute strike (Jarrod Bowen).
Rodri got the only goal of the Champions League final (68’), while City’s goalkeeper Ederson pulled off two stunning saves at the death to repel Inter as they went in search of a late equaliser. The Brazilian had looked off his game earlier in the evening but really came up trumps when it mattered.
City have now joined Manchester United which have been the first club to win the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup in the same season. The latter did so in 1998-99 with Sir Alex Ferguson at the Helm when they beat Bayern Munich in the famous final of Barcelona, scoring two goals within injury team and winning this final in much more dramatic fashion than City have done 2023. In the Premier League of 1998-99 United was one point ahead of Arsenal (with West Ham Utd finishing fifth in one of their best seasons in the Premier League, by the way) and the FA Cup 1999 was won by ManUtd with 2-0 against Newcastle (goals: Sheringham, Scholes). Guardialo said that Sir Alex sent him a message of congratulation and that it was a great honour to be alongside the Manchester Utd legend. Guardiola himself has now won two “trebles”, the first coming in 2009 with FC Barcelona.
If one would like to compare the English trebles of City and United, according to The Telegraph, “City are the greater team, but United’s treble was better”. United would always have been the first.
Boris Johnson Resigns
Boris Johnson stood down as an MP yesterday. He quitted the Commons after an investigation found that he misled parliament over “partygate”, the Downing Street covid parties scandal.
▶️ Sky news: “From journalist to PM”: a look back at Boris Johnson’s career
⚒ WHU Victory Parade 🏆
Review: Victory Parade ▶️ best bits
Behind the scenes ▶️https://youtube
Route of the open top bus parade:
West Ham’s victory parade started at the site of their old home at Upton Park. They travelled to Stratford Town Hall through the streets of east London along the following route:
From the Champions statue along Barking Road
Greengate Street
High Street, E13
Plaistow Road
West Ham Lane to the rear of Stratford Town Hall, where Declan Rice presented the European Cup to the supporters.
Moyes like never before
▶️twitter.com/WestHam/status/1666717195907264520
▶️https://youtu.be/Q9fudh7JTg0
They have won the Cup
Extended highlights ▶️ WHU ⚒
West Ham win UEFA Europa Conference League ▶️ Tube Station
West Ham win Conference League
It was the moment when fortune stopped hiding, when Lucas Paquetá slid Jarrod Bowen through. It was the moment when Bowen kept his footing and his composure, took a touch with his right, two with his left and in the 90th minute of the game ended 43 years of hurt for West Ham United.
Amazing and unbelievable: West Ham have won the UEFA Conference League beating Fiorentina 2-1 in the final in Prague!
Final !!!
The day has come: on Wednesday West Ham play in their first major European final in 47 years and could win an other European Cup tonight, 58 years after their win of the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965 and 43 years on from their last trophy, the FA Cup 1980.
When West Ham won their only European Cup back in May 1965 with a 2-0 win over 1860 München, more than 97,000 supporters were inside Wembley Stadium for the final. The Hammers won 2-0 thanks to a brace from Alan Sealey.
Brian Dear was one of the players who were on the pitch that night and he will be in the stadium in Prague on Wednesday when a new generation of West Ham players will attempt to emulate the heroes of 1965.
Comparing the current West Ham side with the boys of 1965 is to see how much the footballing world has changed. All 11 members of Ron Greenwood’s side of 1965 were English, and nine of them were homegrown players from the club’s academy. Despite West Ham’s Club captain Declan Rice having come through West Ham’s “Academy of Football” which he joined as a 14-year-old, these times are long gone. The current squad consists of players from at least twelve or maybe even more different nationalities. However, three key players of the possible starting XI, Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, will be English – or more or less though, because Rice who was born in London played some games for the Irish team because of his grand parents being Irish, before switching his allegiance to England, and Michail Antonio now has seven caps for the Jamaican team since last year as he has decided to get a Jamaican passport and join the reggae boys to play internationally.
“I would love them to win it,” former European Cup winner Dear said of Wednesday’s Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina, talking to The Telegraph. “We had our day and we are still living off it. Hopefully they will be able to do the same thing, in a different stadium and a different era.”
The venue of this year’s final, the Eden Arena in Prague, is really a “different stadium” and the attendance will be much smaller than in 1965 as the stadium of Slavia Praha (the former club of West Ham players Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal) holds under 20,000 seats.
It could easily have been filled with the travelling West Ham support alone. Reportedly more than twenty thousand have made the trip to Prague despite the Club having been allocated just 5000 tickets. Also my application for a ticket was not successful and I am staying back in Vienna. However, a big group of Austrian Irons has already touched down in Prague, albeit without match tickets. They have sent videos and photos showing that already on the day before the final, “West Ham are massive” was sung without ceasing in the Czech capital.
To channelize the surge of supporters a “Fan Meeting Point” for the West Ham fans has been established at Letná Park on the so-called “Kleinseite” of the Czech capital. This venue is open from 12 noon on Wednesday for pre-match celebrations with live entertainment, food and drinks to enjoy, and a public viewing of the match will be shown on multiple LED screens there for all Hammers supporters who are in Prague on matchday but have not got tickets for the game. From the Fan Meeting Point, the metro line A can be taken to the Eden Arena, but it is also possible to walk downhill.
As well as for West Ham, this final is an epoch-making event for their Italian opponents. Fiorentina are a historic club in Italy, but they have won much less than other clubs: two Scudetti, six Italian Cups, one Italian Super Cup a Cup Winners’ Cup, back in 1961, and a Mitropa Cup in 1965. The last trophy won was in 2001, a Coppa Italia. In this respect, they resemble West Ham, who won their only European competition in 1965 (the summer Intertoto Cup of 1999 does not count). The American owner of Fiorentina dreams of winning his first trophy after four years in Florence. Fiorentina lost this year’s Italian Cup final 1-2 to Inter Milan despite going ahead in the 3rd minute, and risk not to be qualified for Europe if they don’t win the Conference League final, also resembling West Ham in this regard.
The Telegraph writes that the final will be very tactical: “Fiorentina know that West Ham in Europe turn from Dr Jekyll to Mr Hyde, so they have the perception that it will be a very difficult game. At the same time Fiorentina play only one way, based on intensity and ball possession. They cannot change. It often produces more possession than goals. The defence are prone to individual mistakes in every game: everything will depend on the ability of the West Ham strikers to exploit them.”
So there’s hope that the Hammers will rise to the occasion and go all way to win the final, but it will be a tough contest in Prague, that’s for sure. After 43 years of hurt in which the Hammers have not won a major trophy, is it possible that Declan Rice tonight will become the first Hammers captain since Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds to lift a Cup and end the long wait for silverware?
“There’s a chance to create a legacy where everyone involved will be remembered for ever,” Rice said.
West Ham manager David Moyes who has twice saved the Irons from relegation and then qualified for Europe in two consecutive seasons would be only the third West Ham manager who has won mayor trophies, following Ron Greenwood and John Lyall. He then would be named together with these West Ham legends, though he had to fear to be sacked just two months ago because of West Ham‘s dismal Premier League campaign. But he saved his job with a 1-0 away win at Fulham by the beginning of April, a 2-2 draw with Arsenal, a 4-0 away victory at Bournemouth and finally a 1-0 win at London Stadium against Manchester United.
Kick-off is at 9 p.m. I will watch the game at the “Tube Station” in Vienna, home of the Austrian supporters club, “Austrian Irons”. I’m sure it will be packed despite many of the guests who usually watch West Ham’s games here will not be in tonight, having travelled to be there in Prague together with more than 20,000 supporters when their beloved Hammers try to make history.
Just this once let’s hope fortune is not always hiding! Come on you Irons!
EXTRA TIME 
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