West Ham is on the verge of making history 58 years after the last European victory.
West Ham vs. Fiorentina – Europa Conference League final: Hammers on the cusp of making history 58 years after the last European victory.
West Ham are preparing for their first major European final since 1976, and they are hoping to win their first trophy since the FA Cup 43 years ago; the Hammers meet Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final in Prague on Wednesday night.
As the season comes to a close, it’s fitting that the ultimate chapter of West Ham’s story has yet to be written – even though the match in question is their first European final in more than two generations.
Their season has already been full of stark contrasts, with them fighting for Premier League survival while cruising through Europe for the second year in a row.
Purgatory extends from top to bottom. There has even been discussion of David Moyes willingly leaving the club depending on the outcome of Wednesday’s Europa League final against Fiorentina in Prague, though the Hammers boss has since indicated he intends to stay.
Underneath such possible highs and lows is an undercurrent of optimism and hope that this West Ham squad, which has delivered on the continent time and again over the last nine months, can produce one last push.
Moyes was even asked before West Ham flew out to the Czech Republic if this squad would be honored with a statue similar to the one unveiled only two years ago in memory of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst, and Martin Peters’ contributions to West Ham’s last taste of European glory, the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965.
Even before the biggest night in Hammersmith’s recent history, the 60-year-old emphasized the significance of looking at the big picture to see how far the club has progressed since his return in 2019.
“I’m not sure if you told anyone in that period that we’d finish sixth and seventh in the Premier League, get to a semi-final of a European competition, and then get to the final of a European competition,” he remarked. If you’d said it to them before we came in, I’m sure they’d say no, that’s not true.
