Even though the Cup Winners’ Cup was a third-tier competition, the 100,000 viewers didn’t seem to mind. Those who follow the Premier League elite may look at the devotion of West Ham fans with amazement laced with mockery. The club’s supporters, though, don’t appear to care what other people think.
This season, only seven English teams-West Ham included-had a chance to go to a European championship game. Even though the Europa Conference League is the third-tier league in Europe, nobody cares? Certainly not the hundreds of Hammers supporters who have traveled to Prague for tonight’s final, many of whom are without tickets.
Since only Manchester City and West Ham have a realistic chance of winning a coveted European championship this year, get ready for a general fever pitch. In 1965, the European Cup Winners’ Cup was also the third-tier competition in Europe, but the 100,000 spectators who packed Wembley Stadium to watch West Ham defeat 1860 Munich 2-0, with both goals coming from Alan Sealey, didn’t care about it.
Being a local fan back then was natural since you could walk to games if money was tight and you were born just a few yards from Stratford Station. But on that May day in 1958, I had saved enough money to pay for a train ticket to Wembley so I could see Bobby Moore start the Hammers’ match against 1860 Munich.
West Ham was named Team of the Year at the BBC Sportsview Awards as a result of the wonderful game and appropriate ending. Years later, when asked to choose the finest game of his career, Moore chose this match above the World Cup Final a year later. “We had all come up through the ranks together,” he explained. “It was like winning the cup with your high school team.”
Craig Dawson Breaks His Silence As West Ham Today Goes To The Europa Conference League Final
Prior to tonight’s Europa League final between West Ham United and Fiorentina, Craig Dawson has spoken out. Tonight in Prague is the Europa Conference League final between West Ham and Fiorentina, and Craig Dawson seems to be supporting his former team.
David Moyes, the manager of the Hammers, is on the verge of creating history tonight. Fans and players alike are certainly rooting for hammers to win the title. It appears that someone outside of the club is also hoping for this to happen.
The centre-back spoke exclusively to the Daily Mail about his January switch from West Ham to Wolves. And Dawson wishes his old club the best of luck in tonight’s Conference League final. He says, “I just hope they do it, win it and achieve something special together. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t wish I could be in Prague to cheer on the lads. Instead I’ll be glued to my television screen at home with my football-mad son who will be trying to stay up and watch it! It was sad to leave. Very, very sad.
He fruther added, “I loved every minute of my time at West Ham. But the opportunity came to come to a historic club in Wolves and it was the right time for me to move home with my family. It’s crazy, West Ham fans are everywhere. There are so many of them. When I signed, I knew it was a big club, with a big history, with a big fanbase, but you don’t realise how massive it is until you’re in that bubble.”
He was a great player for the Hammers and is obviously a great man. I wish him well in all of his future pursuits, and I appreciate that he did the same for the Hammers. Huge Craig Dawson also deserves a medal if West Ham wins tonight’s Europa Conference League final.
