Alphonse Areola is used to silverware.
The goalkeeper has made a career of winning competitions, lifting trophies and adding medals to his extensive collection.
The 30-year-old has already won five league titles, claimed across Ligue 1 and La Liga, and 13 other domestic cups between his time with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid also.
Throw in a FIFA World Cup winner’s medal, secured in 2018 with France, and the shot-stopper is one of the most decorated active players in Europe.
One thing eluded Areola though. Or, at least, it had up until June 2023. Areola had never lifted a European trophy with a club before. It was an honour the shot-stopper was becoming increasingly desperate to add. A wrong he was eager to rectify. A missing piece in his career puzzle.
That dream became a reality in Prague when West Ham United won the UEFA Europa Conference League. Areola’s own efforts, not just in the final but throughout the whole competition, make that medal one of his most special he has earned.
Not that Areola is winding down. On the contrary, success on the continental stage with the Hammers is only encouraging the No23 in the hunt for even more success.
It has been a strong start to the season for the Irons, one that has already seen the team secure a place in the UEFA Europa League knockout rounds in 2024, challenge the Premier League’s very top sides, and reach the Carabao Cup quarter-finals.
That success and drive, according to Areola, comes down to a bond in the team that cannot be broken, nor beaten. A spirit that pushes the entire squad to be even better, gain the big results, and claim even more glory for themselves and the Club...
We have started the season very well. We’ve done really well in Europe and in the Premier League as well.
We’ve got 30 points so far and I think, this season, we’ve done really well after winning the UEFA Europa Conference League final last season.
In football, nothing is certain or done. You have to compete every single day, both on the pitch and on the training ground. I’ve always said that, as a player, you can only give the best you can. The most important thing is always the team and the results we can get.
You saw it last season when we won the European trophy, and just how happy the whole squad was. Everyone was happy to be involved, in that regard, and it shows just how important the team spirit is.
The UEFA Europa Conference League trophy is very special to me.
When I signed here, the first thing I heard from the Club and the manager was that the team wanted to compete in Europe, and that was what showed me this was where I wanted to be. I wanted to try and win trophies, and I was able to do that last year, which made me very happy.
As goalkeepers, you get used to the situation that only one of you can play.
You are sharing one spot in the team but we are all professionals. We all have our experiences and our titles we’ve won, but we all have to put our talents into helping the team.
As I say, the team is the most important. You all want to play, of course, but football requires everyone in the team to be pulling together.
I think I’ve shown in games that I’m reliable. If you’re not ready for games, not ready in your head or not good with your feet then you’re not going to stop the goals. That’s the most important thing for a footballer.
Looking back at the start of the season, it felt like things just happened naturally.
The two seasons I played here before this one, we had a European goalkeeper and a Premier League goalkeeper.
Just before our first Premier League game, the manager decided to put me in the team. We have to compete and give our best because, if I’m not ready or in form, then Łukasz [Fabiański] is here to push me and try to take that place. It’s the same for him as well and we try to make each other better.
We want to do well in every single competition.
When you’re a competitor, you just want to win titles. I have been lucky in my career because I’ve won a lot of trophies and titles, and I’m so proud of all of them.
Every time you play, you want to give everything you can to reach that feeling. You want to celebrate those winning moments with your teammates, your friends, the fans, and everyone at the Club.
We’ve shown in the last couple of years we can compete in every tournament. We reached the semi-finals of the Europa League, won the Europa Conference League, and now we’re into the knockout rounds of the Europa League again. We need to be ready for that.
In the other competitions, we just want to keep performing and get as far as we can.
I fell in love with London when I first came here with my wife.
We had been together a year, and I was playing for RC Lens on loan, and we came here for the weekend. It was only a couple of hours for us on the train. She always said London was the best city and we visited all the attractions across two days.
I fell in love with the city so, when West Ham signed me, that came with confidence in my ability and the stability I wanted in my life.
West Ham has given me a permanent home. I’ve been looking for it for quite a long time. Especially for my girls. I have three daughters and we wanted to be settled somewhere, and West Ham United and London became an option. When I heard about the interest, I knew it was a perfect fit and I was 100 per cent interested in the move.
West Ham is such an ambitious Club.
I’ve seen exactly what the Club told me when I joined, every single day I come in, for the last three years.
West Ham has really grown up and the reputation of the Club in Europe is huge. It’s great to be part of and it’s wonderful to be part of the history of the Club.
I think the Club has grown really quickly. We’re now one of the best teams in Europe. We went on an incredible unbeaten run in Europe, and we’ve only lost once in a long time in European competition too, and that shows just how far we’ve come.
We want to be in Europe and competing for these trophies.
I started watching football in 1998 and, of course, France won the World Cup that year.
Zinedine Zidane was the hero and, of course, there was Fabien Barthez in goal, and players like Lilian Thuram too.
That was the first football shirt I owned, that France national team shirt, and then 20 years later I found myself on the same stage. I didn’t play but, as I’ve said, football is a team game. It’s about the team spirit and I was just so proud to be part of that squad.
It was amazing. I nearly cried. It was so emotional because I watched my country lift the World Cup and then, 20 years later, I got to do the same thing!
