Aaron Cresswell was proud to captain West Ham United in the Club’s first-ever fixture played in Florida - the Hammers’ 3-1 Stateside Cup defeat by Wolverhampton Wanderers - and to meet the American members of the Claret and Blue Army.
The Irons took on their Premier League rivals at EverBank Stadium in Jacksonville on Saturday, where the game was delayed by over two hours by a severe storm that flooded the pitch and had supporters running for cover.
Thunder and lightning overhead and soggy conditions underfoot saw the match pushed back to 9.05pm local time, but despite the late start, it was still hot and humid as Cresswell led his team out of the tunnel.
For the 34-year-old, who has played all over the world in Claret and Blue, it was an evening unlike any he had experienced in his ten-plus years with West Ham.
“It wasn’t ideal or what we wanted but these things happen and they’re out of our control,” he told West Ham TV, referring to the incredible weather he and his teammates had to deal with and adapt to.
“It was a ‘Code Blue’ with the lightning, which meant we had to stay under cover, but we had plenty of time to warm up behind the scenes and it was good to get 45 minutes in the tank.”
Cresswell was part of the squad which visited Seattle, Washington and Cary, North Carolina, in 2016, and visited Florida earlier this summer with his family, and the No3 knows how much passion there is for the Club on the other side of the Atlantic.
“We came up to Jacksonville on Friday and we had an open training session and met plenty of the fans who have come from all over America, which is great to see,” he continued. “It’s a great turnout considering the weather today, so to see them was fantastic.”
While meeting supporters was a bonus, Cresswell knows hard work is the primary reason West Ham are in Florida, and he is getting used to the methods employed by new Head Coach Julen Lopetegui and his staff in pre-season.
“It’s been tough and it’s been different, it’s been really intense, but the boys are loving it,” he observed. “There have been some tough moments with a lot of double sessions, but that’s what we needed and that’s what we want, and it’s all about being ready for Aston Villa in the first game of the season, and it’s not too far away.”
West Ham will train in Tampa this coming week before taking on Crystal Palace in the second of two Stateside Cup games at Raymond James Stadium, home of the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, on Saturday 3 August at 7pm EDT.
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