Having each worn the Claret & Blue in European competition down West Ham way, six former Hammers salute David Moyes’ class of 2023/24 ahead of Thursday night's UEFA Europa League quarter-final second leg against Bayer Leverkusen...
Striker Brian Dear lifted the European Cup Winners’ Cup following victory over Germany’s TSV Munich 1860 at Wembley in 1965...
These are exciting times for the Hammers and, just like in my day, it’s both good for the players and good for the fans, when you’re playing in Europe.
Every team in the top-flight wants to be there and it was no different in 1965, when I scored in both our Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-final ties against Lausanne (Switzerland) and then also netted against Real Zaragoza (Spain) to help us reach the final.
And after beating TSV Munich 1860 (2-0) on a fantastic night at Wembley, we also met another German side with some great players – Borussia Dortmund – as we made it to the semi-finals the following season, too.
Fast forward to last June and I was so chuffed that I was able to go to the Czech Republic to see the UEFA Europa Conference League victory over Fiorentina with my grandson, Alex.
I even got invited out onto the pitch, where I made sure that I dangled my treasured Omega watch in front of the television cameras to show everyone what the Club had presented to the players in recognition of us winning that trophy, 58 years earlier.
I’d also been invited to join singer and Hammers fan Chesney Hawkes on stage at the Fan Zone, where they asked me to drop-kick a signed football into the crowd. I may still look young but had to remind the compere that I was approaching my 80th birthday!
All in all, it was a brilliant trip and absolutely amazing to see another West Ham United team win a major European trophy after all those years.
Looking at tonight’s tie, Bayer Leverkusen are having a very good season but we came into the quarter-finals knowing exactly what to expect.
Even without Lucas Paquetá, we’ve still got excellent attacking players in Jarrod Bowen, Mohammed Kudus and Michail Antonio, who also makes a huge difference to the team with his sheer work-rate.
Over these past three seasons we’ve slowly got used to winning our home matches against our European opponents and despite last Thursday’s result, Bayer Leverkusen are certainly beatable.
I always fancy us to get a result at London Stadium.
After bagging an unforgettable goal that helped sink German visitors Eintracht Frankfurt in the last-four of the 1976 European Cup Winners’ Cup, striker Keith Robson then also struck in the final against Anderlecht…
English crowds are like no other. Standing in the tunnel at Upton Park ahead of the second-leg of our European Cup Winners’ Cup semi-final, those Eintracht Frankfurt lads looked scared. We could see the fear in the Germans’ faces and, with 39,202 saturated spectators packed inside the Boleyn Ground, could tell that they didn’t fancy going out there in all that wind and torrential rain.
Trailing from the first-leg (1-2) we won the Upton Park return 3-1 thanks to a double from our unstoppable man-of-the-match Trevor Brooking, who also set me up for my long-range curler, too. Many choose that as their greatest game and – 48 years on – I still can’t explain the emotions of an unbelievable East End evening.
We knew that we had to get at Frankfurt right from the very first whistle and we need to do the same again against Bayer Leverkusen, tonight. West Ham can certainly do that with the likes of Mohammed Kudus, (hopefully) Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio, who are all big threats.
Leverkusen may play in front of some big crowds in Germany at times but – to tell you the truth – it’ll be a totally different experience for them tonight with the roar of 62,500 fans at a sold-out London Stadium.
Once those West Ham United supporters get behind their team, there’s just nothing like it. The place is absolutely buzzing and, over these past few seasons, we’ve seen the place jumping on some big, European nights.
Look at last month’s return against SC Freiburg in the last 16, we were already losing (0-1) coming into the second-leg, while there were train strikes and an awkward 5.45pm kick-off to contend with, too. But the Hammers fans still turned up in their numbers to create another fabulous atmosphere in our 5-0 win.
Of course, Bayer Leverkusen represent a different proposition – they are 16 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and have claimed the title having been unbeaten in 43 league and cup matches all season.
In February, I watched them beat Bayern Munich (3-0) and they’re a very good attacking side, who can certainly play their football.
German teams will always want to come out of their shell – we also saw that that when we played Eintracht all those years ago – and we’ll need to keep it tight at the back tonight, while attacking, too.
It’s been soul-destroying to see the manager come under pressure at times and I’m forever telling people: ‘Be careful what you wish for!’ Remember, only last Thursday, we went over to Bayer Leverkusen in seventh-spot in the Premier League having made the quarter-finals of a European competition for the third year on the bounce.
Add-in two sixth and seventh-place finishes plus, of course, that unbelievable UEFA Europa Conference League trophy success and – whatever happens - nobody can complain about these past few seasons under David Moyes.
What more could West Ham United supporters want?
Scottish international Ray Stewart reached the European Cup Winners’ Cup quarter-finals with the Hammers in 1981…
The Premier League may be everyone’s bread and butter but having the opportunity to play in European competition is a big part of any footballer’s life because it’s fantastic to test yourself against foreign opposition.
It’s also great for the supporters – old and young – to come to London Stadium on a Thursday night and watch teams, who they’ve never seen before in their lives.
There’s been a great buzz around the place over these past three seasons and David Moyes has done really well, too. He’s now up there as one of the most successful managers in the history of West Ham United Football Club.
Sometimes, I get the feeling that David cannae do right for doing wrong but underneath everything he’s only got the Club’s interests at heart. Having been there and seen it from a playing, managing and personal perspective myself, I can tell you that David’s a good man and, although he has his occasional knock-backs, he’ll keep bouncing back time and time again.
In football, people will always want to talk about the past and I’m really proud of what I achieved during my 432 games at West Ham – lifting the FA Cup (1980), winning promotion (1981) and finishing third in the league (1986).
Now, it’s for today’s squad to make fresh memories for the fans and having got so used to seeing the Hammers playing European football, everyone will want to have the opportunity of tasting it for a fourth, successive season.
There’s still plenty to play for and we musn’t panic. From fans to players, everyone’s now got their part to play, if we’re going to see more of those great European nights over the weeks and months ahead.
Midfielder John Moncur was a key member of the Hammers squad during our European campaign of 1999/2000…
The way that West Ham United have dealt with European football over these past three seasons has been absolutely brilliant.
It’s a really difficult balancing act doubling-up the Premier League with Thursday evenings in Europe but there’s been a real consistency that’s seen us turn it into a hat-trick of quarter-final appearances – not many clubs make it to the last-eight of a European competition three years on the trot, do they?
Although it was a quarter-of-a-century ago, I still feel really privileged to have helped the Hammers win the Intertoto Cup and qualify for the UEFA Cup.
As a team, you need special players in your squad to make a difference in Europe and we were fortunate to have the likes of Paolo Di Canio, Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Trevor Sinclair plus a young Joe Cole.
These days, I look at our attacking players and they’re as good as anyone at any of the other clubs left in the UEFA Europa League. It’s a real bonus for the team and the fans that we can fit them all in.
With his versatility, Jarrod Bowen’s an unbelievable player, while Michail Antonio occupies players with his aggression and Mohammed Kudus is a real handful, too. As a midfielder myself, I love watching Lucas Paquetá, who senses our forward runs like no-one else on the pitch. In Paquetá, David Moyes has got an exceptional player, who can open a can of worms with a pass that nobody else sees. We’ll miss him tonight.
Back in my playing days, the crowds at the Boleyn Ground got an extra buzz when we met foreign opposition such as FC Metz (France) and Steaua Bucharest (Romania). Here at London Stadium, we’ve enjoyed some electric nights against the likes of Sevilla (Spain) and Olympique Lyonnais (France) while we’ve already put on good performances against two sides from Germany – Eintracht Frankfurt and SC Freiburg.
When the quarter-final draw was made, opposing fans were sniggering: ‘Bayer Leverkusen? That’s your lot.’
But I disagree and I’m still really optimistic because no matter what happens, the Hammers supporters are guaranteed to create a really intimidating atmosphere for their German opponents tonight.
Defender Scott Minto represented three clubs on the European stage, including the Hammers during 1999/2000…
In years to come, Hammers fans will look back in the record books and see that these past three seasons to date represent a golden period for West Ham United Football Club – a UEFA Europa Conference League trophy sandwiched between UEFA Europa League semi-finals and quarter-finals plus some pretty decent Premier League placings, too.
In today’s world where instant demands and expectations are so high, supporters may become impatient and get frustrated on occasions but David Moyes has given everyone at the Club some brilliant memories that’ll last a lifetime.
Last June, I was fortunate to be working for BBC Radio 5 Live over in Prague, where I took the opportunity to remind anyone who’d listen that I’d experienced European glory with the Hammers, albeit 1999’s UEFA Intertoto Cup victory over FC Metz (France) just didn’t seem to compare to the Conference League win over Fiorentina!
Seriously, we’d had a travelling army of fans backing us nearly a quarter-of-a-century earlier but the scenes in the Czech Republic were unbelievable. From the moment our plane took off until the moment it landed back in the UK, there was just a sea of Claret & Blue everywhere.
How many clubs take 25,000-plus supporters abroad just to see a game on a big screen in a Fan Zone? They could’ve easily stayed at home watching the final on television or down the pub but – despite a cost-of-living crisis – they travelled all that way to create an amazing atmosphere.
It shows the passion of an incredible set of fans and illustrates just what West Ham United means to everyone.
I also played for Chelsea and Benfica in European competition and it creates a whole new learning curve – any UEFA tournament adds another layer to the cultures and atmospheres that we experience away from our domestic leagues.
Looking at the other half of this year’s quarter-final draw, up until last Thursday there seemed to be something almost spiritual about Liverpool reaching the final in Jürgen Klopp’s last-ever game but Gianluca Scamacca’s Atalanta (3-0) might have put a spanner in the works there, while my old club Benfica also lead Olympique Marseille (2-1).
In the third quarter-final, AS Roma look rejuvenated since Daniele De Rossi took over from José Mourinho and having hammered Brighton & Hove Albion in the last 16, they now lead an AC Milan side (1-0), who sit above them in Serie A.
Bayer Leverkusen won the Bundesliga on Sunday but I’m not sure exactly where they’d be sitting in the Premier League right now?
Sure, the Hammers now face a very difficult route to the final but there’s still a game of football to be played and this West Ham United team also has the added incentive of knowing that come, late-May, victory in Dublin would represent the greatest-ever result in the Club’s history.
After playing for the Hammers in the UEFA Cup back in 2006/07, cult-hero turned TNT Sports analyst Carlton Cole has been up close and personal watching our European adventure unfold…
Over the moon! That’s how I feel about these last three seasons or so. The Hammers fans have absolutely loved it and for the manager, players and staff it’s been an incredible time, too, because European football has made us so much more professionally aware and expansive in our thinking.
West Ham United was always a big Football Club but now we’ve gone onto the next level and just got even bigger.
David Moyes has done an immense job, firstly getting us to the UEFA Europa League semi-finals ahead of then winning the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy and we’ve come knocking on the door yet again, this season, too!
I was around European football at Chelsea and when I moved to Upton Park in 2006/07, I got the chance to play for the Hammers against Palermo in the UEFA Cup.
As a footballer, you’re often just in the ‘moment’ but later on in life you look back and take pride from all the things you’ve achieved in your career - I’ve seen both sides of the coin from playing for West Ham in the EFL Championship to representing them in Europe, too.
At Stamford Bridge, they probably took it all a bit for granted but I quickly realised that everyone at West Ham United really appreciated the opportunity they’d been given to play in Europe.
Firstly, it meant so much to the fans but it was all very new to the Club and, although we had some good players out there, we weren’t quite ready to face a decent Italian side at that stage.
As we’ve seen from these recent seasons, it takes time to find your feet against foreign opposition and it’s helped that we’ve now got players who’ve also experienced that with their other clubs, too.
While we know where we’re at, you’ve always got to respect the team in front of you, albeit not too much and European competition has been absolutely perfect for David Moyes’ style. We know how to win football matches against foreign teams.
Whatever happens from here, Bayer Leverkusen have had a fantastic season both in the Bundesliga and the Europa League but tonight’s second leg at London Stadium still gives us an opportunity to knock them off their perch and I can’t wait for the game to begin…
