June 7 – It may not be the most glamorous or prestigious of competitions but for West Ham United and Fiorentina, tonight’s Europa Conference League final in Prague represents an eagerly anticipated chance to pick up their first European trophy in decades.
Both teams are treating the final of UEFA’s third-tier tournament seriously with thousands of fans – especially those of West Ham – pouring into the Czech capital, many without tickets given the stadium holds under 20,000 spectators.
Fiorentina, who lost to Real Madrid in the second European Cup final in 1957, won the first edition of the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup in 1961. They lost in the final the next season and then lost to Juventus in a two-legged UEFA Cup final in 1990.
That’s the sum total of their European success while West Ham won the now defunct Cup Winners’ Cup in 1965 for their only moment of continental glory. They lost in the 1976 final and the closest they have come since, excluding the 1999 Intertoto Cup victory, was last season’s Europa League semi-final defeat.
“I do believe the players have got a great opportunity to be remembered by everyone at this club,” West Ham manager David Moyes said when asked to compare the current side with the 1965 group that included Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, who helped England win the World Cup a year later.
“We have got a really good group, strong international players, players who are hungry to succeed. I hope we can show that on Wednesday.”
Forward Jarrod Bowen said tonight’s match was the biggest of his career.
“I’ve played for England, but I think achieving this with your teammates who you’ve been with together to get to a final and you have the opportunity to win a trophy together, it will be a massive moment and for the fans it would mean so much,” he said.
While the Hammers finished a lowly 14th in the Premier League, Fiorentina won nine and drew four of their last 15 games to end up eighth in Serie A and have scored 38 goals in their 16-game journey to tonight’s final.
“We know their qualities, we hope that we have found some weak spots and to exploit them in the final,” said Fiorentina coach Vincenzo Italiano whose team lost in the final of the domestic cup this season.
There is also the added incentive in the fact that the winners will qualify for the group stage of the 2023-24 Europa League.
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