Former West Ham United captain Joe Cole has said it is a massive achievement for the Hammers to reach the Europa Conference League final.
On Wednesday night, the Hammers face Italian side Fiorentina in Prague in what is their first major European final in 47 years, hoping to win their first piece of major silverware since the FA Cup in 1980.
Wednesday’s final against Fiorentina will be the 57th and final match of the Hammers’ campaign, 15 of which have come in the Europa Conference League, winning 13 and drawing the other so far.
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Speaking on what the Hammers have achieved so far this season, balancing their best ever run in Europe since 1976 with a hectic Premier League, Cole, who played 187 times for West Ham across two spells between 1998 and 2003 and the 2013/14 season, has said that in the context of the season, it is a huge achievement for West Ham to reach the Europa Conference League final, partly due to the relentless standard of the Premier League.
“It’s a massive achievement for West Ham,” Cole exclusively told football.london. “You have to put it into context, winning trophies is not easy at any level of football, particularly if you are able to compete in the Premier League and try and survive in the Premier League, and compete for a European trophy, this could be a great season for West Ham.
“I think European football and Premier League football are more aligned now than when I was playing. When we were playing, there was a massive disparity in how the game was refereed and things like that. I think to compete in the Premier League like West Ham have week in, week out, every game you have to be on it and then, having to compete in European football for any club in the Premier League I think is hard because if you are playing in Spain or in Italy, or you play in Germany, there are games where you can play at 80% and comfortably win.
“The Premier League, you can’t. Any English team that gets to a European final, you have to respect. They’ve done it the long way around. We have got all the money in the world in the Premier League and we have the best players, but I’ve spoken to top players at top clubs, when they come here they can’t believe it. You go away to the team that finishes at the bottom of the league and you’re absolutely backs to the wall trying to get a result.”
Reaching the final of a European competition, despite a 14th place finish in the Premier League, has only continued the growth of the club in recent years.
The 2020/21 season saw West Ham finish sixth in England’s top-flight and last season, they backed that up with a seventh place league finish and reached the semi-final of the Europa League.
However, reaching a European final will be something that the majority of West Ham’s fanbase will not have seen in their lifetimes, and the spectacle that awaits in Prague has led to Cole being hounded for tickets to the match, more so than any other game in his life, barring the 2008 Champions League final, when he was playing for Chelsea against Manchester United.
“The club are in such a healthy position,” Cole explained. “It’s tough for any club to compete like West Ham have in Europe for the last two years in Europe, but they have got the size of the squad.
“The club is not used to it, it’s why I’m inundated for tickets. Getting to a European final, is unbelievable. The club has done so well, David Moyes has done so well. I think he’s in the peak of his career as a manager and I think the club are top drawer.
“I’ve had more people asking me for tickets for this game than any game in my career, barring the Champions League final. That just shows you the gravitas of it for the club.”
Looking at West Ham’s squad, for many of the players at manager David Moyes’ disposal, only a handful have experience of playing in a European final.
Defenders Kurt Zouma and Emerson have won the Champions League with Chelsea, while Emerson has also won the Europa League with them, aiming to become the first player ever to win all three major European club competitions.
Cole thinks that those players with experience in finals will have to step up and lead the team against Fiorentina, while adding that midfielders Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek should be doing whatever they can to give the ball to Brazilian playmaker Lucas Paqueta, who Cole believes has the talent to be a match-winner in the final.
“The big thing for West Ham is, I’ve looked at the squad, there’s not many players who have won finals,” added Cole. “Zouma’s there, Emerson, so them lads are going to be really crucial. I think the Czech boys have won cup finals in their homeland, I think Paqueta has won things.
“They’ve got to be the lads in the dressing room that are just keeping it nice and calm, nice and smooth. You don’t want to be doing anything too different to what you usually do.
“That old saying ‘you have to play the game not the occasion’ is going to be so crucial for that group of players because they are all doing it for the first time themselves, or the second time or third time, they’re not old timers at it, they’re not like the Man City team or Liverpool team where it is just another game for them. The game will be won in between their ears.
“I think Paqueta will step up as well. Just looking at the characters, he is the perfect player for this. You can’t play for Brazil and not have the mentality to be a big player, you just can’t do it. He’s going to be crucial. Get him on the ball as much as you can in that midfield.
“That’ll be my message to Tomas Soucek and Declan Rice. Declan, you need to be the insurance, you need to keep us in the game. Can you get Lucas on the ball, turn in crucial areas, I’d be working on that.
“It’s almost a dream role for him because he’s got three runners, Bowen, Benrahma and Antonio. If you’re a midfielder like I was, that’s the dream. You want to get on the ball, get turned and have options to supply. He’s got a great role there.”
For West Ham, it has been a mixed campaign, with less than half of their wins in all competitions coming in the Premier League this term, finishing 14th in the Premier League and with 16 fewer points than they managed last term.
That significant drop off has come in a season where West Ham have spent north of £170million on nine new signings, eight of which arriving last summer.
Despite the transitional campaign and the battle with steering clear of relegation for much of the campaign, Cole thinks that due to the calibre of some of the players that have arrived, West Ham as a team are in a better position now than they were when they finished seventh and in the semi-finals of the Europa League last term.
Ultimately, Cole pins the struggles in this league this season down to the mass changes to the playing squad, but has highlighted the acquisitions of Paqueta, centre-back Nayef Aguerd and defender Thilo Kehrer as big positives.
“Lots of players came through the door, which has unsettled it, but ultimately, this West Ham team now are a better team than the team that was at this stage of the tournament last year in terms of quality,” Cole said. “Aguerd’s come in, he’s improved it, and Paqueta’s come in, he’s improved it and I think Kehrer in the last few weeks has improved it.
“They’ve moved forward, but they’ve had to take some bumps and knocks along the road and I think that’s an example for a lot of clubs, a lot of owners out there to stick with your manager. Trust the players, trust what you’re doing.
“They’ve had some misses, Scamacca hasn’t done it. They’ve spent money on him. Overall, I think Aguerd has been a good signing, Lucas Paqueta has been a good signing. David was the calming voice.”
Considering Fiorentina’s stature as a club, Cole thinks that the meeting between the Hammers and the Viola adds real prestige to the final, helped by the stars Fiorentina in the 1990s that included Portuguese maestro Rui Costa and Argentine goal machine Gabriel Batistuta.
Cole does think that West Ham are capable of winning the final and returning to east London with the Europa Conference League trophy, but thinks that it really is an even game.
“I can, but it’s a really tough game, it’s a 50/50 game. Make no mistakes about it,” Cole said. “West Ham would’ve wanted Basel in the final, but Fiorentina gives it that European sexyness, the name, Rui Costa, Batistuta, the greats of the 1990s team, they hold weight. They have expectations themselves, two very similar clubs actually in that sense.
“I’ll be so happy, not only for Declan, for the club,” Cole added when asked how happy he would be if West Ham won the trophy. “For the people around the club, to the fans, to my friends who are West Ham fans going out there.
“I’d just be so pleased for everyone going there from around the club, because the club deserves some success.”
BT Sport is the exclusive home of the UEFA Europa Conference League Final. Watch West Ham United v Fiorentina exclusively live on BT Sport 1 on Wednesday 7th June from 6:30pm. The final is also available for anyone to watch on the BT Sport website, YouTube channel and app
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