West Ham United manager David Moyes has said Thursday night’s win over AZ Alkmaar in the Europa Conference League is his greatest achievement to date.
Pablo Fornals’ late wonder-goal saw West Ham seal a 1-0 win over the Cheeseheads at the AFAS Stadion to seal a semi-final second leg victory, with a 3-1 win on aggregate setting up a meeting with Italian side Fiorentina in next month’s final in Prague.
For Moyes, it is only his second major final in his 25-year managerial career, a spell that has seen him take charge of 1,094 matches. His last final came 14 years ago in 2009 when his Everton side were beaten by Chelsea at Wembley Stadium in the FA Cup.
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Ahead of the first leg win over Alkmaar, Moyes said that if he guided his side to the final, it would be his greatest career achievement as a manager.
Asked after beating Alkmaar about his previous comments, Moyes said that for a number of reasons, it is his greatest accomplishment to date.
“Yes, probably in many ways,” Moyes told football.london. “I think in football, you always loath to put titles to things, but I think to get to a European final. Let’s be fair, last year, we got to a European semi-final and we came really, really close to a final.
“Maybe, you shouldn’t be too surprised. I don’t know if I’m quoting the right numbers, but I think we’ve won 15 [sic 13] and drawn one.
“We’ve got one more to go and see if we can win. We’re thrilled, so you have to say we’ve done a really good job in Europe this season and I’m really pleased.”
West Ham will now face Italian side Fiorentina, who beat Swiss outfit Basel 4-3 on aggregate in the other semi-final after scoring a winner in the 129th minute of the second leg, in the final in Prague on Wednesday, June 7.
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