West Ham United are on the brink of greatness as they made it to their first European final after 47 years.
The hammers did enough to submerge AZ Alkmaar on Thursday with a 0-1 victory at the AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar, Netherland.
David Moyes’ side earlier defeated the Dutch side in the first leg played at the London stadium by 1-2.
And they ultimately picked up a 3-1 comprehensive aggregate win over AZ Alkmaar.
West Ham United got the winner through Pablo Fornals in the dying embers of the nervy second leg clash to set up a date with Fiorentina in the final on the 7th of June.
The London side last made it to a major European final in 1976 when they were defeated by Anderlecht in the Cup Winners Cup.
The team currently placed 15th of the English Premier League table have not lifted a major honor since 1980 when Trevor Brooking’s goal helped them defeat Arsenal in the FA Cup final.
West Ham United were defeated in the 2006 FA Cup final on penalties after a 3-3 draw against Liverpool in 2006.
Steven Gerrard was instrumental in their downfall as he drew Liverpool level twice in the encounter, making it 2-2 and 3-3 respectively.
In the previous season, West Ham were defeated 3-1 on aggregate by eventual victors Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-finals.
Former Manchester United boss David Moyes has made corrections for that near-success loss by making it to the final of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
The hammers have come out victorious in 13 of their 14 matches in the tournament this campaign and they appear as odds-on favorites for the final.
West Ham United have been below par in the Premier League this campaign, away from their usual form under Scotsman David Moyes.
The East London side finished 7th last season in the English top-flight and 6th the season before that but they sit 15th, 6 points ahead of 18th placed Leeds United.
They appear all but mathematically safe from dropping to the Championship but we certainly have to see how their remaining games pan out.
Ending the season with a continental trophy surely would bring lots of joy and happiness to the players, coaches, staff and supporters of the club despite the wishy-washy campaign they have had.
Jarrod Bowen also would want to give his all in the final as he apparently and hilariously might face the wrath of West Ham superfan and father in-law-to-be Dany Dyer if he doesn’t win the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Meanwhile, their triumph over AZ Alkmaar was tainted a little bit after supporters from both clubs were involved in a brawl following the full time whistle.
A section of the home fans looked to get into the part holding West Ham’s 700 away faithfuls and it resulted in distasteful scenes before police and stewards doused the tension.
Can West Ham United triumph over Fiorentina?
Well, it’s a final where any mistake could make or mar a team’s chances of coming out victorious on the night.
It’s still some games away and we have to see if West Ham players aggravate injuries or situations that would keep them out of the final “hopefully they don’t”, but it should be a highly competitive final against Fiorentina who sit 8th on the Italian Serie A table.
Fiorentina have a more successful history in Europe as they won the 1960/61 UEFA Cup Winners Cup.
