West Ham‘s party raged through the night in Prague after their Europa Conference League triumph, and all the way back to London for a parade through the streets with centre forward Michail Antonio predicting it could go on for three weeks.
It all started on the pitch in the Fortuna Arena, where they danced with the trophy lifted by captain Declan Rice and celebrated with their families for more than an hour after beating Fiorentina 2-1, thanks to a 90th-minute winner by Jarrod Bowen.
‘Unbelievable,’ said Antonio. ‘Nobody wanted to leave.’ Once back inside the dressing rooms, they pumped up the music and cracked open the beers. ‘There was a bit of everything,’ said Antonio. ‘A bit of dancing, a bit of drinking, a bit of something I cannot say! It has been a pleasure, obviously.’
Boss David Moyes took a brief moment to address his players and staff. ‘The gaffer said thank you, thank you for everything, thank you for the title,’ smiled fullback Emerson Palmieri. Then Moyes unleashed one of his now-infamous Dad dances to the song by the Proclaimers about walking 500 miles.
Heineken can raised in one hand, clicking the fingers of the other as he shimmied around in the centre of the room, his players clapping and singing along to the dut-de-de-ders in the chorus. ‘Good, for a Scotsman,’ was Emerson’s verdict.
West Ham spent more than an hour on the pitch celebrating their historic Europa Conference League victory
David Moyes led the celebrations by showcasing his dance moves in the dressing room
Michail Antonio, who shared clips of West Ham’s celebrations from inside their hotel late on Wednesday night, hinted that the party could last ‘three weeks’
It was almost two in the morning, four hours after the final whistle, by the time the players started to file out, goalkeeper Alphonse Areola swinging an enormous speaker with his beats booming out around the concrete bowels of the stadium.
‘The DJ is always Declan,’ explained Emerson. ‘After that, Lucas Paqueta as well. In this moment, everyone wants to be the DJ, everyone wants to dance, enjoy it. We are happy, of course. We enjoy the night.’
Workers were dismantling the stands and stripping UEFA signage from the walls as they climbed aboard the team bus and left the venue. ‘I don’t see it ending,’ said Antonio. ‘We have got a party to go to and see the families. And now the season is over and it won’t end for a good three weeks for me.’
Declan Rice (left) and his manager (right) were spotted out at 4am dancing through the streets of Prague
Moyes (front middle) even got involved in the antics of Hammers fans outside the team’s hotel
Back at the team hotel in Prague, they danced off the bus and into the lobby, cheered by a welcome committee of supporters as they sang about Jarrod Bowen, whose goal won the cup.
Sporting director Mark Noble, who retired as a player last year, was immaculate in blue suit, crisp white shirt and claret tie incongruous among the white polo-shirts, grey shorts and tracksuit tops, having declared himself ‘too emotional’ to talk.
Antonio, winners’ medal around his neck, said: ‘I’ve been here for eight years and to have this feeling, 58 years West Ham have waited for this moment and it has been amazing, a great experience. Probably the best season I’ve had since I’ve been at West Ham.
‘Before the game, one of the thing I said the boys was like, people don’t get many opportunities like this. Many footballers play football and don’t win a single thing in their whole careers. Some quality players have done that. We had to make sure we didn’t miss out and we didn’t. We went out there, put in a good shift and we won.’
While it was a first medal for some, Emerson was completing a full UEFA set, a Conference League winner’s medal to go with the Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup medals he won at Chelsea and the European Championships win with Italy.
‘You know, when these things come it’s so good for everybody,’ said Emerson. ‘Now it’s time to relax and enjoy this title.’
Antonio shared that this season had been his best in a West Ham shirt, as the team ended their 58-year European trophy drought
Rice sported his medal for the trip home, where the club will be feted with a bus parade
By 4am, Moyes and Rice were back outside, strolling in the streets of Prague with Czech fullback Vladimir Coufal and others. At the hotel, the music was still going as breakfast was served at 9am, as the team prepared to fly back to London for an open-top bus parade, starting at their spiritual home, the old Upton Park stadium.
‘This is not where we’re going to stop,’ vowed Antonio. ‘We will see if we can keep pushing ourselves and keep doing better. Last year, semi-finals of the Europa League, this year, won the Conference League. We have a good pack of boys here and we have confidence, hopefully, we can build on that.’
Co-owner and joint chairman David Sullivan, meanwhile, promised to ‘build on this triumph’, and that of the club’s Under-18 team, which won the FA Youth Cup and Premier League this season. He also paid a personal tribute to David Gold, his close friend, business partner and former co-owner, a lifelong west Ham fan who died in January, at the age of 86.
‘In all the joy and excitement of the victory, the one thing I missed was being able to turn to him, see his smile and shake his hand,’ said Sullivan. ‘But I know how proud he would have been too. This is for you DG, our dreams beginning to come true.’
