There are moments in football that make you forget the bad stuff. They make you forget the idiots who throw things at players, make you forget the players who roll around on the floor as if they had been wounded when, in fact, they have barely been touched. Football creates moments that make you forget.
By the side of the pitch at Fortuna Arena, with West Ham’s celebrations in full swing after beating Fiorentina 2-1 to win the Europa Conference League, manager David Moyes saw his dad. He went straight over, gave him the firmest of hugs and placed round his neck the winners’ medal he had been given by Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin. David snr is 87. His son is 60. They both grinned from ear to ear. The joy on their faces was something to behold. A dad with his lad, someone who has proved himself to be successful in the most unforgiving of professions, finally, after 25 years, winning something.
“He was the first one I thought I should get it [the medal] round his neck,” said Moyes. “I hope he is enjoying it.” No-one from West Ham will ever forget 7 June 2023. The club’s first trophy in 43 years. Their first European trophy since 1965 and the days of Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters. As captain Declan Rice said in the build-up to the game, beating Fiorentina in Prague would make them legends. That is the status they earned with Jarrod Bowen’s last-minute goal. The moment that made people forget the bad stuff.
