West Ham United’s David Moyes was thrilled on Thursday evening after reaching the Conference League final with the Hammers. The English club eliminated AZ and are in a European final for the first time since 1976. Afterwards, the manager praised the opponent from Alkmaar.
Moyes receives praise from Van Persie and is inspired by Mourinho
AZ had a field predominance on Thursday, but did not get through West Ham’s defense. In the end, the visitors struck in the final phase via Pablo Fornals. Moyes saw that his team was having a hard time with the Alkmaarders. The manager pointed out, “AZ played very well. They have a nice playing style. Dutch football is really very good. In the first leg they already scared us a few times. I knew we had to defend deeper now, then we would have a few chances with counters. Of course we would have liked to have more ball possession today, but AZ is also very good at what they do.”
After 47 years, West Ham are back in the final of a European tournament. Then the club from London eventually lost to Anderlecht in the final battle. The joy was therefore great at Moyes on Thursday. “This is great, a real achievement for this club,” he told BT Sport. “It’s hard enough to qualify for a final, let alone a European final. Let’s face it, it’s been 47 years since this club was in a European final. This is really a highlight for the club. Now we also want to win the final.’
Van Persie
Robin van Persie was present in Alkmaar as an analyst. He previously spent a year with Moyes at Manchester United and was very pleased with the manager. He praised, “You are a great coach. I can see West Ham playing the way you like. Today it was defensive in a 4-4-2 with zone defense. Everyone works for each other and for you.”
Moyes replied that he prefers to play more dominant football. “We want to improve our football skills. This season we have had lesser phases. Then you have to go back to basics to simply win, to get points. One of the managers I like very much, after Sir Alex Ferguson, is Jose Mourinho. His teams do everything they can to win, no matter how. That’s what we had to do today,” he said.
Riots
Moyes could not say much about the riots that arose after the game. “We have to wait for the dust to settle, but the biggest problem was that it happened in the box where our relatives were. Many players got angry because they couldn’t see if things were going well. We will have to wait for official reports to say exactly what happened.’
