West Ham United, winners in Europe once more. It’s been a long time. Too long, really, but at the Stadion Maksimir their 2,000 supporters were able to party like it was 1999.
That was the last time this club won a European tie which wasn’t a qualifier – a 3-1 victory against another Croatian side in Osijek. Dinamo Zagreb were likewise no match for West Ham here.
For those who travelled, this was worth dusting off the passports and paying for those fit-to-fly Covid tests.
The party started with a gift – an under-hit back pass by Kevin Theophile-Catherine – but that was also prompted by West Ham’s high press.