Seattle Sounders FC vs. West Ham United July 5, 2016 · CenturyLink Field
3 Matchup
4 Sounders FC Central 6 What You Need to Know: West Ham United 8 Storylines 10 Team Rosters 12 International Intrigue
15 The NINETY 16 Scenes from Pride Day 21 Morris, Sounders Come Alive Late vs. Toronto, Grab Huge Road Point 26 2016 Season Stats 32 Why I Love West Ham United
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Sounders FC returns to the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field to take on West Ham United in an international friendly on Tuesday evening. Sounders FC has hosted at least one friendly in seven of the past eight seasons, which have featured globally-recognized clubs such as Chelsea, FC Barcelona, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Last season, Sounders FC tied Mexican side Club Tijuana 2-2. Overall, Sounders FC is 2-5-2 in international friendlies at
CenturyLink Field. West Ham comes to the United States as part of its preparation for the 2016-2017 Premier League campaign. Last season, West Ham finished seventh on the Premier Table – its fourth consecutive season in England’s topflight league. It was also the final season the club played at the Boelyn Ground, as Slaven Bilic’s side will move into Olympic Stadium for the upcoming campaign.
DID YOU KNOW??? Seattle defender Tyrone Mears played at West Ham United from 2006-2007. Although he spent the 2007 campaign on loan with Derby County, Mears made six league appearances and an additional cup appearance for the East Londonbased club. In all, the 33-year-old veteran played for six English clubs, plus a loan with Marseille in France, before joining Seattle prior to the 2015 campaign.
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FC LLAS DA
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MATCH PREVIEW:
Seattle Sounders FC Set for Home Clash with West Ham United
What You Need to Know: West Ham United With Tuesday evening’s match against Barclays Premier League side West Ham United, the Rave Green have hosted an international friendly on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field in seven of the past eight seasons. This friendly against the historic Premiership club and three-time FA Cup champion marks the fifth occasion that Seattle has hosted an English side in international competition, and its tenth overall international friendly since joining MLS in 2009. Following its final home match at the Boleyn Ground at Upton Park on Tuesday, May 10 against Manchester United, West Ham left its 112-year-old East London home for the Olympic Stadium in Stratford beginning next season. West Ham achieved its highest-ever point total in the Premier League era (62 points) during the 20152016 campaign, with Slaven Bilic’s side earning a Europa League qualification. The July friendly is set to be carried regionally throughout Western Washington on JOEtv, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM and El Rey 1360 AM. Founded in 1895, West Ham United is one of eight clubs to never have fallen below the second division of English football, spending 58 of 90 league seasons in the country’s topflight. The Irons have accumulated three FA Cup championships, as well as two runnerup finishes. The London-based side has also qualified for two European
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finals, winning the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965 and finishing as runner-up in the competition in 1976. Under the leadership of Manager Slaven Bilic, the current West Ham squad occupied seventh place in the 2015-2016 English Premier League table with 62 points (16-8-14). Bilic was hired in June of 2015 after previously coaching in Croatia, Russia and Turkey following a prolific playing career that included a stint at West Ham from 1996-1997. His side is led by PFA Player of the Year finalist and French international Dimitri Payet, England internationals Mark Noble and Andy Carroll, in addition to Senegalese central midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate. Sounders FC and West Ham United share connected history, with several players having represented both clubs at various points in their career. Current Seattle fullback Tyrone Mears made six appearances for the Irons during the 2006-2007 English Premier League campaign. Harry Redknapp appeared more than 150 times for West Ham during his playing career before going on to manage the club from 1994 through 2001, with the London native also plying his trade for the North American Soccer League Sounders from 1977 through 1979. Geoff Hurst, a legendary West Ham player who famously scored a hat-trick in England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup Final victory over West Germany, made 23 appearances for the Sounders during the 1976 NASL season alongside former West Ham defender Bobby
Moore. Along with Hurst, Moore is one of West Ham’s most beloved players, having captained West Ham for more than a decade in an East London playing career that lasted 15 years and included more than 500 appearances for the Irons. Moore represented the Sounders seven times during the 1978 NASL campaign. Sounders FC has hosted nine international friendlies over the past
seven seasons for a record of 2-5-2, most recently securing a 2-2 draw with Mexican side Club Tijuana last season. This marks the fifth occasion that Seattle has faced a English Premier League side, with Sounders FC winless in its four meetings against English opposition (0-3-1). The Rave Green most recently drew 3-3 with Tottenham Hotspur on July 19, 2014.
International Friendly:
MATCH EXPERIENCES Bag Policy and Updated Security Information: Please note all bags must be smaller than 14”x14”x6” and laptops are not permitted. Walk through metal detectors are expanding to NW VIP, SW VIP and South gates. Visit our stadium guide for more information on what is permitted within the stadium. Pro Shop: Raise your scarf! Dual Sounders FC and West Ham scarves are available at both downtown Pro Shop locations. The NINETY: Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Catch a replay of last week’s exciting US Open Cup showdown or challenge friends to a FIFA match. Food and drink will also be available for purchase benefiting community programs. Food Trucks: Enjoy food from local food trucks Skillet and Snout on the North Plaza prior to the match.
Soccer Celebration: Stop by the following booths for some activities and prizes! Located outside the gates in the NW Plaza and inside the stadium’s northwest corner.
76 Sideline Upgrade: When you show a Kickback Card or sign up for and enroll a new card, your match experience could be upgraded through the 76® Sideline Upgrade and includes a swag bag! Visit the 76® Gasoline booth by the Red Zone Suite entrance before the end of halftime each regular season Sounders FC home match. The Rave Foundation: The official charitable arm of Sounders FC, brings their new Soccer Octagon to Soccer Celebration in North Plaza. Join us before the match to test your skills inside the octagon!
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MATCHDAY STORYLINES Radio Play-by-Play Commentator Matt Johnson tells you his three storylines to follow in this evening’s match vs. West Ham United. 3 Thoughts on our seems to be very focused. West Ham Friendly Mark Noble and Andy Carroll Enjoy It With a busy July for the Sounders kicking off with a tie in Toronto on Saturday, I’d like to think that the friendly vs. West Ham is sort of a soccer celebration. The English club that exceeded expectations this past season and finished seventh in the highly competitive Premier league are in town all week preparing for their 2016-2017 campaign. Despite missing a few key members for this friendly (Dimitri Payet with France) the squad has a number players that Seattle soccer fans should recognize. I was lucky enough to be at the last two West Ham training sessions and once things got underway the squad
PAYET
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might be the most recognizable Hammers when they take the pitch at Century Link Field. There will be plenty of talent to watch on Tuesday. Get there early, sit back, and watch soccer at a high level…to me, that’s a great evening.
NOBLE
Clubs want to come here Across the globe or even here in the states, West Ham will never be compared to Manchester United, Chelsea or Barcelona. But once again the city of Seattle will take a moment and welcome a club from Europe. When the biggest clubs in the world come to the area others take notice. Bottom line, the Puget Sound area has world class fans and
facilities that European clubs want to play in front of and experience. Talking to Noble after practice he was very excited to investigate the city, hit the tourist spots and mingle with fans. If you run into him, lucky you. He is a great conversation.
The Rave Green can get something out of this Players will always tell you that they’d rather play a game than train. With the match in Toronto on Saturday the club made the five-plus hour flight home on Sunday, lightly trained on Monday, and will play West Ham on Tuesday. You can rest assure that Head Coach Sigi Schmid will have a plan to spread his minutes around his squad so they will be fresh and rested for Saturday’s get-together with LA. West Ham have started their preparations for their Europa League qualifier and the last thing that they’ll want is to lose a player to injury in a friendly, so I don’t anticipate tackles flying around when the teams face each other. I’m not saying it will be dance recital but the Tuesday run out will be good for both teams.
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No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 22 23 24 25 29 31 33 39 80 91 99
Name Tyler Miller Clint Dempsey Brad Evans Tyrone Mears Jimmy Ockford Osvaldo Alonso Cristian Roldan Erik Friberg Herculez Gomez Aaron Kovar Michael Farfan Jordan Morris Chad Marshall Dylan Remick Nelson Valdez Darwin Jones Nathan Sturgis Zach Scott Charlie Lyon Andreas Ivanschitz Stefan Frei Tony Alfaro Román Torres Damion Lowe Joevin Jones Oalex Anderson Victor Mansaray Oniel Fisher Andy Craven
Pos. Height Weight Age GK 6-4 195 23 F 6-1 170 33 M/D 6-1 170 31 D 5-11 163 33 D 6-1 185 23 M 5-11 155 30 M 5-8 165 20 M 5-11 154 30 F 5-10 160 34 M 5-10 155 22 M 5-19 160 27 F 6-0 185 21 D 6-4 190 31 D 6-0 165 25 F 5-10 160 32 F 5-10 175 24 M 5-10 160 28 D 5-11 175 36 GK 6-2 215 24 M 6-0 180 32 GK 6-3 195 30 D 6-2 190 23 D 6-2 195 30 D 6-3 175 23 D 5-11 160 24 F 5-8 155 20 F 5-11 180 19 M/D 5-9 155 24 F 5-11 167 24
No. 1 2 3 5 8 9 11 13 14 15 16 19 21 22 25 27 28 30 33 34 35 39 42
Name Darren Randolph Winston Reid Aaron Creswell James Tomkins Cheikhou Kouyate Andy Carroll Enner Valencia Adrian Pedro Obiang Diafra Sakho Mark Noble James Collins Angelo Ogbonna Sam Byram Doneil Henry Dimitri Payet Manuel Lanzini Michael Antonio Stephen Hendrie Raphael Spiegel Reece Oxford Josh Cullen Martin Samuelsen
Pos. Height Weight Age GK 6-1 171 29 D 6-3 192 28 D 5-7 146 26 D 6-3 163 27 M 6-2 183 26 F 6-4 174 27 F 5-9 163 26 GK 6-3 176 29 M 6-1 165 24 F 6-0 174 26 M 5-11 154 29 D 6-2 183 32 D 6-3 190 28 D 5-11 159 22 D 6-2 181 23 M 5-9 170 29 M 5-6 130 22 M 5-11 181 26 D 5-10 154 21 GK 6-6 196 23 D 5-10 157 17 M 5-9 154 20 M 6-2 159 19
Make URBANE part of your game day ritual. Featuring sustainable and farm-to-table fresh ingredients found locally in the Pacific Northwest, Urbane is the perfect location for pre and post match gatherings. Offering easy access to the Link Light Rail, join us for our daily happy hour specials. Urbane is located in Hyatt at Olive 8, the official hotel of Seattle Sounders FC and the only dual LEED and Green Seal certified hotel in town. Happy Hour 4p – 6:30p (daily) 1639 8th Ave (at Olive) 206.676.4600 urbaneseattle.com
2016 Hyatt Corporation. All rights reserved. The LEED Certification Mark is a registered trademark owned by the U.S. Green Building Council and is used by permission.
INTERNATIONAL INTRIGUE Since joining MLS in 2009, Sounders FC has brought the world’s best clubs to CenturyLink Field. West Ham United is the ninth foreign professional club to spar with Seattle in a friendly match and fourth English Premier League side to visit the Emerald City, joining Chelsea (2009, 2012), Manchester United (2011) and Tottenham Hotspur (2014). Sounders FC defeated Boca Juniors of Argentina 4-0 and Chivas de Guadalajara 3-1 in 2010, while the club has also taken on global titans Barcelona and Celtic. Last season, the Rave Green battled Club Tijuana of Mexico to a 2-2 draw at CenturyLink Field. SOUNDERS FC ALL-TIME INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY RESULTS
Date
Opponent (country)
Result
July 18, 2009
Chelsea (ENG)
L, 0-2
August 5, 2009
Barcelona (ESP)
L, 0-4
May 26, 2010
Boca Juniors (ARG)
W, 4-0
July 18, 2010
Celtic (SCO)
L, 1-2
October 12, 2010
Chivas de Guadalajara (MEX)
W, 3-1
July 20, 2011
Manchester United (ENG)
L, 0-7
July 18, 2012
Chelsea (ENG)
L, 2-4
July 19, 2014
Tottenham Hotspur (ENG)
D, 3-3
March 24, 2015
Club Tijuana (MEX)
D, 2-2
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What is THE NINETY? THE NINETY, located at 406 Occidental Avenue S., is a cultural hub of soccer and a gathering place for all soccer fans to celebrate the world’s game.
What type of events are held at THE NINETY? Be on the lookout for new events every week! We will host radio shows and podcasts, Sounders FC player autograph sessions, chalk talks, speaker series and more. THE NINETY is also open before every home match and hosts away match viewing parties while the team is on the road. Follow along at #TheNINETY and check our calendar frequently to plan your next visit!
Doors open at 5:00 p.m. Catch a replay of last week’s exciting US Open Cup showdown or challenge friends to a FIFA match. Food and drink will also be available for purchase benefiting community programs. MATCHDAY · 15
WEST HAM UNITED OFFICIAL CLUB PARTNERS 2016/17
SCENES FROM PRIDE DAY Sounders FC held its second annual Pride Day on June 25, as the club celebrated LGBTQ community with a full-stadium match against New York City FC.
Pre-match ceremonies included members of the LGBTQ community displaying rainbow flags and banners on-field, with participants wearing a special Sounders FC Pride Day shirt.
Sounders FC honored Seattle Mayor Ed Murray with a Golden Scarf prior to the match. Murray was elected Mayor of Seattle in 2013, becoming the first openly gay mayoral leader of the Emerald City.
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Saturday’s national anthem singer is singer / songwriter Vicci Martinez, a Tacoma native who finished third in the NBC singing competition The Voice in 2011. Prior to the anthem, a moment of silence was observed to honor the victims of the June 12 shooting in Orlando and their families.
Sounders FC captain Brad Evans wore a Pride-themed armband throughout the match against New York City FC.
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Biking burns calories not gasoline. Bike to the Match on July 9, 2016 as the Sounders FC take on the LA Galaxy. A complimentary bike valet will be available and free Northwest Healthy bike lights will be handed out to those that bike to the match (while supplies last).
PARTNERS IN HEALTH
Northwest Healthy Outdoor Adventure Guide Get your FREE commemorative matchday poster after the match. The reverse side features 10 of the area’s top trails and outdoor recreation spots selected by Sounders FC players and Season Ticket Members. Join the Northwest Healthy movement at NWhealthy.org.
Morris, Sounders Come Alive Late vs. Toronto, Grab Huge Road Point By Will Parchman When Jordan Hamilton cleaned up a Sebastian Giovinco shot and smashed it into an open net for a 1-0 Toronto FC lead, you could almost feel the air sucking out of the Sounders as a collective. For the first hour of Saturday’s match, Seattle struggled to generate much in the attacking third and had yet to produce a shot on goal when Hamilton scored. And while the defense hadn’t broken until then, Toronto FC wasted two prime scoring chances in the first half, including an open header from inside the six from Jay Chapman.
What’s more, Seattle hadn’t won - or even scored - in more than two league matches. It took seconds - not minutes for Jordan Morris to apply the billows to the Sounders’ flame and reawaken the beast. Morris’s goal in the 61st minute rescued a road point the Sounders needed as much for confidence purposes as for positioning in the Western Conference standings. The Sounders assuredly looked at this match as a point-gained scenario, and they should. The 1-1 result was far more palatable on the Rave Green end of things.
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Here’s a look at three things we learned from the match.
and pull the rest into the architecture of the build.
The Mercer Island Magician Awakens
It took some time, but he finally got there.
For 247 consecutive minutes stretching back to mid-June, the Sounders had not scored in a match. That encompassed two-plus full matches, and through the first half that issue had not been remedied. In fact, Seattle hadn’t so much as put a shot on target, and Morris largely struggled to connect with his midfielders.
“It felt good,” Morris said. “To get a response right away was great.” Morris’s goal - a beautiful three-touch sequence that ended with a pictureperfect spotted kick in the far netting - was good enough on its own to earn Morris man of the match status. But he did so much more in this setup that deserved praise. He led the team with three key passes that led to a shot, transitioned seamlessly to the 4-4-2 the team switched into once Nelson Valdez was introduced in the 71st minute, and was generally the attacking glue all evening.
Friberg Comes Up Big
That changed in the second half, arguably Morris’s best 45 minutes as a professional. Morris was important in Seattle coach Sigi Schmid’s 4-3-3 primarily because neither Aaron Kovar nor Andreas Ivanschitz are true 4-3-3 wingers. Neither strayed all that high in support of Morris, and so he mostly operated as a lone striker loping onto over-the-top balls and trying to catch TFC’s threeman defensive middle off guard. That put a tremendous amount of pressure on Morris to hold up the attacking front
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While most of the transfer discussion has centered around the Sounders potentially signing a goal creator in the midfield, Schmid has to work with what he has in the interim. And on Saturday, that meant rolling with the three-man midfield he’s largely preferred this season: Osvaldo Alonso, Cristian Roldan and Erik Friberg. How that’s actually worked has fluctuated this season, and Saturday’s permutation was a wrinkle Schmid hasn’t thrown into the blender all that often. Roldan and Alonso stayed deep as the holders while Friberg, the roving Swede, played underneath Morris. Credit Friberg, because he isn’t a natural No. 10. Yet he managed to largely fulfill his tactical role on Saturday and routinely pushed higher than any Sounders player not named
Jordan Morris. With how withdrawn both Kovar and Ivanschitz were, the Sounders could not have abided anything deeper from Friberg, and as a result he was Morris’s most comfortable link. Friberg isn’t a typical creator in that he looks to make stabbing runs as much as he looks to hit runners. But don’t overlook the fact that more than half of Friberg’s 49 passes came in the attacking half, and he managed to complete a respectable 70 percent of those. For a player being asked to perform above and beyond his normal call of duty, that’s a successful night on the range.
Welcoming Back the Cavalry The Sounders were without two notable scratches from the 18-man roster on Saturday in Toronto: captain Brad Evans and attacking talisman Clint Dempsey. Evans was rested due to a calf injury, while Dempsey was rested to give him a break after a trying five-game romp at the Copa America Centenario.
In a comment before the match, Schmid noted that Evans’ injury likely isn’t serious enough to also keep him out for the LA Galaxy match at home on Saturday, and Dempsey should be ready to roll as well. And that’s very good news for a team desperately trying to build on something. “When you are where we are with our record,” Schmid said after the match, “we’re looking for confidence.” From that aspect, Saturday was good to the Sounders. They went down on the road and immediately bit back for a goal less than a minute later through their young star forward. What’s more, they got enough quality individual performances to put the fact that they sit ninth in the Western Conference on the backburner for now. The MLS season is lengthy, and breaking it into chucks is necessary in a mental sense. As Seattle learned last year during a rocky summer in which it lost eight of nine matches at one point, the only thing that matters is straightening the bow at the right time. So they’ll look for a spark, or an individual performance, or a big result to latch onto and venture off on a positive streak of games that helps them climb into playoff positioning. If this TFC match was the start of that run? Well, the Sounders certainly looked the part in the second half on Saturday.
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2016 MLS REGULAR SEASON STATS UNF POS Player
GP
13 F Jordan Morris
16 15 1324 6 1 32 18 11/14 9 0 0/0
GS
MIN G A SHT SOG
FC/FS OFF CK C/E
14 D Chad Marshall
13 13 1131 2 0 14 7
2 F Clint Dempsey
10 10 888 2 0 36 12 18/15 2 0 1/0
23 M Andreas Ivanschitz 15 13 1054 1 3 19 9 6 M Osvaldo Alonso
8/11 0 0 1/0 6/17 5 60 3/0
16 16 1440 1 2 20 6 26/39 0 0 4/0
33 D Joevin Jones
16 13 1169 1 1 9 4
17/5 0 0 2/0
11 M Aaron Kovar
13 10 732 1 0 21 5
9/7 0 9 1/0
7 M Cristian Roldan
15 10 1029 0 1 8 0
8/16 1 0 0/0
8 M Erik Friberg
11
9 785 0 1 9 1
10/4 1 6 3/0 0/1 0 0 0/0
24 GK Stefan Frei
15 15 1350 0 0 0 0
4 D Tyrone Mears
15 15 1350 0 0 1 0 13/10 1 0 1/0
3 D Brad Evans
12 12 1025 0 0 4 0
20 D Zach Scott 16 F Nelson Valdez
8
7 600 0 0 3 0
4/6 0 0 1/1 4/11 0 0 1/0
10
4 457 0 0 12 4
5/9 6 0 1/0
9 F Herculez Gomez
9
5 445 0 0 10 4
9/8 1 16 0/0
15
9
D Dylan Remick
39 F Oalex Anderson 11
5
441
0
0
1
0
2 270 0 0 7 2
5/4
0
0
1/0
5/12 0 0 0/0
50 D Tony Alfaro
3
0 139 0 0 1 0
1/1 0 0 0/0
1 GK Tyler Miller
1
1
0/0 0 0 0/0
90 0 0 0 0
91 D Oniel Fisher
1
1
41 0 0 0 0
2/1 0 0 0/1
17 F Darwin Jones
2
0
22 0 0 0 0
1/0 0 0 0/0
Team totals
16
16 1440 14 9 208 73 162/206 26 86 20/2
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Opponent totals
1440 20 17 199 66 206/162 24
64 30/17
GP-games played; GS-games started; MIN-minutes; G-goals; A-assists; P-points; SHT-shots; SOG-shots on goal; FC/FS-fouls committed/fouls suffered; CK-corner kicks; OFF-offsides; C/E-cautions/ejections GAME-WINNING GOALS: Morris (2), Dempsey (2) GAME-WINNING ASSISTS: Ivanschitz (2) PENALTY KICK GOALS/ATTEMPTS: None
SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC INDIVIDUAL GOALKEEPING UNF POS Player
GP GS MIN SHTS SV GA
24 GK Stefan Frei
15 15 1350 62 43 18 1.20 4 6 5-8-2 4
1 GK Tyler Miller
1 1 90 4 2 2 2.00 0 0 0-1-0 0
Team totals
16 16 1440 66 45 20 1.25 4 6 5-9-2 4
Opponent totals
16 16 1440 73 57 14 0.88 0 0 9-5-2 5
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GAA PG PA W-L-D SO
FLYING HIGH
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Cheddar.
Why I Love West Ham United Sounders FC’s radio man and passionate Hammers supporter Matt Johnson shares a personal story of his first trip to Upton Park. Back in 1994 I was lucky enough to get tickets to both the semifinal and final of the World Cup at the Rose Bowl. My brother and I flew down early in the week, stayed with our cousins, and the experience began. The week was amazing, even though we were never invited back to stay with our family (that’s a whole other story). On our flight home the Monday after the final between Italy and Brazil my brother nudged me and just said, “Why don’t we do this every four years?” I grumbled, “okay,” then went back to sleep. With that simple conversation, we have been to the last six World Cups. The Rose Bowl, France, Korea, Germany, South Africa, and Brazil. It has been amazing. I plan on going to World Cup tournaments the rest of my life. Throw in a couple Champions League semifinals in London in 2009 (Manchester United at Arsenal and Chelsea hosting Barcelona), an amazing week of Cup soccer the year before (UEFA Cup Final, FA Cup Final and Champions League Final) and I’ve been lucky enough to have tasted soccer at the highest level. But it was after the World Cup in France in 1998 - when we were lucky enough to go to 11 matches in 11 days - that my brother came up with another good idea. If we could get tickets on the streets for World Cup fixtures, why don’t we head to England and try our luck to get into Premier League matches? So we did. In January 2000 we watched Arsenal at old Highbury, went to Stamford Bridge for a great London derby in Chelsea-Tottenham, went up to Newcastle and saw the great Alan Shearer, and went to a quarterfinal Worthington Cup replay at Upton Park between West Ham and Aston Villa. The Worthington Cup is now
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called The Capital One Cup and can always be referred to as The League Cup. From the Rose Bowl to France and all the other games around London my brother and I were always able to get two seats together from scalpers off the street. To this day in all of these matches I’ve attended we’ve been able to sit together except for the West Ham match. So why am I a Hammers fan? The atmosphere at Upton Park. It was simply unbelievable. West Ham had a number of young players that you might recognize: Frank Lampard, Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand were all up and coming stars that were developed in the West Ham Academy. But it was one moment that I still remember like it was yesterday. Their striker was the flamboyant and often controversial Paolo Di Canio. At a tense moment in the match a half-hearted attempt by Di Canio drew a groan from the crowd and a hush went over the stadium. A large and pretty much scary gentleman sitting close to me screams at Di Canio, “DI CANIO, YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT!” At that point the Italian acknowledges him by raising his hand as if to say, “I know, I will try harder next time.” Well, the place went nuts. Our whole section started singing his name with the entire stadium joining in embracing their star striker. I’ll never forget it. West Ham gave up the tying goal from a beautiful volley from Ian Taylor in the 80th minute and went on to lose in extra time. Their League Cup run was over. But I was hooked. I’ve been a fan ever since.