Arsenal have been showing a lot of interest in Declan Rice this summer. long existence of West Ham United, but only two of them ever lifted the trophy as club captains. It was Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, two true East London legends, and Declan Rice is tasked on Wednesday night to find a way to join these icons in the history books.
It's an opportunity that many of Rice's predecessors never had. It's also an opportunity — a chance at immortality — that Rice won't have again. This European Conference League final represents the first showcase event of his time as West Ham captain, and also the last. It is no secret that he will leave the club this summer, and there is no better way to do it than with a winner's medal around his neck.
It has been more than four decades since West Ham last won a major trophy, and Rice, as an academy graduate turned first-team leader, fully understands the significance of this event. «The biggest match the club has played in a long time,» he said ahead of a trip to Prague. «This is a unique opportunity.»
There are no guarantees of fairy tale endings in football, and certainly not in European competition against teams like Fiorentina. But if anyone deserves a happy send-off, it certainly is Rice. The 24-year-old has always given his all to his club, even in the darkest days of this season when it would be easy to think of a life elsewhere, and the measure of his reputation at West Ham is that there is no sense of anger over him. an inevitable departure.
This season, Rice has been a point of reference and a source of stability for West Ham both on and off the field. Would it have been possible to survive in the Premier League without his determination and drive in the final months of the campaign? Probably no. The same applies to their progress to the European Conference League final. He was the driving force behind David Moyes and his players.
Wednesday's final in Prague will be Rice's 62nd game of the season for club and country. He didn't stop running and he didn't stop fighting. The sheer physicality of it all is impressive enough, apart from the technical quality he has shown in midfield.
His strike in the quarter-final against Gent, when he broke out of his half of the field before kicking the ball into the corner with his left foot, was the ultimate showcase for the player he has become since joining the West Ham academy after Chelsea put him on the field. «Probably one of the best goals I've ever scored,» he said.
Declan Rice brings West Ham 3-1 in style!! 🔥
What an escape from the captain of West Ham! 🤩#UECL pic.twitter.com/LJRSUwIX4G
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 20, 2023
Arsenal have seen enough and are ready to attack as soon as this campaign is over. Bayern Munich is also interested, which testifies to Rice's authority on the continent. If West Ham get their way, they could earn around £100m.
Will anyone else on their team come close to Rice's transfer value or importance on the pitch? In truth, no. Lucas Paqueta is the next big star, but he hasn't shown the consistency or leadership that Rice has provided every week of this grueling campaign.
“Hopefully we can make history,” he said. “We have already created history by reaching the final, but now is the chance to go and create a legacy that every player, manager and all involved will remember forever.
“That would be my greatest achievement in football, that I ever had, 100 percent. I think it would be for many of us. To win a trophy like that, a European trophy, with West Ham… it elevates the status of every player at the club in terms of fans and how you will be remembered. To be honest, that would mean everything.”
Rice was not selected to speak at the pre-match press conference in Prague, instead the club opted to release these words from an internal interview. This is a reflection of the speculation surrounding his future, and on Tuesday evening Moyes carefully brushed off all questions about the likely departure of his captain.
West Ham obviously do not want this case to be solely because of Rice. The player himself would not want this either. It's a team game after all, and Rice will almost certainly need someone else to score against Fiorentina while he patrols the midfield and tackles further.
In the modern game it is a rarity. , however, for one player to be so dominant and so important to his side. Representing West Ham without Rice is representing a completely different team and, in a way, a different club.
This is the future that awaits them. But first, the finale. A chance at glory, an opportunity to write a new chapter in the history of the club and, for Rice, a day to define his legacy at the club where he made his name.
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