On Wednesday 7 June West Ham did something that they haven’t done since 1980, when I was still at university. They won a major trophy. In 1980 it was the FA Cup, beating Arsenal 1-0 with a Trevor Brooking header when they were in Division Two, as it was called in those days. Since then they have won a few promotions from Division Two/the Championship after relegation, and were one of three Intertoto Cup winners in 1999 (the others were Montpellier and Juventus). But that’s it. The Boys of 86 came third in Division One (pre-Premier League) but at that time English clubs were excluded from European competition after the Heysel disaster. So we didn’t kick on. There was an FA Cup final against Liverpool in 2006 which we came within minutes of winning, but Gerrard scored a late equaliser and we lost on penalties. There have been dalliances with the Premier League top four under various managers – Harry Redknapp, Slaven Bilic, current manager David Moyes – but we have always fallen away at the end, and finished 5^th, 6^th, 7^th. Before sliding down the table again. While this is better than most clubs, the lot of a West Ham fan has been mostly disappointment at potential unfulfilled. Never more so than around the turn of the century when Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael Carrick, Jermain Defoe – all England internationals – came up through the ranks and all got sold. In 2003 we were relegated with the highest points tally, 42, of any relegated club since the Premier League began.

So, a history of promise and frustration. But a team that have been fun to follow, which I have done since the age of seven, when World Cup hero Geoff Hurst scored his hat trick and converted me to the Irons. I don’t remember a conscious decision, but before that I wasn’t that interested in football. What I do remember is living in Cyprus from 1967-70, hanging onto West Ham’s results on the Forces radio every Saturday afternoon. And once Hurst scored six in an 8-0 defeat of Sunderland. I was hooked.

My Dad was an Arsenal fan. My children are all now Arsenal fans after flirtations with West Ham in their younger years – when I had some influence! My wife’s family are all Arsenal. They have always been very much my second team, my team for winning the League, as West Ham have only once ever shown any sign of doing that – in 1986. This season, as Arsenal threatened to usurp the Man City machine, my allegiance grew stronger. Especially when West Ham’s season was so poor until the revival at the end which staved off relegation. And after spending £150m on players pre-season.

I was accused by friends, in a friendly way, of switching sides. But, of course, I never did. When West Ham drew 2-2 with Arsenal late on in the season after being 2-0 down, I was elated – while being apologetic to my son for the damage done to Arsenal’s title chances. There is only one team I truly feel for. It will always be: come on you Irons!

And so to the Europa Conference League, a tournament that I’d dismissed as a waste of time since it was launched a few years ago. West Ham qualified this season by coming seventh in the previous Premier League campaign. We also reached the semi-finals of the Europa League – the second tier competition after the Champions League – that season. There were superb victories over Sevilla and Lyon; but we fell in the semis to Eintracht Frankfurt, who weren’t as good as those two. A loss of nerve. Victory in that tournament would have given us a place in the Champions League. Another opportunity missed. So it was the Conference League instead. Better than nothing, though it meant all those Thursday games, which might have affected the team’s performance at the weekends. But the club took the tournament seriously, and we progressed. And as it entered the knockout stages, we, I, started to care. We’d seen the positive impact it had on Roma this season – in the end they made the final of the Europa League, before losing on penalties to Sevilla.

The semi-final against AZ Alkmaar of the Netherlands was tough, but the team was resilient and won both legs: 2-1 at home and 1-0 away. Which meant a final against Fiorentina, who finished 8^th in Serie A this year and lost to Inter Milan in the final of the Italian Cup. The game was in Prague in a 20,000 stadium, the home of Slavia Prague. The club that two of our players, Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal, were at before they joined West Ham. Only 6,000 tickets for Hammer’s fans, though a lot more went over and watched on screens in the fan zone. Me, I watched on my iPad while cooking and eating, before the denouement. It was another hard game. Fiorentina dominated possession, especially in the first half. West Ham, as is the Moyes way, sat back and looked to break, but the long balls up to Antonio didn’t work. Close to half time time Fiorentina had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside. We were lucky to go into the break at 0-0.

The second half was better. We were more aggressive. We won a penalty in the 62^nd minute, which Said Benrahma despatched brilliantly. 1-0. But Fiorentina came back and scored five minutes later, with a superb cushion and shot by Giacomo Bonaventura. 1-1. The game ebbed and flowed from there, and looked like it was going to extra time. But in the 90^th minute Lucas Paqueta had his one moment of genius in this game and threaded a superb ball into the path of Jarrod Bowen. One-on-one with the keeper. Time stood still. Could he score? He slotted it past the keeper into the net. Brilliant, just brilliant! 2-1. The BT Sport commentator declared we had won the game.  Ridiculous – there were five minutes added-on time, which became eight. Nervous moments, but the team held firm. We did it! Champions! The place erupted. And I watched with joy. West Ham had actually won something! For the first time since I was a student. Unbelievable. Hey, I know it’s only football, but when you win, it’s a very special feeling.

I was still feeling elated the next morning, when I received a text from the club about a victory parade that evening. Thursday. Starting near the old Boleyn Ground in Upton Park, by the statue of Moore, Hurst and Peters – West Ham 4 West Germany 2 – and proceeding to Stratford Town Hall. I had to go. The bus was leaving Upton Park at seven. I figured it might take half an hour to get to Stratford, so best to try to get there myself by around 6.30.  I took the Elizabeth Line – do we not love it? – from Ealing Broadway to Stratford and joined all the fans walking through Stratford shopping centre to the town hall. They were singing the song that became the evening’s mantra: West Ham are massive, everywhere we go! At first it sounded moronic; later, I couldn’t get it out of my head!

I found a decent position opposite the Town Hall, near some trees. The streets were heaving with claret and blue. I had my retro shirt on – Cup Final 1975 (we beat Fulham 2-0). Young lads were sitting on the roof of the bus shelter, little ones were on their parents’ shoulders. All ages were there. There was a carnival atmosphere – incredibly good-natured. A DJ played popular tunes. There were rounds of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles of course, plus paeans to Jarrod Bowen (a euro-disco thing), Said Benrahma (White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army) and Lucas Paqueta (I didn’t recognise that one). And West Ham are massive, everywhere we go! Sweet Caroline got an airing of course, as did Spandau Ballet’s Gold, poignant with the passing of chairman David Gold a while back.

The mayor and chief executive of Newham were interviewed on the balcony and were respectfully received. The chief exec was a big Irons fan. The MC said the bus was due at eight. That deadline passed and he said another fifteen minutes. People were getting a bit restless, but kept up their spirits, singing along to the repeated tunes. 8.30 – my feet were hurting! 8.45: the team finally started to appear on the balcony, the first being coach Kevin Nolan, who gave it some. And then they were all there, and the party started. All the same tunes as before, with the squad bouncing up and down with the crowd, loving every moment. The Cup appeared, with Dec I think, and got passed around after that. Pablo Fornals was passionate, Lucas Paqueta did some nifty dance moves and produced a Brazilian flag, Kurt Zouma was bigging it up, Thilo Kehrer led some singing, Dec caressed the cup and everyone just rocked! It was joyous to behold. There were brief interviews with Jarrod Bowen, Dec, Moyesey and Mr West Ham, Mark Noble; but mostly, everyone just danced.

I can’t remember exactly when I left – 9.30 maybe. It took a while to shuffle into the shopping centre, but it was all smooth from there. Central Line to Holborn and Piccadilly home. Knackered but buzzing. A wonderful evening. I replayed some of the videos I’d taken – the Jarrod Bowen song was the one that really bounced. As a football fan you spend most of your time moaning about your team, unless it’s super-successful. And even then you get nervous, as I know from my friend Jon G, who is a long-standing Man City fan. But on Wednesday night and then Thursday evening I could only feel the love. For the team, and all my fellow fans in Stratford.

Call me sentimental – I can only reply: Come on you Irons!

And, of course: West Ham are massive, everywhere we go!

A few photos below. The first three I’ve copied from the West Ham Instagram feed. The rest are mine. The only criterion is that they are the ones that are just about in focus!

This explains why the bus took so long!

View from Town Hall balcony

I’m somewhere just behind the two middle trees!

Bubbles blowing

Kevin Nolan leads them out!

Midfield rock Tomas Soucek

Lukasz Fabianski and Kurt Zouma

Antonio in Jamaica flag, with his future successor Divin Mubama

players L-R: Aguerd, Benrahma, Emerson, Paqueta, Zouma

David Moyes with the cup

West Ham legends: Dec hands the cup to Nobes

Our new star, name of Paqueta!

Dec gives the cup some love!

Moyesey with L-R: Areola (keeper in the final), Cornet and Kehrer