Without an in-depth knowledge of physiology, a cursory glance at Mikhail Antonio’s body immediately reveals where the player gets his strength. The circumference of his thighs rivals that of top-level sprinters and rugby players. The talent of the Londoner, also blessed with overview and technique, remained underexposed for a long time. As a West Ham United footballer, he was not ‘sexy’ enough.
Two researchers from the United States, associated with Major League Soccer, opened the eyes of the English. Data specialist Sam Goldberg and neuroscientist Mike Imburgio unleashed their DAVIES program on the Premier League. By looking at the number of successful shots, dribbles and decisive passes, among other things, they determine the value of a player for a team. Antonio scored hugely high.
The striker came third in the Premier League after Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane, the two stars of Liverpool. Cristiano Ronaldo, brought to Manchester United with much fanfare, is in his shadow. At European level, he is sandwiched between Erling Braut Haaland of Borussia Dortmund and Karim Benzema (Real Madrid). It seems surreal, but the numbers speak for themselves.
Antonio has been a star at West Ham United this season. Only Salah and Jamie Vardy, the goal getter of Leicester City, found the net more often. After years of being overlooked, the late-bloomer from the Wandsworth borough is finally getting the professional attention he deserves. The 31-year-old attacker symbolizes the advance of the club, which to everyone’s surprise is in fourth place in the ranking.
dirty little brother
West Ham United, founded in 1895 under the name Thames Ironworks FC, has long been considered the grubby little brother of metropolitan heavyweights like Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur. More feared by hooligan groups such as the Mile End Mob and the Inter City Firm than by sporting vigor. The highlight was winning the European Cup II in 1965. The league title never went to The Hammers.
The supporters still honor the heroes of the 1966 World Cup. With Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, West Ham supplied three players to the England team that defeated West Germany 4-2 in the final at Wembley. The club song ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles‘, sung before every duel, refers to the endless yearning for success. The bubbles ‘disappear’ and ‘pop’ like ‘my dreams’. Prosperity ‘always hides’.
West Ham United, which originated as a pastime for shipbuilders, has been home to Boleyn Ground for over a century. The stadium, near Upton Park tube station, was named after a stately home on Green Street where Anne Boleyn lived in the sixteenth century. King Henry VIII is said to have visited her there frequently, before making her his second wife in 1533 and beheading her three years later.
The characterful but ramshackle complex could not justify its existence on the basis of nostalgia and melancholy alone. The ‘London Borough of Newham’, to which the West Ham district belongs, is listed by the London Metropolitan Police as one of the hotspots of knife violence. Crime and poverty go hand in hand. Partly for this reason, the owners concluded a deal with the city to move into the Olympic Stadium.
raw neighbourhood
Major shareholders David Sullivan and David Gold were not out of place in the raw neighborhood. They earned their fortune together in the ‘adult industry‘. Making erotic films, publishing filthy magazines and running sex shops, they fit in well with the East End of London. In their fur coats and gold-colored Rolls Royce, they lived up to the stereotypical image of ‘wrong’ Cockney.
Behind their flamboyant appearance was a keen business instinct. The move to the more upscale Stratford was to ensure the future of the club. In order not to be forgotten, a drastic modernization was necessary, although the move did not go smoothly. The London Stadium, as the Olympic complex is now called, lacked atmosphere and security.
The approach route no longer ran past peeling shawarma tents and corner shops, but via Westfield Shopping Centre, a huge shopping center near the Olympic Park. Due to an athletics track around the field, the distance to the spectacle is great. It also did not go well in sports. The club, for which former stars such as Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard made their debut, flirted with relegation.
The turnaround came with trainer David Moyes, in two acts. The Scotsman, whose career faltered after unsuccessfully succeeding Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, avoided relegation to the Championship in 2018 as interim coach. When the club knocked on his door again more than a year later to avert a crisis, he showed himself to be a manager as smart as he was skilled.
Moyes led West Ham United to sixth place in the Premier League last season, good for entry into the Europa League. The game, abhorred by the supporters, changed with it. A British television station renamed the squad The Entertainers, a style break with the image that existed about Moyes, seen as a pragmatic result trainer. “The best team I’ve ever had the pleasure of taking on,” he modestly waved the praise away.
Red meat
Antonio’s development proves that Moyes is selling himself short. The thirty-something had no fixed position among his predecessors. He acted as a back, sometimes as a midfielder or as a striker. Moyes gave him jersey number 9. Specialists turned him inside out. Red meat was removed from his menu. Physio’s tailored exercises to him. His vulnerable hamstrings remained intact as a result.
With the help of Moyes’ assistants, Saïd Benrahma also grew into the player the club always saw in him. Controller Declan Rice became a fixture in the England team under his leadership. Left back Aaron Cresswell’s kicking technique got a boost. His free balls, delivered hard and with precision, are West Ham’s secret weapon. No team is more dangerous from dead game moments.
There is no such thing as luck or a short revival. West Ham United are fourth in the Premier League table and have virtually qualified for the knockout stage in the Europa League. In the League Cup, it successively eliminated Manchester United and Manchester City. The new spring does not escape investors. Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky wants to buy 27 percent of the shares of Gold and Sullivan.
Kretinsky, chairman of Sparta Prague and co-owner of the French newspaper Le Monde, estimates the value of West Ham at £600million. In time, he wants to buy the entire club. Antonio shows why. A precious piece of furniture is hidden under the thick layer of dust of the Hammers. Thanks to Moyes’ expertise and dedication, this can finally be admired in full light.
A version of this article also appeared in NRC in the morning of November 1, 2021
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