Europa League. Who is David Moyes, the Scottish coach who transformed West Ham?
West Ham supporters gave him the biblical nickname ‘Moyesiah’. Because David Moyes works miracles. The London club is currently in 6th place in the Premier League standings and is playing a Europa League quarter-final this Thursday, April 7. A first in the history of hammers.
Two successful maintained operations at West Ham
In the memory of West Ham supporters, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen the London club at this level. And the origin is clear: David Moyes, the 58-year-old Scottish coach, recalled in December 2019 to save the club, seven months after being ousted despite a first successful maintenance operation.
During his second induction, the coach with a pronounced Scottish accent announced the color: “This time, I will leave them no other option than to extend me. » And he kept his word. A year and a half later, he signed a three-year contract after an amazing 2020-2021 season.
The Hammers were indeed the revelation of last season. They annexed sixth place, the final Europa League qualifier, right under the nose of Tottenham and Arsenal. A nice shot that lasts: the Hammers come out of FC Sevilla in the round of 16 and box, this year again in England, in the same category as the Spurs, the Gunners and the Red Devils. Not bad for the former team of Dimitri Payet, who had only finished in the top 10 once in the previous six seasons. A nice revenge also for David Moyes, whose reputation had been tarnished after a failed stint on the Manchester United bench.
Three times Coach of the Year in the 2000s
David Moyes is not a new kid on the block. After more than 500 professional matches between Scotland and England, he started as head coach at Preston North End and was quickly presented as promising. The leaders of Everton also decide, only four years after his debut on the bench, to entrust him with the dreams of their team.
At the Toffees, Moyes is a hit. During his eleven long seasons spent in the city of Liverpool, the Scot managed to always place his team between fifth and eighth place, even winning a qualification for the preliminary round of the Champions League in 2005, as well as three awards for the best coach of the year (2002-2003, 2004-2005, 2008-2009).
When Sir Alex Ferguson bids farewell to Manchester United, the leaders of the Red Devils then turn to him to take over from his legendary compatriot. But it was a failure: the club, eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Champions League by Bayern, finished seventh in the Premier League. The team and its leader are mocked. A plane even flies over Old Trafford during a match against Aston Villa with the message: “Wrong One, Moyes Out”.
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The Scot takes the door during the season. The start of a slump that continued for a season at Real Sociedad (2014-2015), then at Sunderland (2015-2016). Before David Moyes finally found a smile at West Ham.