After West Ham United’s thrilling Europa Conference League victory, Declan Rice and Mark Noble stayed up till the wee hours of the morning, according to Kevin Nolan.
The West Ham manager claimed on talkSPORT (13 September) that he, Noble, and Rice stayed up late after the victory, with Rice not wanting the night to end because of the “excitement”.
Nolan cites this split-second between three successive Hammer captains as one of his “best evenings in football”
“I had one of the best evenings in football with him when we won the Europa Conference,” Nolan stated on talkSPORT. We were the last three up: Mark Noble, him, and I. Just discussing about everything that has happened.
“It was early in the morning. Simply put, [Rice] didn’t want to go into bed. the exhilaration of what he accomplished and produced that year.
He has experienced many ups and downs. He received the brunt of it, but that evening was pleasant thanks to me, the captain, who passed it on to Nobes, who in turn passed it on to RIce. It was a great moment that I will always treasure.
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Lovely
Nolan has revealed a little moment of West Ham history that feels like it might have been taken right out of a surreal movie and is sure to make Hammers fans cry.
The £105 million boy-turned-man Rice and the West Ham supporter base appear to have very little in common. Rice completed his West Ham career on a record high.
The affection Rice has for his previous club is undeniable, and details like this one from Nolan serve to highlight how significant the club is to him.
The Hammers endured a difficult league season, but the European victory outweighed all of the bad feelings. With Rice now playing for Arsenal, the Irons are one of the few unbeaten teams and are flying into the Premier League in fourth place.
Rice, along with Noble, will be remembered as one of the best captains of the Hammers, and this interaction between the three players captures the enormity of what they accomplished that evening in Prague.
