West Ham finished 14th in the Premier League this season, the lowest position any team has finished in the table in the same season they won a major European trophy.West Ham ended their 43-year wait for a major trophy as Jarrod Bowen scored a last-minute goal to beat Fiorentina and win the Europa Conference League in Prague.
The final seemed to be heading for extra time after Said Benrahma's second-half penalty was cancelled out just seven minutes later by a well-taken effort from Giacomo Bonaventura.
It was a testy and sometimes bad tempered game - and at one point it got downright ugly as Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi was struck by a plastic bottle thrown from the West Ham section.
The match was settled in the most dramatic manner.
Bowen timed his run to perfection as Lucas Paqueta slid a superb pass through the Fiorentina defence.
The England man ran free, steadied himself, then beat Pietro Terracciano with a calm finish to thrill the Hammers fans - who were far greater in number than the 5,000 tickets they were allotted - and send manager David Moyes running down the touchline to celebrate the first major silverware of his career.
It means captain Declan Rice, in probably his final game for the club, emulated club greats Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds by leading the club to glory. Moore captained West Ham to the 1965 European Cup Winners' Cup and Bonds led them to the FA Cup in 1975 and 1980.
The victory also seals a place in next season's Europa League and means European football for the third year running for the first time in the club's history.
Jubilation for West Ham
Said Benrahma opened the scoring for West Ham in the 62nd minuteThe manner of victory could not have been any sweeter for West Ham.
Whilst Nayef Aguerd took time out to console Morocco team-mates Sofyan Amrabat at the final whistle, the celebrations of the Premier League team were something to behold.
From 18-year-old forward Divin Mubama, who played no part, to Moyes himself, finally a trophy-winner after such a long career in management, all joined in joy, leaping around trying to take it all in.
There will be an unwanted post-script as Uefa is bound to come down hard on the Hammers for the unwanted first-half scenes that left Biraghi playing with a bandage round his head for the last hour of the contest and forced the club to condemn those responsible.
Fiorentina's Biraghi was hit in the head by an object thrown from the West Ham endHowever, that is for another day.
The reaction from the pitch and the stands at the final whistle give a lie to anyone who feels this tournament is beneath them and should give hope to Aston Villa, England's entrants next season.
At the centre of it all was Rice. There was no thought of his future as he lapped up the adulation of the fans who have followed his journey from rising academy star to full England honours.
West Ham wouldn't be denied
West Ham boss David Moyes won his first major trophy as a managerSome West Ham fans must have thought they had won it when Benrahma coolly drove home his spot-kick after the video assistant referee intervened to rule Biraghi had handled Bowen's header.
But the loss of Kurt Zouma to injury just before Benrahma scored disrupted West Ham's rhythm and after Nicolas Gonzalez had provided the knockback, Bonaventura's excellent control and shot was too good for Alphonse Areola, preferred in goal to first-choice Lukasz Fabianski and maintaining his 100% appearance record in the competition.
Areola had been fortunate to escape conceding the opener in the final minute of the opening period when he failed to get down to a Christian Kouame header, which bounced off a post and fell kindly for Luka Jovic.
Areola should have kept out Jovic's header, which was straight at him. Instead, he fumbled it over the line. The Frenchman was hugely relieved to see the offside flag raised, a decision confirmed by VAR. Jovic got an accidental boot in the face from Tomas Soucek instead and had to be replaced at the break.
The game didn't really develop any momentum as too many players exaggerated non-existent fouls, which made it a tough evening for Spanish referee Carlos Del Cerro Grande, much as it was for Anthony Taylor in the Europa League final seven days earlier.
Grande did keep command of the contest, rightly booking Benrahma for diving at one point.
In the end though, all this was a footnote.
Bowen scored. West Ham got their trophy and Rice got to lift it.
Player of the match
BowenJarrod Bowen
Fiorentina
Squad number34Player nameS Amrabat
Squad number1Player nameTerracciano
Squad number5Player nameBonaventura
Squad number2Player nameDodô
Squad number4Player nameMilenkovic
Squad number3Player nameBiraghi
Squad number16Player nameRanieri
Squad number98Player nameIgor Julio
Squad number22Player nameGonzález
Squad number72Player nameBarák
Squad number9Player nameArthur Cabral
Squad number99Player nameKouamé
Squad number38Player nameMandragora
Squad number8Player nameSaponara
Squad number7Player nameJovic
West Ham United
Squad number20Player nameBowen
Squad number41Player nameRice
Squad number11Player nameLucas Paquetá
Squad number22Player nameBenrahma
Squad number33Player nameEmerson
Squad number27Player nameAguerd
Squad number28Player nameSoucek
Squad number9Player nameAntonio
Squad number13Player nameAréola
Squad number5Player nameCoufal
Squad number8Player nameFornals
Squad number24Player nameKehrer
Squad number4Player nameZouma
Squad number21Player nameOgbonna
Line-ups
Fiorentina
Formation 4-3-3
1Terracciano
2Cordeiro Dos Santos4Milenkovic16Ranieri3Biraghi
5Bonaventura34S Amrabat38Mandragora
22González7Jovic99Kouamé
1Terracciano2Cordeiro Dos Santos4MilenkovicBooked at 75mins16RanieriSubstituted fordos Santos de Pauloat 84'minutes3Biraghi5Bonaventura34S AmrabatBooked at 85mins38MandragoraBooked at 66minsSubstituted forBarákat 90+3'minutes22González7JovicSubstituted forMendonça Cabralat 45'minutes99KouaméSubstituted forSaponaraat 62'minutesSubstitutes
8Saponara9Mendonça Cabral11Ikoné15Terzic23Venuti28Martínez31Cerofolini32Duncan42Bianco72Barák77Brekalo98dos Santos de PauloWest Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
13Aréola
5Coufal4Zouma27Aguerd33Emerson
28Soucek41Rice
20Bowen11Lucas Paquetá22Benrahma
9Antonio
13Aréola5Coufal4ZoumaSubstituted forKehrerat 61'minutes27AguerdBooked at 53mins33Emerson28Soucek41Rice20BowenBooked at 90mins11Lucas Paquetá22BenrahmaBooked at 31minsSubstituted forFornalsat 76'minutes9AntonioSubstituted forOgbonnaat 90+4'minutesSubstitutes
1Fabianski2Johnson3Cresswell8Fornals10Lanzini12Downes14Cornet18Ings21Ogbonna24Kehrer62Potts72MubamaReferee:Carlos del Cerro GrandeAttendance:17,363Live Text
Match ends, Fiorentina 1, West Ham United 2.
Second Half ends, Fiorentina 1, West Ham United 2.
Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Foul by Pablo Fornals (West Ham United).
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card.
Foul by Sofyan Amrabat (Fiorentina).
Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
Igor Julio (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United).
Substitution, West Ham United. Angelo Ogbonna replaces Michail Antonio.
Nikola Milenkovic (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Lucas Paquetá (West Ham United).
Substitution, Fiorentina. Antonín Barák replaces Rolando Mandragora.
Foul by Rolando Mandragora (Fiorentina).
Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Aaron Cresswell (West Ham United) is shown the yellow card.
Goal! Fiorentina 1, West Ham United 2. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Paquetá with a through ball following a fast break.
Pietro Terracciano (Fiorentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
Foul by Thilo Kehrer (West Ham United).
Foul by Igor Julio (Fiorentina).
