West Ham's Emerson aiming to become first player ever to achieve European feat
West Ham defender Emerson Palmieri is closing in on TWO trebles – and he's running out of skin to commemorate them with tattoos.
The Hammers left-back will become the first player to win all three major trophies in Europe if they lift the Europa Conference League trophy on Wednesday night.
After winning the Europa League and Champions League with Chelsea either side of lockdown, Emerson is 90 minutes away from a unique hat-trick if West Ham beat Fiorentina in Slavia Prague's 20,000-capacity Eden Arena.
He was in the Chelsea team who beat Arsenal 4-1 in the Europa League final in that obvious venue for a London derby, Baku – 3,000 miles away - four years ago.
And he was on the bench when the Blues eclipsed a Blue Moon in front of a Covid-reduced 14,000 crowd with a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final.
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For good measure, 29-year-old Emerson's wife is due to give birth to the couple's third son next week. Trebles all round!
Born in Brazil but a naturalised Italian and an Azzurri international since 2018, he said: “For sure it is a pleasure to reach these trophies in my career. It is not easy to do this. Now I have another opportunity to get another trophy and I want to take it.
“It is just one game, it is just 90 minutes, it is about having that mentality. Sure, it is a nervous game - it is a final – but whoever stays in the game with concentration and focus can win it in the end.
Emerson helped Chelsea win the Champions League and Europa League“I know it is not easy to have control mentally in these moments but if we control it well we can win.
“We have a lot of big-match experience in our squad. Kurt Zouma as well won something with me at Chelsea (also on the bench in the 2021 Champions League final) and Declan Rice played the final of the Euros for England.
“Sometimes you don’t need to talk - we know the importance of the game for the club, for us, so we need to go there with the focus and concentration to win this game.”
All leave has been cancelled in East end tattoo parlours as purveyors of indelible ink await the outcome of West Ham's 10-month European crusade, which began way back on August 18 last year.
Already Emerson has the names of his parents, Reginaldo and Eliana, plus dedications to his young sons Bernardo and Matteo, close to his heart, in his private art gallery along with his trophy collection.
Will there be enough space for a third son and another football souvenir?
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“I always have space to put trophies and good things, so let's see if I can do it with another trophy,” said.
It will be a close-run thing against Fiorentina, who finished eighth in Serie A and signed off with a 3-1 win at Sassuolo on Friday night.
Emerson is familiar with Italian football after a spending three seasons with Roma, and he has warned West Ham to be ready for their stop-start culture punctuated by tactical fouls.
He said: “Fiorentina play so aggressive, one-on-one all over the pitch, so for sure they try to stop the game and it's their style.
“It works for them because when you press high, sometimes you need to make some fouls. It is normal in football, but we need to take this on and try to find the space in behind them to win the game.
“When we play people like this, when they try to stop the game, mentally you want to do something different and then it is foul, foul, foul. It is not easy. We need to try to find a solution to do our best and win the game.”
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