West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club based in Stratford, Newham, East London. They won the European Cup Winners Cup in 1965, the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1999, and the Europa Conference League in 2023. They have also competed in the UEFA Cup, UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Europa Conference League. Outside of major competitions, the club took part in the Anglo-Italian League Cup in 1975–76, and the Anglo-Italian Cup in 1992–93.
History West Ham United first travelled into Europe to play football in 1921 when manager Syd King took the team to Spain where they played games against Real Madrid, Celta de Vigo, Athletic Bilbao and Deportivo de La Coruña. In 1924, West Ham were the first club to visit Germany following the culmination of World War I, playing Köln, Waldhof Mannheim, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt and Freiburger FC. The club subsequently embarked on tours to continental Europe frequently during the 1920s and 1930s, recording a 6–0 victory against Ajax in May 1929. In the early 1960s, West Ham travelled abroad to play frequently with matches in Costa Rica, Sweden, Rhodesia, Ghana, the United States, Austria and West Germany.
1964–65 Cup Winners' Cup
After winning the previous season's FA Cup, manager Ron Greenwood led West Ham into their first European campaign.
West Ham started the competition against La Gantoise, the first Belgian side to play in this competition. In the opening game on 23 September 1964, West Ham won 1–0 in Belgium thanks to a headed Ronnie Boyce goal from an Alan Sealey corner. In the home leg, West Ham fans paid record match receipts to see what was described as a "decrepit performance which brought jeers from the crowd". Martin Peters scored an own goal for La Gentoise before Johnny Byrne scored an equalizer from a cross by Johnny Sissons.
In the second round, West Ham drew Czech side Sparta Prague. The first leg on 25 November contained considerable time-wasting by the Czechs including four times when the ball was kicked clean out of the ground. The match was decided in the second half by a 25-yard shot from full-back, John Bond, his first for three years and Alan Sealey, who scored after his shot had hit the post. In the second leg, on 9 December 1964, Sissons put West Ham 3–0 up on aggregate only for Prague's Gustáv Mráz to score two late goals to finish the tie 3–2 in favour of West Ham.
The quarter-finals matched West Ham against Swiss side Lausanne. In the first leg in Switzerland, Brian Dear, playing in his first European game scored the first goal, Byrne the second before Lausanne scored in the 80th minute through Robert Hosp. The second leg, described as a "thrilling cup-tie" took place at the Boleyn Ground on 23 March 1965. Two goals from Dear, one from Peters and an own goal from Lausanne's Ely Tacchella gave West Ham an aggregate 6–4 win. The Lausanne goals were scored by Pierre Kerkhoffs, Hertig and Norbert Eschmann.
The semi-finals saw West Ham play Spanish side Real Zaragoza. In the first leg in London, West Ham scored two first-half goals through Dear and Byrne. They attempted to defend their lead in the second half by playing nine in defence but conceded a 55th goal scored by Canário. The second leg in Spain finished as a 1–1 draw with goals from Sissons and Zaragoza's Carlos Lapetra. Zaragoza were denied three penalty appeals and blamed the referee for their defeat.
The final against West German side 1860 Munich was played at Wembley on 19 May 1965 in front of 100,000 spectators. Two second-half goals from Alan Sealey saw West Ham win the competition. Manager Greenwood, in his 1984 book Yours Sincerely, noted the significant roles played by Sealey, Dear and Bobby Moore in the final but also praised West Ham's defence, particularly the efforts of goalkeeper Jim Standen and defender Jack Burkett.
Season Competition Round Opposition Home Attendance Away Attendance Aggregate 1964–65 European Cup Winners' Cup First round La Gantoise 1–1 24,000 1–0 18,000 2–1 Second round Sparta Prague 2–0 27,590 1–2 45,000 3–2 Quarter-finals Lausanne 4–3 31,780 2–1 20,000 6–4 Semi-finals Zaragoza 2–1 35,086 1–1 28,000 3–2 Final 1860 Munich 2–0 100,000N/A
1965–66 Cup Winners' Cup After winning the previous season's Cup Winners' Cup, West Ham began another campaign in the same competition, and as holders received a bye in the first round.
In the second round, they played Greek side Olympiacos. In the first leg at the Boleyn Ground, West Ham won 4–0 with goals from Johnny Byrne, Peter Brabrook and two from Geoff Hurst. The away leg a week later finished 2–2. In a game refereed by future 1966 FIFA World Cup Final linesman Tofiq Bahramov, Martin Peters scored twice for West Ham with an own goal by Eddie Bovington and an 80th penalty by Kostas Polychroniou for Olympiakos.
East German team 1. FC Magdeburg were West Ham's opponents in the quarter-finals. The East Germans spent much of the game defending in the first leg in London and were beaten only by a single goal, by Johnny Byrne. In Magdeburg, Joachim Walter scored in the 78th minute to make the game 1–1 on aggregate. Johnny Sissons equalized almost from kick-off, in the 79th minute, to put West Ham through 2–1.
West Germany provided the opponents in the semi-finals with Borussia Dortmund. Bobby Moore, who had stated his desire to leave the club, was replaced as captain by Johnny Byrne. The West Germans won 2–1 at the Boleyn Ground. Although Martin Peters scored first, Lothar Emmerich scored in the 86th and 87th minute to take a lead to the second leg in Dortmund. On 13 April in West Germany, Dortmund scored in the first minute through Emmerich, who added another in the 28th minute and although Peters scored to make the game 2–4 on aggregate, Gerhard Cyliax scored a third Dortmund goal in the 87th minute to put them through to the final, 5–2 on aggregate.
Season Competition Round Opposition Home Attendance Away Attendance Aggregate 1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Bye Second round Olympiacos 4–0 27,270 2–2 40,000 6–2 Quarter-finals 1. FC Magdeburg 1–0 30,620 1–1 35,000 2–1 Semi-finals Borussia Dortmund 1–2 28,130 1–3 34,000 2–5
1975–76 Cup Winners' Cup Winners of the 1975 FA Cup, West Ham – now managed by John Lyall – again entered the Cup Winners' Cup, eventually losing in the final to Anderlecht.
West Ham started this campaign with an away game against Finnish side, Lahden Reipas. The match was played in the Helsinki Olympic Stadium in front of a crowd of just 4,587. Lahden Reipas took the lead in the fourth minute through Harri Lindholm after his shot had hit West Ham goalkeeper Mervyn Day in the chest and gone in. Trevor Brooking equalized in the 58th minute with a free-kick only for the home side to take the lead in the 55th minute through Ari Tupasela. Billy Bonds scored in the 76th minute to leave the match level going into the second leg. In the return leg in London, West Ham ran out 3–0 winners thanks to goals from Keith Robson, Pat Holland and Billy Jennings.
West Ham's next opponents were Ararat Erevan in Armenia in the Soviet Union. Alan Taylor scored to take the lead only for Erevan's Samvel Petrosyan to head the ball out of Mervyn Day's hands. With the West Ham players expecting the goal to be disallowed, West German referee Hans-Joachim Weyland allowed it, making the game 1–1. In the home leg in London on 5 November, West Ham won 3–1 with goals from Robson, Taylor and Graham Paddon. Erevan's single goal was scored by Nazar Petrosyan.
In the quarter-finals, West Ham faced Dutch side FC Den Haag. In the first leg in the Netherlands, 1970 World Cup Final referee Rudi Glöckner awarded Den Haag two penalties for handball. Both were scored by Aad Mansveld, who added a third for his hat-trick. Lex Schoenmaker scored their fourth goal with West Ham's two goals coming from Billy Jennings. In the second leg on 13 March 1976, West Ham scored three first-half goals through Alan Taylor, Frank Lampard and Billy Bonds to make the game 5–4 to West Ham. Lex Schoenmaker scored in the 59th minute to tie the game 5–5. West Ham survived a tense last half-hour of the game and went through on the away goals rule.
West German's Eintracht Frankfurt stood between West Ham and a cup final appearance. In the first-leg in West Germany, Frankfurt played their reserve goalkeeper, Peter Kunter, a part-time player who is also a dentist. He was beaten after only nine minutes by Graham Paddon's shot. Frankfurt scored two goals through Willi Neuberger and Wolfgang Kraus to take a 2–1 lead to London. West Ham won 3–1 in the home leg. Two from Trevor Brooking and one from Keith Robson were enough to give the tie 4–3 to West Ham with a goal for Frankfurt's Klaus Beverungen. Goalkeeper Mervyn Day won particular praise from the manager for his saves in the first half.
The final was played at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels against Anderlecht. Pat Holland opened the scoring in the 29th minute but Frank Lampard's poor back-pass allowed Rob Rensenbrink to equalise. François Van der Elst added another in the 48th minute and although Keith Robson equalized with a header, both man-of-the-match Rensenbrink and Van der Elst scored again to give Anderlecht the trophy.
Season Competition Round Opposition Home Attendance Away Attendance Aggregate 1975–76 European Cup Winners' Cup First round Lahden Reipas 3–0 24,131 2–2 4,587 5–2 Second round Ararat Erevan 3–1 30,399 1–1 66,662 4–2 Quarter-finals FC Den Haag 3–1 29,829 2–4 26,000 5–5(a) Semi-finals Eintracht Frankfurt 3–1 39,202 1–2 55,000 4–3 Final Anderlecht 2–4 51,296N/A
1980–81 Cup Winners' Cup Winners of the 1980 FA Cup, West Ham started another European campaign in the Cup Winners' Cup.
Crowd violence marred the first round away leg in the Bernabéu Stadium to Castilla in which one West Ham fan was killed. West Ham were ordered to play the return leg at least from Upton Park. After an appeal, they were allowed to play at home resulting in the playing of "the Ghost Match" behind closed doors in the return leg at Upton Park with no fans in attendance, resulting in an official attendance of 262, the club's lowest ever figure for a competitive first team match until the COVID-19 pandemic. 3–1 down from the first-leg, West Ham won the second-leg 5–1, with David Cross scoring a hat-trick, West Ham's first ever hat-trick in European competition.
In the second round, West Ham played Romanian side Poli Timișoara. The first-leg in London resulted in a 4–0 win for West Ham. Goals for Billy Bonds, Paul Goddard, a Ray Stewart penalty and another for David Cross gave them a strong lead ahead of the away leg. In Romania, Timișoara won 1–0 after Phil Parkes had let a Dan Păltinișanu shot bounce over his arm.