Less than a month has passed since he became a father of twins, and on Wednesday night his name reverberated around the continent. In the decades to come, Bowen will surely look back upon these last few weeks as one of the defining periods of his life. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought, when I was a little boy, that I would have four caps for my country, that I would be playing in the Premier League week-in, week-out, and that I would have a European winner’s medal to my name.” But I want to sit here and be proud of what I’ve done. Now, I can pinch myself and say, ‘Look how far you’ve come.’ I don’t want to sit here and big myself up. “My family were putting good luck messages on social media today, and pictures of where I’ve come from.

He says he looks at it and smiles every day. “The word ‘blossomed’ comes to mind,” Bowen laughed on Wednesday night. And those who have watched him grow would say he deserves this triumph because of the long and unusual journey he has taken to reach this level of the game.

Jarrod will do it.’”īowen has earned that faith after three-and-a-half years of hard running and powerful shooting in West Ham’s colours, following his move from Hull City in January 2020. The minute he got through, I thought: ‘this is the moment. “If there was anybody I thought was going to score, it would be Jarrod.

“The minute Jarrod went through, I was edging down the touchline,” said Moyes. And for Moyes, there was no one he would rather have seen running towards goal in the final minute, with the Italian defence trailing in his wake and only the goalkeeper to beat. It was a goal that will live forever in West Ham folklore. But the biggest moment of the night ultimately belonged to Bowen, who kept his head as the whole of east London held its breath.

It was some way to mark the biggest occasion of his professional life, then, as the West Ham United forward struck the last-minute winner to secure his club’s first major trophy in 43 years.Īhead of Wednesday’s dramatic meeting with Fiorentina in Prague, so much of the talk h ad been about David Moyes, the manager who had never won a trophy, and Declan Rice, the captain who was playing his final game for his club. He had certainly never come within reach of a professional title, either. As far as Jarrod Bowen could remember, he had never played in a final before.

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