Jarrod Bowen is hopeful that West Ham can make it back-to-back European trophies but acknowledges that “there’s a long, long way to go”.

Very few players have had a rise to glory like Jarrod Bowen has, with Jamie Vardy being the only one remotely similar in recent years. Bowen has gone from playing for non-league side Hereford to scoring a last minute goal to win West Ham their first trophy in over 40 years. 

As always though, Bowen remained humble in a recent interview with UEFA and spoke about how special it is playing in Europe as it is not something he ever expected to experience.

“Playing in Europe is a really special feeling. Seeing the different atmospheres, different cultures, different styles of football,” he explained to UEFA.com. “Every team is different, but every game is a real challenge. There’s never been one easy game in the competition. I think that’s probably the most exciting thing about it.”

“You play against some really good teams, and you can achieve really great things in these competitions. I always wanted to test myself at the highest level and against the best opposition. So that’s what I want to keep continuing to do.”

“I’m a forward – I want to score goals. Getting that first UEFA Europa League goal was really special because I never thought that I’d be playing in that competition.”

While West Ham experienced European triumph last season, a year before they had to go through heartbreak as they lost in the Europa League semi-finals to Frankfurt, but it was that pain that Bowen believes helped them push on to glory. 

“In the changing room [after the game], nobody said a word because everyone was just… You know, there were tears. It was obviously gutting and heart-breaking, but I knew that we’d bounce back and use it to our advantage,” he stated.

Forevermore the East London faithful will always have that night in Prague and, above all else, that goal from their star man to cherish. It was anything but smooth sailing for the Irons in the final but, ultimately, the only thing that matters is the pure ecstasy everyone involved with the club experience with 89:44 on the clock.

“I remember looking up at the clock and thinking: ‘This is going to extra time.’ Then the ball comes from a goal kick and, next thing you know, Lucas [Paquetá] has got the ball and I’m making a run. I’m one-on-one with the goalkeeper. I’m thinking: ‘Score this goal and you win a European competition.’ I managed to do that. The feeling of that goal going in was probably every emotion just in one.”

For the large majority of fans, that was the pinnacle of their time supporting West Ham. However, Bowen does not want to stop there, as he confessed that “winning that competition has made us want to do it again.”

“We want to go all the way – of course we do. That’s always been the dream, but we know there’s a long, long way to go before we get there, and it’s about just what we’ve done every year since we’ve been in the European competitions: take each game as it comes.”