Kurt Zouma is “full of belief” that West Ham can be the side to end Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run.

If there is one side in Europe you do not want to play at this moment in time, it’s Bayer Leverkusen. The German outfit are 41 games unbeaten, 16 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga and are hoping to do a treble. Xabi Alonso has assembled a team of top quality players and got them playing exhilarating football.

However, West Ham have made history of their own lately, with their Conference League triumph being the most notable. Kurt Zouma has played a massive role in this phenomenal period in the Hammers’ history but is now desperate to lift his first trophy as captain. “Getting my hands on the trophy and lifting it would be awesome,” Zouma explained when speaking to WHUFC.com. “It’s something you dream of as a child.”

“Just winning a trophy was amazing. We did that last year, and now we want more, because we just want to win as many games as possible and keep making our fans happy.”

“Being West Ham captain is a huge honour. It’s the first time I’ve taken on a role like that at a big Club, and leading the team out of the tunnel in big Premier League and European games is an incredible feeling. Hopefully there are many more to come!”

“After beating SC Freiburg in the Europa League round of 16, another trip to Germany beckons for Zouma and the Claret and Blue Army on Thursday, with current Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen standing in the way of a spot in the last four.”

Obviously beating Leverkusen is no easy task, but it is a challenge that Zouma feels the players are capable of overcoming. “We know it’s going to be very tough, but that would have been the case against any of the teams we could have drawn at this stage of the competition.”

“We know they haven’t lost for a long time now, but it’s up to us to be the team to change that. We need to beat the best if we want to get through and go all the way, and that’s what we’ll be trying to do.”

“We won the Conference League last year, and we got to the Europa League semi-finals the season before, so we have a lot of experience and belief. We know what we’re capable of, and we’ll go to Leverkusen full of belief.

People often ask the question: “What is ‘the West Ham way?” Well, despite what most believe, it’s not a style of football, it’s a mentality. The West Ham way is attempting to overcome the odds at any cost. The West Ham way is not about winning, it’s about giving all you can give for the badge. No matter what the result is across the two legs, if both the players and the fans can look back on the tie knowing that they gave their everything and be proud of themselves for that then they would have played the West Ham way. The belief that Zouma and the players are showing is the first step towards achieving that and when playing the West Ham way, anything can happen.