West Ham United stars Michail Antonio, Alphonse Areola and Angelo Ogbonna are the next guests to share their stories on Iron Cast, the Club’s official podcast!
The trio made a special appearance on just the second-ever live recording of Iron Cast at JD Sports, Westfield Stratford City, as the global sports and fashion brand retailer opened its biggest-ever store on the doorstep of London Stadium.
The players gathered in front of a live audience of Hammers supporters to answer fans’ questions, while discussing other topics such as our recent UEFA Europa League encounter with Bayer Leverkusen and their best memory in Claret and Blue.
The Hammers partnered with JD ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, with the logo featuring on the sleeve of all men’s, women’s, and Academy teams from the start of this season.
Initially trading from a single store in Bury, Greater Manchester, JD now has over 900 stores across 21 countries worldwide, providing an elevated consumer experience across both physical and digital landscapes.
Speaking at the event about one of his best memories with the Hammers, Ogbonna said: “I have so many memories but it is probably the last game at Upton Park. I remember the game being delayed, but the game itself was unbelievable. We won the [UEFA Europa] Conference League but in terms of tradition and what the Boleyn Ground meant, it was special for everyone.”
Meanwhile, Areola, who isn’t short of memories throughout his career in football, believes one of his best memories aside from the Conference League win was that night against Sevilla in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Areola said: “The Sevilla game in the Europa League in the first season that I arrived [at the Club] is one of my favourite memories. The atmosphere was unbelievable and we managed to win it and go through.”
And for Antonio, becoming West Ham’s all-time leading Premier League goalscorer is one of his proudest moments during his near-nine years with the Hammers.
Antonio said: “My best memory has to be becoming the Club’s all-time highest Premier League goalscorer and doing my mannequin goal celebration. In lockdown, when the fans weren’t there, I decided that I was going to put two cardboard cut-outs in the stands, and when I scored I was going to jump into the stands and celebrate with myself. But you weren’t allowed to get in the stands, and if I did, I would have got red carded!”
You can check out the whole episode in the video player above, or you can download and subscribe to Iron Cast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and RSS here now!
