Alphonse Areola was West Ham United’s penalty shootout hero as the France international saved two spot-kicks to deny fellow countrymen LOSC Lille at London Stadium – and upset his first senior coach in the process!
Lille’s goalkeeper coach Nicolas Dehon was Areola’s first goalkeeper coach at Paris Saint-Germain when the young stopper signed his first professional contract with his hometown club in 2009.
Sixteen years on Areola put everything Dehon taught him into practice to keep out penalties from Nathan Ngoy and Lilian Baret and secure a pre-season trophy for the Hammers.
For the 32-year-old, who caught up with his former coach for a long chat after the final whistle, it was the climax of a challenging pre-season of travel, heat and five tough matches.
“I was a bit frustrated on the first one and the second one [in the shootout], as I was like touching the ball every time and I was like, ‘Come on, I need to stop one’,” he told West Ham TV. “Luckily, I went on the right side on the last one, on the [potential] winner for them and kept the team in it, and just confirmed after with the sudden death save.
“You have to keep your focus [through the pre-season, focus on the recovery as well because it’s been hard to sleep the last few nights. But when you’re a professional, you have to deal with everything. We’re looking sharp. We worked hard, as you said, and then hopefully everything will be good for us.”
For Areola, Saturday’s flawless performance, which also featured important saves in the first half, was a reward for hard work and positive thought after a difficult afternoon in the Premier League Summer Series opener against Manchester United in New Jersey a fortnight ago.
“I’m always happy when I help the team,” he confirmed. “Obviously, the penalty shootout shows a bit more the ‘keeper, but I was happy to help, as I said, and to win today was great.
“Now we have to keep working, that’s what we do, and keep doing what we do.”
For a committed husband and father of three daughters, being away for weeks on end has its own additional challenges, but you can be sure the Areolas will be proud of their husband and father’s performance.
“It’s part of the job, part of our lives, to be away, but they’ll be back soon [from their summer holiday],” he explained. “They have to enjoy it, and when they come back, then we enjoy everything, for the kids and for my wife.”
Areola has risen to every challenge in his career, having played for PSG, Real Madrid, Fulham and West Ham and shared dressing rooms with top-class goalkeepers wherever he has been.
The Hammers signed Mads Hermansen ahead of kick-off on Saturday, and the No23 is ready to welcome the Dane to the Club and work with him for West Ham’s future success.
“As I said, the team is the most important,” he concluded. “We’ve always been working hard, always been in competition, and it’s part of the job. But as I said, the team comes first. We want the team to be the highest possible, so let’s work for it.”
