In 542 appearances for West Ham United, Mark Noble admitted he has seldom played in an atmosphere as the one he experienced at Sevilla’s Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán Stadium on Thursday evening.
The Club captain was handed a late cameo by manager David Moyes as the Hammers managed their way to a narrow, hard-fought 1-0 round of 16 first-leg defeat in southern Spain.
A competitive tie was played in front of a loud and enthusiastic crowd, with both sets of supporters singing throughout to make for a memorable evening for all concerned.
Speaking to West Ham TV pitchside after the game, the 34-year-old was happy to have played his part in a special evening for the Club he has represented for the past 18 seasons.
Mark, you’ve had hundreds of experiences as a West Ham player, but was that up there with the best of them?
“Yeah, I would say, apart from the result obviously, but the atmosphere was incredible. For 90 minutes, the crowd sung and supported their team and it was so good.
“We had a lot of fans here but from where we were sat in the dugout [on the opposite side of the pitch from the 3,000 West Ham supporters] they drowned them out because the crowd here was so loud.
“But you know West Ham, away to Seville, to bring so many fans was incredible for them to come all this way and support us. Obviously they’d have loved to have seen us get a goal but the boys played really well in spells and it’s still open next week.”
You might not have been able to hear our fans down on the bench, but you could certainly see them!
“Yeah, absolutely incredible. I was laying in my hotel room in the afternoon and I could hear them singing for two hours non-stop! I couldn’t even see the bar, but they’re fantastic.
“They deserve a trip like this and to come to places like this and support their team because certainly in my time as a player they’ve supported us through thick and thin so let’s hope it continues.”
It wasn’t just a day out, either. We’re still in this tie!
“Of course! I know it was in a different competition, but I think you saw what happened with Real Madrid and PSG and anything can happen in this game.
“Sevilla are a really good side but they’ll find it tough coming to our place. I think they’re a real mix between an English and a Spanish side and the way they play is really good, but we know if we can play like we can do at home and get that 60,000 behind us, it’ll be a special, special atmosphere and we’re looking forward to it.”
You’ve played at Anfield and now in Seville in the space of four days, when you might have thought things would be winding down. Wonderful experiences for you as you approach retirement…
“I thoroughly enjoyed myself at Anfield the other day, even though we lost the game, and to get on here in that atmosphere and play European football was fantastic and thankfully I got a few touches of the ball as well.
“All in all, it was a good night apart from the result, but a really good performance.”