As West Ham fans gathered in Amsterdam’s central square this afternoon, a couple of hundred yards away across the cobbles a children’s street entertainer blew bubbles - pretty ones - into the crisp air. This was the stage of European competition where, 12 months ago, their final dreams had come to not so much fade but vanish, to die. But not this time. Not this year.
For the first time since 1976, this proud east London club are headed for a major European showpiece, a Prague final against Fiorentina and 90 minutes now away from a first trophy in 43 years.
