PALMIERI WILL GET EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE TROPHY TATTOOED ON HIS CALF
- Palmieri could become the first player to win all three UEFA club competitions
- West Ham are set to face Fiorentina the Europa Conference League final
- The 28-year-old will celebrate by getting the trophy tattooed on his left calf
West Ham defender Emerson Palmieri is hoping to become the first player to win all three UEFA club competitions on Wednesday night and plans to commemorate the feat with another tattoo.
Palmieri won the Europa League and Champions League with Chelsea before signing for West Ham. Now he is hoping to lift the Europa Conference League trophy with the Hammers on Wednesday evening.
Palmieri has said he will get the Europa Conference League trophy tattooed on his left calf if West Ham manage to beat Fiorentina and secure their first major trophy in 43 years.
The tattoo on his left calf will mirror the ink he has on his right calf as the 28-year-old defender celebrated his Champions League triumph in 2021 by getting a tattoo of the trophy on his lower right leg.
Palmieri's right calf also features the European Championship trophy after he celebrated beating England on penalties in the Euro 2020 final at Wembley stadium with some fresh ink.
Speaking about how he will celebrate if West Ham win the Europa Conference League, Palmieri told The Times: 'I always have space for more tattoos of trophies and good things, so let's see if I can do it with another trophy.'
However, Palmieri understands how difficult it will be to beat the Serie A side. He said: 'Fiorentina play so aggressive, one-on-one all over the pitch, so for sure they try to stop the game and it's their style.
'It works for them because when you press high, sometimes you need to make some fouls. It is normal in football, but we need to take this on and try to find the space in behind them to win the game.
'When we play people like this, when they try to stop the game, mentally you want to do something different and then it is foul, foul, foul. It is not easy. We need to try to find a solution to do our best and win the game.'
Palmieri - who came through youth ranks at Santos FC, the same club which produced Pele - could make European history on Wednesday evening by becoming the first player to hold all three UEFA club competition titles.
Palmieri started the 2019 UEFA Europa League final victory over Arsenal and helped Chelsea beat the Gunners 4-1. He was also an unused substitute for the 2021 UEFA Champions League final.
It is likely that Palmieri will start on the bench for West Ham on Wednesday evening but victory over Fiorentina will still see him achieve the feat of becoming the first player to hold all three UEFA club competition titles.
However, Palmieri insists he is focused on the job at hand. He said: 'It is just one game, it is just 90 minutes, it is about having that mentality. Sure, it is a nervous game - it is a final – but whoever stays in the game with concentration and focus can win it in the end.
'I know it is not easy to have control mentally in these moments but if we control it well we can win. We have a lot of big-match experience in our squad. Kurt Zouma as well won something with me at Chelsea and Declan Rice played the final of the Euros for England.
'Sometimes you don't need to talk - we know the importance of the game for the club, for us, so we need to go there with the focus and concentration to win this game.'