Unsettled Hammer to Euro 2012 hero?

The rollercoaster career of Alessandro Diamanti hit another peak on Sunday night as he scored the winning penalty to knock England out of Euro 2012.

When peoplein England; especially ones located in East London; learnt that the 29-year-old had been called up to the Italian European Championships squad, it is fair to say they may have raised a smile or had a chuckle to themselves that this was the best the Azzurri could conjure up.

How wrong they were.

In August 2009, big spending West Ham were desperate to bring in some new, flair players,that could take them to the next level and Diamanti was their man. A fee reported to be in excess of £6million was paid to the Italians former club Livorno and the attacking midfielder signed a lucrative five year deal at UptonPark.

A steady and progressive season was in store for both the player and the club and under the guidance of fellow countryman Gianfranco Zola, Diamanti seemed to thrive,scoring eight goals and coming runner up to Scott Parker in the Hammer of the Year award.

However, the controversy then began as the former Prato and Empoli hitman decided he wanted out of West Ham, London and England, seeking refuge in his native country.

Considering the Hammers paid more than £6million for the player, they were understandably worried and frustrated when very few bids came in for the want-away winger and eventually they accepted the best offer of around a measly £3 million, half the price of that they paid.

However,with the player determined to leave, owners David Gold and David Sullivan had no option but to cut their losses and lose the player and £3million to Brescia; a club that West Ham had just signed record signing flop Savio from.

 

The bother didn’t end there as Brescia then missed a payment to West Ham of €2.2m the following year and have still not paid up that money to this date. David Gold and Sullivan are currently in the process of suing the club and called for Diamanti’s registration to be removed until they were paid.

However,with that case ongoing, Diamanti has since been allowed to carry on playing and moved on to Bologna where he rediscovered his flair earning him his first international call up for Italy under coach Cesare Prandelli that has lead him all the way to the European Championships.

A set piece specialist at West Ham, scoring just three goals from open play in his time there, every Hammer knew that when the scruffy looking homesick forward stepped up to that penalty spot on Sunday night, there was only going to be one outcome. Tears.

He cost West Ham so much, not just on original transfer fees and wages, but even now the East Enders are still owed. Another awful night watching England lose another awful penalty shoot-out was made even worse by the opposition taker.

It would not surprise me at all if Alessandro Diamanti plays a major part in Italy’s semi-final against ze Germans and shows West Ham supporters what could have been at Upton Park.

EXCLUSIVE Forever West Ham will be hosting a LIVE webchat tonight on the site to discuss all the pre-match build up and debate anything football (basically lets talk about how England would have won Euro 2012 with Mark Noble and James Tomkins in the squad) come on over and get involved!