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David Moyes’ second coming to West Ham is as remarkable a fairy tale as Cristiano Ronaldo’s scoring return to Manchester United.
That’s the opinion in East London of the Scottish coach who has turned West Ham from serial relegation contenders to a European team in its second stage.
He has also helped reestablish Pablo Fornals as an absolute star for Spain, as he demonstrated with a goal on his return to international service in the recent 2022 World Cup qualifying victory over Kosovo.
Pablo Fornals has become an elite international player at West Ham
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David Moyes has converted West Ham from serial relegation candidates to a European team
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That was the first international match in more than three years for Fornals, who played for a winning Villarreal team against Ronaldo’s Real Madrid before joining West Ham for a club record of £ 24 million in 2019.
And he has no doubt that Moyes will be the main man when he leads his Hammers against the Manchester stars that he achieved less successfully on Sunday.
The midfielder said: ‘The first thing I did when I saw the Spanish squad list was to thank the coach and my teammates. Without the work of each one of us, I could not be there.
Pablo Fornals has reestablished himself as a senior star in Spain under Moyes.
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“I am very proud of my teammates and also of all the staff. For everyone who can represent their country playing football, it is huge, so I am really happy.
The 25-year-old, who made his breakthrough in LaLiga with Málaga, was not at West Ham when Moyes was first in command, but he is aware of the impression he made on his teammates.
Fornals added: ‘We talked about it. It was a similar moment. The team was not very good, the coach came and saved the team.
“This second time he has stayed with us, we have simply continued doing what we do and that is why we are where we are.”
The Spaniard won his first international match in three years and scored in the World Cup qualifiers this month.
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West Ham takes on Manchester United equipped with lethal weapon Cristiano Ronaldo on Sunday
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However, Ronaldo will obviously get his share of the spotlight on Sunday as well, and West Ham can take comfort in the fact that Fornals knows how to beat him in past games.
The Spaniard is too modest to take credit for that historic victory at the 2018 Bernabéu and said: ‘I didn’t beat Cristiano Ronaldo. It’s not like I’m playing him one-on-one.
«I played for Villarreal against Real Madrid and of course it was a huge moment for us, as it was the first time that Villarreal had beaten Real Madrid at that stadium, so it was a great moment, not just for me but also for the club. ‘
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