UEFA Europa League Rise Up series concludes with West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen

Humble and grounded, but with an unwavering determination, West Ham's Jarrod Bowen gives his insight into the twists and turns of the UEFA Europa League in the third and final instalment of the UEFA Europa League Rise Up series.

Having felt the sting of narrowly missing out on a place in the 2022 final, then the elation of success in lifting the UEFA Europa Conference League trophy in 2023, Bowen's career has been filled with desire and ambition to push forward.

Raised in Herefordshire, Bowen failed to make the professional cut with a number of clubs before being taken on by local side Hereford United. He made the step up to the Premier League with Hull City, scoring plenty for the Tigers following their relegation to England's second tier before West Ham signed him in January 2020.

"My challenges have been rejection and not getting into different teams at trials and football nearly ending for me completely," he says. "I've always kept the same path of, I love football and if it happens to me, it happens to me. If it doesn't, it wasn't meant to be."

Raised in a rural area, Bowen says his family have instilled in him the values that have seen him become a bold and fearless player in the Europa League.

"The mottos I've always followed with my family [are] having no fear, and having that drive inside me to be the best. It comes from within you, that drive and that hunger to do really well.

"Every pre-season, I'll go back home, see the family, and go to my dad's boot camp, as I like to call it, for a week. My dad is a bit old-school, and there's a lot of farming back home. So, moving cement up hills, tyre-flipping... They're not little tyres, they're the big tractor tyres that were massive! It was my job to flip them from one side of the field to the other. I come back and feel fit as a fiddle."

Bowen in action against Freiburg in the group stageGetty Images

From flipping tyres across fields at his father's "bootcamp" to relishing in the magic of playing in Europe, Bowen knows what it means to be part of those European nights that bring clubs and fans together in an unforgettable journey of thrilling football.

"Playing in Europe is a really special feeling. Seeing the different atmospheres, different cultures, different styles of football. Every team is different, but every game is a real challenge. There's never been one easy game in the competition. I think that's probably the most exciting thing about it.

"You play against some really good teams, and you can achieve really great things in these competitions. I always wanted to test myself at the highest level and against the best opposition. So that's what I want to keep continuing to do."

It goes without saying that he has not forgotten the feeling of scoring for the first time in the competition: against Genk in the 2021/22 group stage. "I'm a forward – I want to score goals. Getting that first UEFA Europa League goal was really special because I never thought that I'd be playing in that competition."

Resilience and determination are second nature to the versatile forward, but the Europa League has brought disappointments too, notably when his West Ham side lost out to Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final of the 2021/22 competition.

"In the changing room [after the game], nobody said a word because everyone was just… You know, there were tears. It was obviously gutting and heart-breaking, but I knew that we'd bounce back and use it to our advantage."

Sure enough, the Hammers rallied and were rewarded for their efforts as they overcame Fiorentina in the 2022/23 Europa Conference League final in Prague.

Bowen walks out for West Ham's group stage meeting with OlympiacosUEFA via Getty Images

"I remember [us] winning the penalty for handball, Saïd Benrahma scoring, then you start to think: 'We're close here.' Then they go up the [other] end about five minutes later and equalise to make it 1-1."

Bowen was to have the last word, scampering through to hit the 90th-minute winner. "I remember looking up at the clock and thinking: 'This is going to extra time.'

"Then the ball comes from a goal kick and, next thing you know, Lucas [Paquetá] has got the ball and I'm making a run. I'm one-on-one with the goalkeeper. I'm thinking: 'Score this goal and you win a European competition.' I managed to do that. The feeling of that goal going in was probably every emotion just in one."

It was West Ham's first major piece of European silverware since they won the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965. That taste of both defeat and glory continues to inspire Bowen to chase more silverware with West Ham as their Europa League journey continues in the round of 16 with a two-legged encounter with Freiburg.

"Winning that competition has made us want to do it again," he says. "We want to go all the way – of course we do. That's always been the dream, but we know there's a long, long way to go before we get there, and it's about just what we've done every year since we've been in the European competitions: take each game as it comes."

Check out the previous UEFA Europa League Rise Up episodes featuring Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz and Rennes' Désiré Doué.

Bowen: 'We want to go all the way – of course we do'