Now retired, Walter López is a name few at West Ham United will likely remember, mostly because he only made six appearances for the club during the 2008-09 season.
Five of those were in the Premier League, as he came off the bench each time for a total of 19 minutes of football, while final one was a start in the league cup in a 1-0 loss to Watford.
The former West Ham defender has been interviewed by Numero Diez in Italy, a country he spent most of his playing career in, where he was asked about his time with the Hammers.
He immediately addressed his lack of playing time with the Premier League club, but made it clear that it’s something he would do all over again.
López said: “There is no regret for not having found space, because when I arrived at West Ham, I was very young. Indeed, at the end of the season, during the last day of training, Gianfranco Zola and the sporting director Gianluca Nani asked me if I wanted to renew my contract and stay another year. I had expressed to him my desire to go away to play, and for this reason Nani took me to Brescia.
“I have always remained on very good terms with both of them, and, in fact, I was lucky enough to make five appearances in the best league in the world. I’m very happy with the path I have taken and I’m very proud of having arrived there, but if I had to make this choice again, I would stay in England. If I had a client who doesn’t play there and asked me for advice, I would tell him to try his luck in the Premier League.”
López had arrived at West Ham on a free transfer from River Plate in Uruguay in September of 2008 and left on a free transfer for CA Cerro in his home country for free in July of the next year.
He then went on loan to Brescia and FC U Craiova in Romania before transferring to Peñarol, where a loan to Paraguay for Cerro Porteño took place.
López then spent most of his time in Italy with Lecce, Benevento, Spezia, Ternana and Salernitana before finishing his career at Triestina in 2022.
