RICARDO VAZ TE has revealed that cried in a toilet after firing West Ham back to the Premier League.
The Portuguese attacker scored the Hammers’s iconic last-minute winner against Blackpool in the 2012 Play-Off final.
Vaz Te, 37, joined the club from Barnsley in January 2012 and provided valuable goals that fired the club into the play-offs.
Carlton Cole put the East London side ahead in the first half before Tom Ince netted an equaliser for the Tangerines after the break.
Blackpool went on to dominate for much of the second half, but Vaz Te netted the winning goal in the dying moments.
However, while Vaz Te’s team-mates celebrated on the pitch after lifting the trophy, he was in the changing room, having become overwhelmed with emotion.
He told Ironcast: “After the struggles of three years it all sunk in.
“People don’t know this, but after the game, we get the trophy, the medal and all that and take the group photo.
“After that, I just ran to the dressing room, and I just cried because of all the struggles to get to that moment and glory.
“In West Ham’s world, I am known for that goal, so from losing everything to gaining so much more.
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“Years before, I should have retired because my knee was no good.
“Every club I went to told me no chance, but West Ham managed me well.
“To culminate to that moment was special, it meant I got my life back.
He added: “They didn’t see me as it took maybe 15 minutes for them to do the lap, celebrating, the fans, the craziness.
“I think it was only one person, maybe a security person, that makes sure no one comes in.
“I didn’t want to cry in front of them, I just went to the bathroom and cried there and cried the whole time.
“A lot of the time they (team-mates) thought I was arrogant, big time, and didn’t want to celebrate with the boys, but it was just too overwhelming.”
Vaz Te also admitted that he wishes that he had gone back and joined his team-mates, even if it meant crying on the pitch.
He admitted: “I wish I held it more. I wish I was better prepared to contain the emotion.
“But at that moment, I couldn’t hold it. After the game I did the interview and then it was still hectic so I couldn’t digest anything.
“We gone up, got the trophy and the medals and it was when we came down, it hit me, boom. I had to flee.
“I wish I just cried on the pitch, that probably would have been better.”
Vaz Te stayed with West Ham until 2014 when his contract was terminated after falling down the pecking order.
