Vladimír Coufal

Vladimír Coufal (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvlaɟɪmiːr ˈtsoufal]; born 22 August 1992) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club West Ham United and the Czech Republic national team. He has previously played for Bílovec, Hlučín, Opava, Slovan Liberec and Slavia Prague.

Vladimír Coufal
Coufal warming up with West Ham United in 2022
Personal information
Full name Vladimír Coufal[1]
Date of birth (1992-08-22) 22 August 1992
Place of birth Ludgeřovice, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Right back
Team information
Current team
 West Ham United
Number 5
Youth career
Baník Ostrava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2010 Bílovec
2010–2012 Hlučín 14 (0)
2012 → Opava (loan) 13 (1)
2012–2018 Slovan Liberec 118 (3)
2018–2020 Slavia Prague 65 (6)
2020– West Ham United 98 (0)
International career‡
2014 Czech Republic U21 2 (0)
2017– Czech Republic 38 (1)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 18:32, 22 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 03:31, 13 October 2023 (UTC)

Club career

Coufal began his career at local club Baník Ostrava, playing in the club's academy, before being released at the age of 17 as he was considered to be too small.[3] In 2009, following his release from Baník Ostrava, Coufal joined amateur club ŠSK Bílovec. He believed Baník had destroyed his opportunity to become a professional footballer and described his time with Bílovec as playing "with 40-year-old men. These guys played for sausages and beer after the game, just to drink after work".[3][4]

Hlučín

Coufal began his professional career with Hlučín, making his debut against Dukla Prague in September 2010 in 2. Liga just after his 18th birthday.[5] During the 2010–11 season, Coufal made 14 appearances for the club.[6]

Opava (loan)

Coufal spent the 2011–12 season on loan with 2. Liga club Opava where he made 13 appearances and scored one goal for the club.[6]

Slovan Liberec

After impressing in the second division with Hlučín and Opava, Coufal was signed by Czech First League club Slovan Liberec in 2012, following a trial with Sparta Prague, who saw Coufal as a replacement for the outgoing Ondřej Kušnír, who had joined Liberec himself in the summer of 2012. Despite playing for Sparta Prague in a pre-season friendly against Viktoria Žižkov, Sparta opted to sign Pablo Gil over Coufal.[7]

During his first season with Liberec, Coufal played in ten league games.[6] In his second season with the team, the 2013–14 season, Coufal became a regular for the team featuring in 21 matches.[6] Over the next three seasons, Coufal played consistently, making 57 league appearances, with a further 8 cup appearances, for Liberec.[6]

Coufal's last season for Liberec, was arguably his most impressive. He made 30 appearances for the club and scored two goals, these performances also earned him a call up and debut to the Czech national team.[6][5] Coufal was with the Slovan Liberec for six seasons, making more than 150 appearances and playing in the team which won the Czech Cup in 2015.[8] During Coufal's time at Liberec, he was made club captain.[4]

SK Slavia Prague

Coufal's impressive displays at Slovan Liberec earned him a move to one of the Czech Republic's largest clubs, Slavia Prague, following protracted interest from rivals Sparta Prague. On 1 July 2018, Coufal joined Slavia Prague on a three-year contract, for a reported fee of 18 million Kč. Upon his move to Slavia Prague, Coufal was reunited with manager Jindřich Trpišovský, with whom he played under at Slovan Liberec.[7]

During the 2018–19 season, Coufal made 28 appearances for the Slavia Prague, scoring 3 goals and helping lead the team to the Czech First League title.[6] The next season, during the 2019–20 campaign, he made a further 32 appearances and scored another three goals in season that was suspended for two months, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] During this season, Coufal and Slavia Prague retained the Czech First League title. During the 2020–21 season, Coufal made 5 appearances for Slavia Prague before transferring to West Ham United and the Premier League,[5] playing his last game for the club in a 4–1 UEFA Champions League qualification loss against Danish club Midtjylland.[9]

West Ham United

On 2 October 2020, Coufal joined West Ham United for a fee of £5.4 million, signing a three-year deal, reuniting with fellow Czech and former Slavia Prague teammate Tomáš Souček,[8] following interest from fellow Premier League clubs Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton.[9] He made his West Ham debut in a 3–0 win against Leicester City on 4 October 2020.[10] Coufal created seven assists for West Ham during his first season in English football, one behind Aaron Cresswell. The pair created more assists than any other Premier League full-back duo in the 2020–21 season.[11] Coufal finished runner-up in West Ham's Hammer of the Year award for the 2020–21 season, behind compatriot Souček.[12]

International career

In 2014, Coufal made two appearances for the Czech Republic under-21 side.[13]

He made his debut for the Czech Republic national team on 11 November 2017 in a friendly against Qatar.[14] On 4 September 2020, Coufal scored his first goal for the Czech Republic, scoring the opening goal in a 3–1 UEFA Nations League group game against neighbours Slovakia.[15] He was a member of the Czech Republic squad for Euro 2020 which was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Denmark.[16][17] On 16 November 2021, Coufal captained the Czech Republic for the first time, in a 2–0 World Cup qualification game against Estonia.[18]

Personal life

Coufal was born in the village of Ludgeřovice. Coufal's mother, Alena Dřevjaná, represented the Czechoslovak gymnastic team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Coufal's siblings, Petr and Jana, are both figure skaters.[19]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 30 September 2023[6]
Club Season League National cup[lower-alpha 1] League cup[lower-alpha 2] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hlučín 2010–11 Czech 2. Liga 14000———140
Opava (loan) 2011–12 Czech 2. Liga 13100———131
Slovan Liberec 2012–13 Czech First League 10010———110
2013–14 21010—4[lower-alpha 3]0—260
2014–15 13030—3[lower-alpha 3]0—190
2015–16 27140—10[lower-alpha 3]110422
2016–17 17000—10[lower-alpha 3]2—272
2017–18 30230———332
Total 1183120—273101586
Slavia Prague 2018–19 Czech First League 28300—11[lower-alpha 4]1—394
2019–20 32310—8[lower-alpha 5]010423
2020–21 5000—2[lower-alpha 5]0—70
Total 65610—21110887
West Ham United 2020–21 Premier League 3402000——360
2021–22 28000204[lower-alpha 3]0—340
2022–23 270001010[lower-alpha 6]0—380
2023–24 70000000—70
Total 9602030140—1150
Career total 30610150306242038814
  1. Includes Czech Cup, FA Cup
  2. Includes EFL Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances one goal in UEFA Europa League
  5. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  6. Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International
As of match played 17 June 2023[20]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Czech Republic 201710
201820
201940
202051
2021140
202280
202330
Total371
Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first.
List of international goals scored by Vladimír Coufal
No.DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.4 September 2020Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia Slovakia1–03–12020–21 UEFA Nations League B

Honours

Club

Slavia Prague

West Ham United

Individual

References
  1. "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
  2. "V. Coufal". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  3. McGrath, Mike (23 April 2022). "The rise of Vladimir Coufal: 'How I escaped playing for sausages and beer to find my home at West Ham'" – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  4. "'If you don't have a broken leg, you can play' – West Ham's new 'psycho' Vladimir Coufal ready for Wales test". The Times. 29 March 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  5. "West Ham United sign Czech Republic international Vladimír Coufal | West Ham United". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  6. "V. Coufal". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  7. "Před šesti lety nebyl Coufal pro Spartu dost dobrý, teď jí to vrátil i s úroky" (in Czech). Expres. 5 June 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  8. "West Ham United sign Czech Republic international Vladimír Coufal". West Ham United F.C. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  9. "Bubliny snů" (in Czech). Bez frází. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  10. "West Ham end Leicester's 100% winning start" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  11. "Watch: Every Aaron Cresswell and Vladimír Coufal assist from the 2020/21 season". West Ham United F.C. 31 May 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  12. "West Ham United supporters crown Tomáš Souček 2020/21 Betway Hammer of the Year!". West Ham United F.C. 6 August 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  13. "Vladimír Coufal". FAČR. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  14. "Qatar v Czech Republic game report". espn.com. ESPN. 11 November 2017.
  15. "Slovakia 1-3 Czech Republic". UEFA. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  16. "Vladimír Coufal and Tomáš Souček called up by Czech Republic for UEFA Euro 2020 | West Ham United". www.whufc.com. 24 May 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  17. "Czech Republic 1-2 Denmark". BBC Sport. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  18. "Vladimír Coufal: Bez frází+" (in Czech). Bez frází. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  19. "V Baníku ho nechtěli, v Premier League Vladimír Coufal září" (in Czech). Deník. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  20. "Vladimír Coufal". EU-Football.info. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  21. "Návrat ztracených synů! Souček, Coufal, Král či Škoda budou čestnými hosty při předání poháru Slavii". Ruik. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  22. Stone, Simon (7 June 2023). "Fiorentina 1–2 West Ham United: Jarrod Bowen goal decides Europa Conference League final". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 June 2023.
  23. "Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal presented with diplomatic award for promoting Czech/UK relations". West Ham United F.C. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
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