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 Hlučín, Opava, Slovan Liberec and Slavia Prague.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vladimír Coufal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 22 August 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Ostrava, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Right back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | West Ham United | ||
| Number | 5 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Baník Ostrava | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 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 | 47 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2014 | Czech Republic U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017– | Czech Republic | 24 | (1) |
|
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13 December 2021 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 05:13, 9 September 2021 (UTC) | |||
Club career
FC Hlučín
Coufal began his career with Hlučín, making his debut against Dukla Prague in September 2010 in 2. Liga just after his 18th birthday.[3] During the 2010–11 season, Coufal made 14 appearances for the club.[2]
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.[2]
Slovan Liberec
After impressing in the second division with Hlučín and Opava, Coufal was signed by Czech First League club Slovan Liberec. He was with the club for six seasons, making more than 150 appearances and playing in the team which won the Czech Cup in 2015.[4]
During his first season with Liberec, Coufal played in 10 league games.[2] In his second season with the team, the 2013–14 season, Coufal became a regular for the team featuring in 21 matches.[2] Over the next three seasons, Coufal played consistently, making 57 league appearances, with a further 8 cup appearances, for Liberec.[2]
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.[2][3]
SK Slavia Prague
His impressive displays earned him a move to one of the Czech Republic's largest clubs, Slavia Prague. On 1 July 2018, Coufal joined Slavia Prague on a three-year contract. He was a member of the team which won both the 2018–19 and the 2019–20 Czech League titles.[5]
During the 2018–2019 season, Coufal made 28 appearances for the Slavia Prague, scoring 3 goals and helping lead the team to the Czech First League title.[2] 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.[2] 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.[3]
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.[4] He made his West Ham debut in a 3–0 win against Leicester City on 4 October 2020.[6] 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.[7] Coufal finished runner-up in West Ham's Hammer of the Year award for the 2020–21 season, behind compatriot Souček.[8]
International career
He made his debut for Czech Republic national team on 11 November 2017 in a friendly against Qatar.[9] He was a member of the Czech Republic squad for Euro 2020 which was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Denmark.[10][11]
Career statistics
Club
- As of 7 November 2021
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hlučín | 2010–11 | Czech 2. Liga | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||
| Total | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | ||||
| Opava (loan) | 2011–12 | Czech 2. Liga | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||
| Total | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 1 | ||||
| Slovan Liberec | 2012–13 | Czech First League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 11 | 0 | ||
| 2013–14 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | |||
| 2014–15 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 2 | — | 27 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 2 | ||||
| Total | 118 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 6 | ||
| Slavia Prague | 2018–19 | Czech First League | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 | — | 39 | 4 | |
| 2019–20 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 3 | ||
| 2020–21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| Total | 65 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 7 | ||
| West Ham United | 2020–21 | Premier League | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 12 | 0 | |||
| Total | 43 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 48 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 246 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 47 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 311 | 14 | ||
International goals
- Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 September 2020 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Slovakia | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League B |
Honours
Individual
References
- "2020/21 Premier League squads confirmed". Premier League. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 26 October 2020.
- "V. Coufal". Soccerway. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "West Ham United sign Czech Republic international Vladimír Coufal | West Ham United". West Ham United F.C. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
- "West Ham United sign Czech Republic international Vladimír Coufal". West Ham United F.C. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- "'A great addition': West Ham sign £5m Vladimir Coufal from Slavia Prague". the Guardian. 2 October 2020.
- "West Ham end Leicester's 100% winning start" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
- "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.
- "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.
- "Qatar v Czech Republic game report". espn.com. ESPN. 11 November 2017.
- "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.
- "Czech Republic 1-2 Denmark". BBC Sport. 3 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- "Návrat ztracených synů! Souček, Coufal, Král či Škoda budou čestnými hosty při předání poháru Slavii". Ruik. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
- "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.
External links
- Vladimír Coufal at FAČR (in Czech)
- Vladimír Coufal – Czech First League statistics at Fotbal DNES (in Czech)
- Vladimír Coufal at Soccerway
- Vladimír Coufal at National-Football-Teams.com
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