For the first time in nearly a decade, Vladimír Coufal is preparing to play club football under a manager not named Jindřich Trpišovský or David Moyes.
West Ham United’s Czech Republic international right-back played under compatriot Trpišovský at two clubs, Slovan Liberec and Slavia Prague, between June 2015 and October 2020, winning three Czech First League titles, the Czech Cup and Czech Supercup.
He was signed by Moyes and moved to the Hammers, where he has established himself as a fan favourite for his honest, whole-hearted displays, numerous assists and the influential role he has played in helping West Ham into Europe and UEFA Europa Conference League glory.
Now, though, Coufal is starting life under a new Head Coach in Julen Lopetegui, and the 31-year-old says he feels like he is making a fresh start.
“Time is flying!” he smiled. “Another season is here and we’re preparing here in Florida. It’s so good to be back with the boys, having conversations with them, and with the staff. We have a new manager and his team, so we have to get used to everything, and I’m really excited about the new season.
“I had the same coach the whole time I was at Slavia, and again my whole time at West Ham until now. We changed the national team manager as well recently, though, and now obviously after four seasons in West Ham we have changed, so it’s like coming to a new club and, with a new staff and some new players, I feel in some ways like a new player here.”
Coufal has spoken often of his desire to play fearless football, pressing high, keeping possession, taking risks in attack and defending aggressively. Having heard Lopetegui’s vision on joining up with the squad in Florida, the No5 believes his new Head Coach’s philosophy is closely allied to his own.
“We have a new style and hopefully we can be successful with the new manager,” he observed. “This is only my third day here and from the sessions I can see it is very intense, the manager wants to play really high, he wants to press and he wants to be on the ball the majority of the time, so it’s perfect and hopefully the boys will like it as well as me.
“I love to press high, I love to do everything as a positive person, and that’s exactly what can suit me and I believe it will, so we can call it a new style of football and we can see a new West Ham.”
Coufal is feeling refreshed after a very welcome break with his family, spending a week in his home village of Ludgeřovice in the far east of the Czech Republic, catching up with his parents, enjoying laughs with his wife and children and carp fishing in a local lake. He and his wife Hana also spent time in Prague, while the couple took their two children to the Greek islands.
“We went to Crete and it was perfect!” he beamed. “The sea, beach and pool were nice and to spend time with my wife and kids was amazing. I have to say, it’s harder every year to come away on a training camp as the kids are crying. They are getting older now and understand how long I will be away, so it’s never easy to say ‘goodbye’.
“We also had two weeks at home, one at my parents’ house in my birthplace, so that was perfect as we live in a small village and everyone knows me there. We have peace and calm there and a beautiful forest two minutes away for a walk and ponds there, so every evening I took a few poles and went fishing for three or four hours. I caught some carp, but always let them go back to the water. It was perfect, so we extended our time there and my parents were so happy.
“We left the kids there for a few days with my parents and Hana and I had some time to ourselves in Prague, which was also perfect, so I really enjoyed that.
“We spoke about family stuff, the kids, how they are getting on at school in London and also how life is in the Czech Republic. To have a holiday and turn my phone off was lovely!”
For Coufal, the break was hugely beneficial to clear his head after a disappointing end to the domestic season and then missing out on reaching the knockout stages of UEFA Euro 2024 with his national team.
“Obviously, we didn’t promote to European football with West Ham, then we had an unsuccessful Euros with the Czech Republic, so I needed just to let football go away from my head and be with my family and talk about normal stuff, so I was really grateful that they helped me to do it,” he explained.
Now, though, Coufal is ready to concentrate on football again, and is relishing his first-ever visit to the United States, where West Ham will contest two Stateside Cup ties with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Crystal Palace in the Floridian cities of Jacksonville and Tampa on the next two Saturday evenings.
Both matches will be available to watch worldwide on West Ham TV via whufc.com and our official mobile app – with passes available for both matches now! Alternatively, if you are in the United States, come along and watch West Ham live and in-person! Tickets for both games are on sale now HERE.
“To be honest, it was a really long flight but I felt a bit of excitement because you see America in the movies and you see everything is possible here, as it’s the country of unlimited options!” he beamed.
“I want to go fishing and catch something big from the sea, that would be perfect! Then I would like to go to an NBA or an NFL game and sit there and have a hamburger or hot dog, but the seasons haven’t started yet. We are playing in the two NFL stadiums, though, so that will have to do!
“We want to work hard to get back into Europe for next season. I was really disappointed we missed out on European football for this season, so we have to improve our standards and be more consistent.”
