West Ham United midfielder Tomáš Souček is the latest guest to look back at some of his career highlights on Iron Cast, the Club’s official podcast!
The 28-year-old, who could make his 200th West Ham appearance in all competitions against Bayer Leverkusen since initially joining on loan from SK Slavia Prague in January 2020, put pen to paper on a new deal with the Hammers earlier this year until June 2027.
Having netted 31 goals for West Ham since joining the Club, of which nine have come so far this season, Souček has been a consistent, key figure in David Moyes’ squad.
Souček’s meteoric rise is an inspirational for all and his journey is testament to his determination and skill. A warrior on the pitch – and a gentle giant off of it, a humble guy who gets on with his work and quite literally puts his body on the line week in week out.
Now, ten years after being unwanted by second-tier clubs in his native Czech Republic, he has used that rejection as a motivator and is now a UEFA Europa Conference League winner.
Growing up Souček was a striker, but through the years, he started slowly moving backwards, to midfield, and sometimes defence.
When you see Souček, he’s normally got a cut, a scar or a bandage wrapped around his head. But playing in midfield is a position Souček relishes, in the heart of a battle, though he admits his wife isn’t best pleased with the war wounds.
Speaking to Iron Cast co-hosts Chris Scull and James Collins, he said: “When I was younger, I played as a striker from five years old until I was maybe 12, but I began to go lower and lower [in the team]. I am happy where I am now because as a striker you are sometimes under more pressure as you have to score goals and for me, defending the goal is easier than scoring goals.
“My wife isn’t too pleased, not happy at all,” Souček laughed. “When I come home, she asks ‘why always you?’.
“It’s just me and the person I am. I don’t go into the tackles wanting to get hurt, but I want to get the ball despite it being too dangerous sometimes. If it’s just scratches and stitches it isn’t that bad.
“I got hit from the goalkeeper against Brighton and it was quite bad. I had a bad concussion and this is much worse than an open cut.
“I have a lot of stiches [in my head] from maybe five or six injuries.”
As aforementioned, Souček has been a pivotal player for the Hammers this season, scoring some important goals. However, the midfielder admits that goal at Goodison Park last month rates as his best during his time in Claret and Blue, if not his career.
“For sure [it’s the best goal I’ve scored for West Ham] but also maybe in my career as well,” said Souček: “92 minutes gone and to score a top corner goal was amazing, it was a great goal as well. It was the first time in my career I’ve taken my shirt off, but it was special moment in front of the away fans.
“I like to play there [Goodison Park] and the stadium is also where the potato salad moment came from my interview. I like to play in attractive games and stadiums and our fans there are brilliant and sometimes, if I’m honest, better than the home fans. I just love to score in front of them.”
That night in Prague will always be memorable for everyone associated with West Ham United, no more than Souček, who lifted the trophy in his home country, and at the stadium where he showcased his talent to the footballing world.
“When we got to the [UEFA Europa] Conference League and found out the final was in Prague, the first goal was to get there,” said Souček. “I was always planning on going. A few of my friends weren’t sure what the Conference League was as it was only the second year since they started it and was going to go to final because it was in Prague. I went there [Slavia Prague] when I was ten years old and since then, I spent all my time there apart from two six-month loans. I played there for 14 or 15 years and to go back there and win the trophy with West Ham was a dream for me.
“It was quite difficult to get tickets [for everyone]. I ended up with around 50, but it was worth it. I got so many more messages from friends but couldn’t even reply as I wanted to get tickets for my closest friends and family as they supported me from when I was ten and no one knew me, so it was nice to be able to get them into the stadium.
“I kept the beard that night as it felt superstitious. I was going to get rid of it after the quarter-finals but I kept it until the end.
“I organised something for the guys and suddenly the gaffer [David Moyes] asked if he could come, so he was watching us dance everywhere we went. It was good he joined us with the celebrations and we were all together until the end. We then went back to the hotel at four of five in the morning. The second day with the open top bus was even better.”
West Ham travel to BayArena to face Bayer Leverkusen on Thursday night in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals.
Souček could face off against international team mates in the fixture, but insists he and his teammates are determined to end the German sides record-breaking unbeaten run.
Xabi Alonso’s side are currently unbeaten in 41 consecutive games in all competitions in 2023/24.
But Souček, who could face off against international team mates in the fixture, insists he and his teammates are determined to end the German sides record-breaking unbeaten run.
“It will be very interesting for our country because it might be the last five players who play European football for Czech, so it is a good night for the Czech,” said Souček.
“We played a couple of weeks ago together on international duty, and I asked them what their tactics are but they wouldn’t tell me anything. I told them before we drew them that I will support them in being undefeated for the whole season, but that is finished now. We have to be the first team to beat them.
“All of us were all so happy [to get past SC Freiburg] because at three or four nil we knew we were going through and were able to enjoy it. It was quite similar to Sevilla, as the first game was 1-0 and the second leg was just perfect as we knew it was in our hands and the fans were great. The fans help us a lot.
“I am looking forward to Leverkusen, especially the second game, because the home leg is always much better. Hopefully we can get a good result there [in Leverkusen] and bring it back here like we did before.”
Following the conclusion of the Premier League season, Souček will return to Germany for the Euros with Czech Republic, and hopes to continue his success on the international stage.
“At the end of my thinking is the Euros because we are happy that we qualified, as it was a tough group, but now we have three games. First is Portugal, who are one of the favourites, but we have to give our maximum to try and win, before facing Georgia and Turkey.
“Our aim is to get through the group, and sometimes the first three teams can go through. We remember the last Euros, when we got the quarter-finals.
“He [Vladimír Coufal] is like a brother, I love him. He’s a good guy and it has also been so far, so good for him at West Ham. I hope he will get called back up for the Euros squad in the summer. Hopefully we get there after a good season with West Ham and continue our success with our country.”
You can check out the whole episode in the video player above, or you can download and subscribe to Iron Cast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and RSS here now!
