Former West Ham United defender Vladimir Coufal starred as Hoffenheim beat Freiburg to maintain their pursuit of Champions League football.
Hoffenheim sit third in the Bundesliga table and look on course to qualify for next season’s Champions League, with Coufal playing a big part.
West Ham United released Coufal at the end of last season after a brilliant five-year stint in east London.
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Coufal has been a brilliant signing for Hoffenheim and, over the course of the weekend, the 33-year-old further underlined his lasting quality.
The Czech international recorded two assists in the same game for the first time in his career as his side beat Freiburg. Coufal also became the oldest player to provide two assists in a Bundesliga match this season.
The former West Ham United right-back now has the most assists of any Hoffenheim player this season (6) and the win over Freiburg broke a club record for Hoffenheim as it was their eighth successive home victory.
Vladimir Coufal’s assists record compared to other defenders
Only five players in the Bundesliga as a whole have more assists than Coufal and none of those are England captain Harry Kane, generally regarded as one of the most complete forwards in world football.
Only Andrej Ilic, Fares Chaibi (both 7), Luis Diaz (10), Julian Ryerson (11) and Michael Olise (16) have more assists than Coufal.
If we get relegated this season, which five players are you building the future of the club around and why?
In fact, only Borussia Dortmund star Ryerson and Inter Milan’s Federico Dimarco have more assists as defenders than Coufal across Europe’s major five leagues this season.
| Defender | Club | Assists |
| Federico Dimarco | Inter Milan | 12 |
| Julian Ryerson | Borussia Dortmund | 11 |
| Vladimir Coufal | Hoffenheim | 6 |
| Jesus Rodriguez | Como | 6 |
| Matthieu Udol | Lens | 6 |
Vladimir Coufal is playing the best football of his career
Coufal has hit top form since leaving West Ham, and it does beg the question as to why he was released.
Can anyone seriously suggest Kyle Walker-Peters has been an upgrade? That’s not a criticism but it’s not as if he’s been so good that Coufal couldn’t have matched him.
It’s brilliant to see Coufal enjoying a fine third act to his career after such good service to West Ham.
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