Vladimir Coufal’s son may hope to follow in his father’s footsteps at West Ham United but not as a diligent, defensive-minded full-back.
While the Coufal bid an emotional farewell to the Hammers at the end of last season – his contract expired after five years of loyal service – the Czech Republic international certainly leaves a legacy at the London Stadium.
Coufal’s son joined the West Ham academy a few months ago.
So, while his father helps Hoffenheim make a flying start to the new Bundesliga season – two wins from three, including an opening day victory over Bayer Leverkusen during Erik ten Hag’s blink-and-you-miss-it tenure – young Niclas Coufal is honing his own talents back home in East London, looking to pick up where his father left off.
But as Vladimir Coufal explains to the official Hoffenheim website, Niclas dreams of emulating the likes of Kylian Mbappe rather than developing into a seven-out-of-ten right-back who came to embody ‘solid but not spectacular’.
Vladimir Coufal opens up on Niclas’ West Ham United hopes
Close friend and long-time teammate Tomas Soucek bid farewell to a ‘warrior’ when Coufal’s time at East London ran out back in May.
As Soucek explains, the former Slavia Prague defender is just about the last person you would want to come up against on the ping-pong table, let alone on the football pitch.
“I passed [that warrior spirit] on to my son. He is also a very bad loser!” Coufal Sr laughs. “[But] he wants to be Kylian Mbappe rather than Vladimir Coufal!”
It will come as no surprise, meanwhile, that Coufal has earned the ‘Mr Reliable’ nickname at his new German home. The 33-year-old has started every one of Hoffenheim’s three Bundesliga matches so far this season, and hopes to use his vast experience to help mentor some of the brightest young talents in the league.
“My task here is clear,” Coufal adds. “I want to fulfil my mission and help TSG succeed. I’m concentrating on that.
“Both the executives and the coach [Ilzer] showed me a clear plan and quickly convinced me. Many clubs now only rely on young players, but they also need experienced players to take these young players under their wing.”
Tomas Soucek was sad to see Coufal leave the London Stadium
Back at West Ham, Kyle Walker-Peters and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are now competing for the right-back spot Coufal held under lock-and-key for half a decade.
During the 5-1 EFL Trophy thrashing of MK Dons on Tuesday night, meanwhile, Dimitri Colau made his Hammers debut at Under-21 level. A potential long-term Coufal replacement, Colau joined from Ligue 1 newcomers Paris FC on deadline day.
“Obviously, [Coufal] has been here for five years,” Soucek said while paying tribute to his friend a few months ago. “It’s unbelievable, not only how he played but how he was successful. Since he came, he played like nearly every minute.
“It’s unbelievable, and he was a massive part of all of these victories and successes. For me, he will be a big miss because we are together all the time around West Ham and around London.
“But, in this club, I am the luckiest one because I will still see him! I’ll see him next week! I think all West Ham should appreciate what he has done for the club.”
“In the training sessions, when I am in [Coufal’s] team, I always win! He’s like a warrior all the time. If we play table tennis, he’s a competitor! He wants to win all the time.”
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