Vladimir Coufal believes his time with West Ham has helped him mature and improve as a player.
The 28-year-old Czech international signed for West Ham in October 2020 for what is now seen as a bargain fee of just £5.4 million.
Since his arrival at the London Stadium Coufal has made 36 appearances for the Hammers, the defender has only tasted defeat nine times in the claret and blue helping the team to a 53% win success rate.
Of the four matches Coufal missed during the Premier League campaign West Ham only managed one win. Once Coufal’s transfer was completed, the Czech Republic defender was selected for 34 out of 35 league games and played in all but five minutes of the action.
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The no-nonsense full-back contributed seven assists across the season and was named by Jamie Carragher in his Premier League team of the season.
The former England defender was full of praise on Sky Sports for the Hammer: “At right-back, I’ve gone for Vladimir Coufal, I love him,” he said. “He plays week in, week out, has been brilliant, and typifies West Ham’s season.”
Coufal arrived and was thrown straight into the West Ham team without the need for time to acclimatise to the pace of the English game, as many players new to the Premier League require.
With a Champions League campaign behind him at Slavia Prague and as an established Czech international Coufal was already an important part of his national setup.
The defender believes this importance to his country has grown because of his time in England: “Since I’ve been in in the Premier League, I feel the guys in the national team look for help from me even more,” Coufal told Betway.
“I feel more responsibility for the team and for my players. Playing in the Premier League with the best players in the world has helped me a lot. The experience has turned me into a better and more important player.”
Coufal’s impressive first season with West Ham has continued into the international arena with the right-back providing an inch-perfect cross for Patrick Schick’s opener against Scotland.
The defender has dreams of replicating his countrymen’s run to Wembley in 1996 for the final of Euro ’96 and after a successful group stage at Euro 2020, the Czechs are well on their way.
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An opening match victory over Scotland followed by a creditable draw with Croatia saw the Czech’s qualify for the knock-out stage with a game to spare.
Following the 1-0 loss against England, the Czech’s will now face a tricky assignment versus either Belgium or Netherlands in the last-16 and Coufal is intent on continuing his exceptional season.
“There is a special feeling when you represent the national team, but I never feel big pressure to perform personally,” he said.
“That said, I have hope that we can be successful like our team in ‘96.”