Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal, like everyone at West Ham United, are still coming to terms with the finality of Coufal moving on from a place that he has been the very heartbeat of - and the pulse of the east London community - for almost half a decade.
Our Czech mates are not just fantastic footballers and top professionals but also inseparable friends and have been since they were teenagers, having previously played 71 times together at Slovan Liberec and Slavia Prague and for the Czech Republic before their talent saw them reunited at London Stadium.
Coufal, alongside Souček, has played an integral role in helping the Club develop to a position whereby the successes of the past seasons, climaxing with our 2023 UEFA Europa Conference League triumph, have been made possible, with the right-back’s tenacious approach capturing the hearts and minds of West Ham fans.
On Sunday, after five memorable years together both on and off the pitch, the dynamic duo played together for the final time in Claret and Blue, helping their team collect a 3-1 Premier League win at Ipswich Town that ensured the No5 and his fellow departing Hammers enjoyed the perfect farewell, and the Club ended the season on a winning note.
Victory in Suffolk brought the curtain down on Coufal’s Irons career as he gets set to depart the Club upon the expiry of his contract. The 32-year-old will seek a new challenge elsewhere after 180 appearances for the Hammers following his transfer from Slavia Prague in October 2020.
He does so as a West Ham icon and a European champion.
And as our No5 stood alongside Souček for the final time at Portman Road, he reflected on his time with the Club in an emotional interview, which can be read in full below…
Now the end is here. The two Czech mates that we love more than anyone ever from Czechia. Today was an emotional day, but we finished with a win, and that’s important, Vlad?
VC: “It’s a very big positive and was an emotional send-off, but at least the boys ended with a victory, so that's a perfect send-off. I probably already said thank you to everyone, but the biggest thank you belongs to the changing room, to the players.
“I had the privilege and honour to play with very good players, world-class players. It's difficult to find the right words to leave this changing room after five years, but it's football, and hopefully the boys will be very successful next season.”
Tomáš, you two guys are always bantering with each other, but he's been like a brother to you. You've been together in three clubs and the national team, and you're going to get to see him again next week in a Czech shirt. Tell us about what he's done for you and for West Ham United?
TS: “He's been here for five years, and he can go back over that path of those five years with great pride because he’s been unbelievable.
“Not only how he played but how he was successful with all of our victories. Since he arrived, he has played nearly every minute on the pitch for this Club and was a massive part of all of these victories and successes.
“For me, he will be a big miss because we spend a lot of time around West Ham and London together, but I'm the luckiest one because I still see him. I see him next week for international duty, and obviously we will be in contact all the time.
“I think that everyone at West Ham appreciates what he has done for this Club.”
It's been a happy time, Vlad. It's been such a happy five years. We've had so many incredible memories, and the best was obviously when you two guys took us home to Prague and came back with a trophy?
VC: “Obviously it was unbelievable. I cannot imagine that in six weeks I will arrive at a new club and not see him in the changing room. It's going to be so strange and weird for me, and I will miss him on the pitch and off the pitch.
“I think he will overtake Patrik Berger (as the leading Czech goalscorer in Premier League history with three more goals) next season, and I won't be on his side, which for me is a shame because he will become the best.
“But we shared so many unbelievable memories and unbelievable experiences together here at West Ham. I will never be able to thank him enough for what we have done at [Slavia] Prague, here at West Ham and also with our country, the Czech Republic. It’s unbelievable.
“Tomáš and all the boys have a big space in my heart. I wish them from the bottom of my heart all the best.”
Tomáš, when we spoke this week, you used the word ‘warrior’ - a word that a lot of the fans use - but there's more than one word for Vlad?
TS: “I see that in every training session that he's one (a warrior). He’s a warrior all the time.
“When we are together in the same team in training, we always win, but when we are against each other, it's, for me, the biggest game of all time because I have a competitor against me.
“If we go to play table tennis or padel, he's also a competitor. He's a winner and wants to win all the time.
“If he doesn't win, he gets angry, which is normal, and the next time he will do his best to win for the team.
“This is the most important thing about him, but I could be here a long time talking about his attributes, and it's not about the character; it's about the quality on the ball.
“I think it's an honour for me to play next to him.”
VC: “I absolutely agree with what Tomáš said because I have the same feeling when I play against him in training. We have the same mentality. We hate losing. I really hate losing.
“When he beats me, I'm so angry. I don't speak with him on the pitch, and then I need to calm down, and in the changing room, we are again best friends.
“It's the mentality we have that brought us here and why we've been such a successful team as we try to spread this mentality to the changing room and everything.”
Thank you so much, guys. It's been special to get to know you. The fans love you. You're both legends, heroes of the Club, and will never be forgotten. Vlad. We love you, mate!
VC: “I just want to say my last thank you to everyone at the Club.
“It's always about the teammates and the coaches, but the people who are not seen in the background, like the media team. They've done an unbelievable job for me and helped me with everything, the people at Player Care and the fans who have been unbelievable with me.
“I don't want to forget the physios, doctors and masseurs. They've done a lot of work for me as well!
“And obviously, the absolute biggest thank you is to my family, to my wife, who supported me over my five years here. To my kids, because without them I wouldn't be the person I am right now, and of course also a big thank you to my brother (Tomáš) here.”
