Vladimír Coufal
Czech footballer (born 1992)
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Vladimír Coufal (Czech pronunciation: [ˈvlaɟɪmiːr ˈtsoufal]; born 22 August 1992) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a right-back for German Bundesliga club TSG Hoffenheim and the Czech Republic national team.
|
Coufal training with West Ham United in 2022 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vladimír Coufal[1] | ||
| Date of birth | 22 August 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Ludgeřovice, Czechoslovakia | ||
| Height | 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Right-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | TSG Hoffenheim | ||
| Number | 34 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Baník Ostrava | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2009–2010 | Bílovec | ||
| 2010–2012 | Hlučín | 14 | (0) |
| 2012 | → Opava (loan) | 13 | (1) |
| 2012–2018 | Slovan Liberec | 118 | (3) |
| 2018–2020 | Slavia Prague | 65 | (6) |
| 2020–2025 | West Ham United | 147 | (0) |
| 2025– | TSG Hoffenheim | 34 | (1) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2014 | Czech Republic U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2017– | Czech Republic | 64 | (2) |
|
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23:15, 18 May 2026 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals as of 05:05, 12 June 2026 (UTC) | |||
Coufal previously played for Bílovec, Hlučín, Opava, Slovan Liberec, Slavia Prague and West Ham United.
Coufal made his senior debut for the Czech Republic in November 2017, and has gone on to make over 60 appearances, scoring two goals.
Club career
Coufal began his career at local club Baník Ostrava, playing in the club's academy, before being released at the age of 17 as he was considered to be too small.[3] In 2009, following his release from Baník Ostrava, Coufal joined amateur club ŠSK Bílovec. He believed Baník had destroyed his opportunity to become a professional footballer and described his time with Bílovec as playing "with 40-year-old men. These guys played for sausages and beer after the game, just to drink after work".[3][4]
Hlučín
Coufal began his professional career with Hlučín, making his debut against Dukla Prague in September 2010 in 2. Liga just after his 18th birthday.[5] During the 2010–11 season, Coufal made 14 appearances for the club.[6]
Loan to Opava
Coufal spent the 2011–12 season on loan with 2. Liga club Opava where he made 13 appearances and scored one goal for the club.[6]
Slovan Liberec
After impressing in the second division with Hlučín and Opava, Coufal was signed by Czech First League club Slovan Liberec in 2012, following a trial with Sparta Prague, who saw Coufal as a replacement for the outgoing Ondřej Kušnír, who had joined Liberec himself in the summer of 2012. Despite playing for Sparta Prague in a pre-season friendly against Viktoria Žižkov, Sparta opted to sign Pablo Gil over Coufal.[7]
During his first season with Liberec, Coufal played in ten league games.[6] In his second season with the team, the 2013–14 season, Coufal became a regular for the team featuring in 26 matches.[6] Over the next three seasons, Coufal played consistently, making 88 appearances all competitions.[6]
Coufal's last season for Liberec was arguably his most impressive as he made 33 appearances across all competitions, scoring two goals. These performances also earned him a call up and debut to the Czech national team.[6][5] Coufal was with Slovan Liberec for six seasons, making more than 150 appearances across all competitions, and playing in the team which won the Czech Cup in 2015.[8] During Coufal's time at Liberec, he was made club captain.[4]
Slavia Prague
Coufal's impressive displays at Slovan Liberec earned him a move to one of the Czech Republic's largest clubs, Slavia Prague, following protracted interest from rivals Sparta Prague. On 1 July 2018, Coufal joined Slavia Prague on a three-year contract, for a reported fee of 18 million Kč. Upon his move to Slavia Prague, Coufal was reunited with manager Jindřich Trpišovský, who he had previously played under at Slovan Liberec.[7]
During the 2018–19 season, Coufal made 39 appearances for Slavia Prague, scoring 4 goals and helping lead the team to the Czech First League title.[6] The next season, during the 2019–20 campaign, he made 42 appearances and scored three goals in a season that was suspended for two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6] During this season, Coufal and Slavia Prague retained the Czech First League title. During the 2020–21 season, Coufal made a final seven appearances for Slavia Prague before transferring to West Ham United and the Premier League,[5] playing his last game for the club in a 4–1 UEFA Champions League qualification loss against Danish club Midtjylland.[9]
West Ham United
On 2 October 2020, Coufal joined West Ham United for a fee of £5.4 million, signing a three-year deal, reuniting with fellow Czech and former Slavia Prague teammate Tomáš Souček,[8] following interest from fellow Premier League clubs Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton.[9] He made his West Ham debut in a 3–0 win against Leicester City on 4 October 2020.[10] Coufal created seven assists for West Ham during his first season in English football, one behind Aaron Cresswell. The pair created more assists than any other Premier League full-back duo in the 2020–21 season.[11] Coufal finished runner-up in West Ham's Hammer of the Year award for the 2020–21 season, behind compatriot Souček.[12]
He achieved the UEFA Europa Conference League title with his club, featuring in a 2–1 victory over Fiorentina in the final.[13] On 9 May 2025, it was announced that Coufal would leave West Ham at the end of the 2024–25 season, after a five-year stay with the club.[14][15] In total, he made 180 appearances for West Ham.[6]
TSG Hoffenheim
On 5 August 2025, Coufal signed a one-year contract with TSG Hoffenheim in Germany as a free agent.[16][17] He scored his first goal for Hoffenheim during the 4–1 loss against Bayern Munich on 20 September 2025.[18]
International career
In 2014, Coufal made two appearances for the Czech Republic under-21 side.[19]
Coufal debuted for the Czech Republic national team on 11 November 2017 in a friendly match against Qatar.[20] On 4 September 2020, he scored his first goal for the Czech Republic, scoring the opening goal in a 3–1 UEFA Nations League group game against neighbours Slovakia.[21]
Coufal was a member of the Czech Republic squad for Euro 2020 which was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Denmark.[22][23] On 16 November 2021, he served as captain for the first time, in a 2–0 World Cup qualification game against Estonia.[24]
On 19 November 2023, Coufal along with Jakub Brabec and Jan Kuchta had been kicked out of the Czech Republic training camp after they allegedly went out clubbing two days before the Euro 2024 qualifier match against Moldova.[25] In May 2024, he was named to the Czech Republic squad for Euro 2024.[26]
Personal life
Coufal was born in the village of Ludgeřovice. Coufal's mother, Alena Dřevjaná, represented the Czechoslovak gymnastic team at the 1988 Summer Olympics. Coufal's siblings, Petr and Jana, are both figure skaters.[27]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 16 May 2026[6]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Hlučín | 2010–11 | Czech 2. Liga | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Opava (loan) | 2011–12 | Czech 2. Liga | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 1 | |||
| Slovan Liberec | 2012–13 | Czech First League | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 11 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 4[c] | 0 | — | 26 | 0 | ||||
| 2014–15 | 13 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 3[c] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||||
| 2015–16 | 27 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 10[c] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 42 | 2 | |||
| 2016–17 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 10[c] | 2 | — | 27 | 2 | ||||
| 2017–18 | 30 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 33 | 2 | |||||
| Total | 118 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 158 | 6 | ||
| Slavia Prague | 2018–19 | Czech First League | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | 11[e] | 1 | — | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2019–20 | 32 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 8[f] | 0 | 1[d] | 0 | 42 | 3 | |||
| 2020–21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2[f] | 0 | — | 7 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 65 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 88 | 7 | ||
| West Ham United | 2020–21 | Premier League | 34 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 0 | ||
| 2021–22 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | — | 34 | 0 | |||
| 2022–23 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 10[g] | 0 | — | 38 | 0 | |||
| 2023–24 | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7[c] | 0 | — | 47 | 0 | |||
| 2024–25 | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 25 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 147 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 0 | ||
| TSG Hoffenheim | 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 34 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 35 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 391 | 11 | 19 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 69 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 488 | 15 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
- Appearance in Czech-Slovak Supercup
- Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, nine appearances one goal in UEFA Europa League
- Appearances in UEFA Champions League
- Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
International
- As of match played 11 June 2026[28]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Czech Republic | 2017 | 1 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 14 | 0 | |
| 2022 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2023 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2024 | 11 | 0 | |
| 2025 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2026 | 4 | 0 | |
| Total | 63 | 2 | |
- Scores and results list Czech Republic's goal tally first.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4 September 2020 | Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Slovakia |  Slovakia | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League |
| 2. | 17 November 2025 | Andrův stadion, Olomouc, Czech Republic |  Gibraltar | 3–0 | 6–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification |
