Vladimír Coufal

Vladimír Coufal (; born 22 August 1992) is a Czech professional footballer who plays as a right-back for club Hoffenheim and the Czech Republic national team.

Coufal previously played for Bílovec, Hlučín, Opava, Slovan Liberec, Slavia Prague and West Ham United, winning the UEFA Conference League with the latter in 2023, before moving to German side Hoffenheim in 2025.

Coufal made his senior debut for the Czech Republic in November 2017, and has gone on to make over 60 appearances, scoring two goals, and was included in the squads for two UEFA European Championships (2020 and 2024) and one FIFA World Cup (2026).

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. 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".

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. During the 2010–11 season, Coufal made 14 appearances for the club.

During his first season with Liberec, Coufal played in ten league games.

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, following interest from fellow Premier League clubs Brighton & Hove Albion and Southampton. 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. Coufal finished runner-up in West Ham's Hammer of the Year award for the 2020–21 season, behind compatriot Souček.

He achieved the UEFA Europa Conference League title with his club, featuring in a 2–1 victory over Fiorentina in the final.

On 9 May 2025, it was announced that Coufal would leave West Ham at the end of the 2024–25 season. In total, he made 180 appearances for West Ham in five years. He scored his first goal for Hoffenheim during the 4–1 loss against Bayern Munich on 20 September.

International career In 2014, Coufal made two appearances for the Czech Republic under-21 side. He later debuted for the senior Czech Republic squad on 11 November 2017 in a friendly against Qatar.

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.

In May 2021, Coufal was named in the Czech Republic squad alongside West Ham teammate Tomáš Souček for the postponed UEFA Euro 2020. They were later eliminated in the quarter-finals by Denmark on 3 July in a 2–1 loss. On 16 November, he served as captain for the first time, in a 2–0 World Cup qualification game against Estonia.

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 UEFA Euro 2024 qualifier match against Moldova.

In May 2024, he was named to the Czech squad for UEFA Euro 2024.

On 31 May 2026, Coufal was selected in the 26-man squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

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.

Career statistics Club

International

Scores and results list the Czech Republic's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Coufal goal. Czech Cup: 2014–15

Slavia Prague Czech Cup: 2018–19

Individual Silver Medal of Jan Masaryk: 2021