The vast majority of Czech football fans respect the English Premier League. Plenty of them also have a favorite club that plays there. Among those is one in which the interest of the Czechs has skyrocketed in the past year, even though it was previously on the sidelines in this regard. West Ham United. The reason for this being chiefly two names: Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal.
The club’s symbol sports two crossed hammers. But not to show their opponents what they intend to do with them. No, the reason is much more poetic. Hammers were actually one of the most used tools of the very first West Ham players.
From amateurs to professional players
The year was 1895, and Dave Taylor, the foreman of the Thames Ironworks and Shipbuilding Company (the place where the very first armored warship was built, the HMS Warrior) put together a football team consisting of a group of workers. The club was titled Thames Ironworks FC and due to its name and symbol, the team is to this day called The Hammers or also The Irons. The club consisted purely of amateur players, but as early as its first year it managed to win the local West Ham Charity Cup and two years later a title in the amateur league of London teams followed. Another year later, in 1898, the Ironworks turned professional and entered the Second Division. It took them a mere one season to attain a promotion to the next division.
Ups and downs
Then came the year 1900, and the Ironworks became West Ham United. In 1904 they moved to a new stadium, where they remained until 2016, and started to make their way up through the lower divisions. That, however, took them quite some time. Until 1923 to be precise, when they advanced to Division One and reached the finals of the FA Cup in Wembley. The match had an attendance of roughly 200 thousand, and West Ham fell to the Bolton Wanderers 0:2. In the year 1932 came a relegation to Division Two, which “The Hammers” wouldn’t claw their way out of for another 25 years. They managed to do so in 1958 and along with this came an era of success.
The golden sixties
The sixties were a decade of change – be it in the film industry, music, fashion or social norms and rules. And they brought a rebirth for the London club as well. In 1964, they won the finals of the FA Cup and they also had success in the European Cup Winner’s Cup. And they didn’t stop there, several of the team’s players were instrumental in helping England win the World Cup by beating Germany 4:2 in overtime. The star player was West Ham’s most prominent personality and a lifelong legend, Bobby Moore, one of the best defenders of all time. He was accompanied by another West Ham player at the World Cup, the forward, Geoff Hurst – the only player to this day who managed to score a hattrick in the World Cup finals. And also by the midfielder, Martin Peters, who added another goal on top of Hurst’s hattrick. All three of them were also present two years later at the European Championship, where they snatched a third place finish from the then Soviet Union, winning 2:0 with the help of one goal from Hurst. The famous era of “The Hammers” lasted until the late 70’s. In 1976 they came second in the Cup Winner’s Cup (they were defeated by Anderlecht 2:4 in the finals), but two years later came the fall and relegation from the top-flight to the second division.
A roller coaster
Next came a period reminiscent of a roller coaster or a children’s swing. A time of promotions, relegations, more promotions and yet more relegations. West ham oscillated between the first and second division a total of five times. They only managed to stabilize this wild ride in 2005, when they managed to stay in the Premier League (which replaced the previous First Division in 1992) for six years. Then came another relegation, but this time only for a year and they have managed to hold on to a Premier League position since then.
A Czech footprint
Tomáš Souček, Vladimír Coufal – two names that brought West Ham the attention of many Czech football fans. Both from the Prague Slavia, Souček transferred in January 2020, Coufal nine months later. A lot of people were skeptical, but Souček especially was a great fit for the team right away and he quickly became an integral part of the starting lineup. Thanks to this tandem, among other things, West Ham is competing for a spot in the European cups. Slavia sold Souček for more than 500 million crowns and Coufal netted them over 160 million. And how are things looking now? Souček now has a value of over a billion crowns on the transfer market and Coufal is valued at 260 million. These players are not the first Czechs to make their mark on West Ham, however. In 1991, the goalkeeper Luděk Mikloško was proclaimed the club’s player of the year.
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Tomáš Souček and Vladimír Coufal – new arrivals from Prague's Slavia.
Tomáš Souček doesn't wear this number on his jersey, it's the year until which he signed the contract.
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