West Ham’s Tomas Soucek: First Option When I was Born was to Play Football

Tomas Soucek has made a real impact at West Ham since joining in January. (Getty Images)
Tomas Soucek has made a real impact at West Ham since joining in January. (Getty Images)
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West Ham’s Tomas Soucek: First Option When I was Born was to Play Football

Tomas Soucek has made a real impact at West Ham since joining in January. (Getty Images)
Tomas Soucek has made a real impact at West Ham since joining in January. (Getty Images)

Sometimes people noticed the tall figure going through his training drills with help from his wife and young daughter. London had gone into lockdown and Tomas Soucek, who had joined West Ham at the end of January, needed to find somewhere to stay fit as he adjusted to a new reality in an unfamiliar city. “We went to Hackney Marshes, where there are 50 pitches in one place,” Soucek says. “It was incredible.”

The West Ham midfielder smiles. Lockdown brought challenges for everyone, forcing adjustments to the usual routine. For Soucek, the task was to be ready for whenever the Premier League season resumed. He did not mind being out in public. If people realized who he was, they waved. And if they happened to support West Ham, it was a chance to greet their new signing by putting their arms over their chest to make a crossed hammers sign, the club’s symbol.

Soucek had given West Ham hope in their battle against relegation after joining on loan from Slavia Prague. Tall, physical and good on the ball, he enhanced their presence in midfield, forming an effective relationship with Declan Rice.

The Czech Republic international had been preparing, starting English lessons six months before the transfer, and was determined not to grow stale when Covid-19 forced the season to be suspended. His wife, Natalie, is a keen runner and wanted to help him train, so they went to Hackney Marshes with their daughter, Tereza, who is 20 months old.

“I took a ball and some cones and I did normal training, but individually,” Soucek says. “My wife was sometimes giving me the ball and helped me enjoy it. Sometimes I enjoyed it with my daughter and her. It was a good time. I heard all about the tradition for playing Sunday League football there, though there was nothing like that during these times. At that time there were only a few five-a-side teams using it.”

Soucek did not mind using a space usually associated with amateur football. He was brought up in Havlickuv Brod, a town with a population of 23,000 people, and comes from a sporting family. “My dad took me to my first football training because he was the coach,” the 25-year-old says. “He was a footballer as well, a goalkeeper. My mother played handball, my aunt played football. The first option when I was born was to play football. Everywhere I went I would ask my family if I could take the ball with me.”

Soucek’s mother, Iva, was a major influence. “For the last 15 years she has been running half-marathons and marathons and sometimes when I was younger, I went with her to the forest,” he says. “I’m a footballer and I don’t like too much space without intensity but sometimes when I was in pre-season I would go with her to run in the forest. I think I got my stamina from her. She was brilliant. I think she won the park marathon.”

Soucek, who may consider a marathon after retiring, needed support from his family after joining Slavia at the age of 10. The journey from Havlickuv Brod to Prague was long. Sacrifices were required and Soucek was determined to repay his family’s faith. He worked hard, establishing himself in Slavia’s first team, helping them win league titles in 2017 and 2019, impressing against Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund and Internazionale in the Champions League last season.

His talent was clear when he helped the Czech Republic defeat England in a Euro 2020 qualifier last year. David Moyes had watched Soucek and moved for him after being appointed as West Ham’s manager last December.

Soucek’s height – he is 6ft 4in – and threat in the air inevitably drew comparisons to Marouane Fellaini, who played for Moyes at Everton and Manchester United. “David has found in Soucek his new Fellaini,” José Mourinho said after West Ham’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Tottenham last weekend. Soucek smiles again. “I take these words very positive because I know what a player he was,” he says.

“I was maybe one of the tallest from nursery but from even when I was younger I told myself I wanted to cover every square of the pitch. I wanted to help my guys in every situation so longer legs helped. It suits my style and prepared me for the way I play even now.”

Given freedom to roam by Rice, Soucek rampages forward from midfield, bursting into the penalty area and attacking crosses. He scored three times at the end of last season, helping West Ham stay up before joining permanently. Yet Soucek, who supported Arsenal because of the presence at the Emirates of the former Czech international Tomas Rosicky, is not a one-note player. He can play, too, and cites Yaya Touré as an inspiration.

Soucek, who has been instrumental in West Ham’s improvement, is a football fanatic. His bedroom walls at home were covered with posters of heroes such as Pavel Nedved and he loves swapping shirts with opponents. He got Olivier Giroud’s shirt after scoring against Chelsea for Slavia in the Europa League and says he plans to have “a small museum” of his collection in his parents’ house one day.

The Guardian Sport



Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
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Joao Pedro Brace Sends Chelsea into Club World Cup Final

Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)
Football - FIFA Club World Cup - Semi-final - Fluminense v Chelsea - MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey, US - July 8, 2025 Chelsea's Joao Pedro scores their second goal. (Pool via Reuters)

Joao Pedro marked his first Chelsea start in spectacular fashion on Tuesday, scoring twice to fire the Premier League side into the Club World Cup final with a 2-0 victory over his boyhood club Fluminense.

The 23-year-old Brazilian forward, signed from Brighton & Hove Albion for 60 million pounds ($81.5 million) last week, curled home a fabulous strike in the 18th minute before sealing the win with a brilliant finish following a counter-attack early in the second half.

Chelsea will face Real Madrid or Paris St Germain, who meet in the second semi-final on Wednesday, in Sunday's final.

"I’m pleased about everything, to be honest. It's a great achievement," Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca told DAZN.

"It's been a fantastic season. To finish top four in the Premier League, win the Conference League title, now in the final in the Club World Cup. We are so, so, so happy.

"We knew with Joao Pedro that we have a player that is able to do what he has just done."

The semi-final took place in brutal conditions in New Jersey, with an afternoon kickoff in scorching heat that prompted a National Weather Service warning. Temperatures soared past 35 degrees Celsius with over 54% humidity.

Chelsea started the game in control against a Fluminense side who adopted a conservative approach, with a deep five-men defense, inviting their rivals to hold possession and trying to counter attack.

The English side struggled to find their way through against Fluminense’s defensive block, but they broke the deadlock in the 18th minute thanks to Joao Pedro's shot from the edge of the box into the top corner of the net.

The Brazilian refused to celebrate his goal, a gesture of respect for Fluminense, where he came through the academy before making his professional debut as a 17-year-old. His journey took him to Watford in 2019 and Brighton in 2023 before joining Chelsea.

Fluminense, who stunned Champions League runners-up Inter Milan in the last 16 and Al-Hilal in the quarter-finals, nearly equalized when Hercules burst unmarked into the box following a slick one-two with German Cano, only for Marc Cucurella's goalline clearance to preserve Chelsea's lead.

The Brazilian side thought they had earned a lifeline when referee Francois Letexier awarded a penalty for Trevoh Chalobah's handball, but VAR overturned the decision.

Just as Fluminense appeared to be building momentum in the second half, Pedro delivered the knockout blow in the 56th minute, taking a fine pass by Enzo Fernandez before dribbling past Ignacio and smashing in an unstoppable shot off the underside of the crossbar.