West Ham United right-back Vladimír Coufal is an inspiration for Bresica defender Aleš Matějů.
The 25-year-old first arrived in England in 2017, when Brighton & Hove Albion signed him, three years before the Coufal joined the Hammers.
Matějů didn’t feature for the Seagulls and after initially joining the Italian club on a loan deal in 2018, his stay was made permanent a year later.
The Serie A man can operate anywhere at the back four and his club form helped him debut for Czech Republic last October.
Due to his ability to play across various positions, Matějů didn’t have an idol. However, he does have an admiration towards David Moyes’ man. The former Brighton man was in full praise of his compatriot during an interview with Gianluca Di Marzio.
“Honestly no, I don’t have any idols. I’ve played in all the defensive roles, but I don’t have a player who has particularly inspired me, also because I think there are currently few really strong full-backs,” Matějů said.
“One player I always follow is Vladimír Coufal: he is the right-back of the national team and is the strongest in Czech Republic.
“For me, he is also the best in Europe, there are few like him: he is 29 years old and in the middle of football maturity, he has been playing in the Premier League for two years with West Ham. He is really strong, even at the European Championship he did well.”
Matějů played alongside Coufal in all three matches for Czech Republic during this month’s international break. Having seen him up close over the last year, the Bresica player is likely to be aware of the West Ham fullback’s qualities.
