“Life is very different here at West Ham at Christmas because throughout my life I have always had days off throughout the festive period, including when I played professional football in the Czech Republic,” Souček said. “But now, we have more games than ever throughout this period, and it was tough for me and my family to adapt, but I came here to achieve a lifelong dream and play on the biggest stage, and I love playing throughout the Christmas period.
“We still follow the Czech Republic tradition at Christmas, so we celebrate Christmas on the 24th of December. We have a nice meal, which consists of carp and, of course, potato salad, before we open presents underneath the Christmas tree. We always do everything on the 24th, and because we are in the United Kingdom, we always celebrate Christmas on the 25th as well.”
In November, Souček and his wife Natálie shared the wonderful news that they are expecting their third child next year, a boy to go with their two daughters, which has added that little bit more importance to this time of year with their family of five almost complete.
“It was perfect news,” Souček added. “I think we will now be a complete family with five members, and hopefully everything goes well. There's still five months to go, but my daughters, especially the older one, are very excited to welcome a baby brother into the family and are happy that I’m now not the only male in the family. We’re really looking forward to it.
“I’ve been playing football for 20 years, and my family is something special. Every time I’m with my family and kids, my wife calls me the kid as well when I’m with them, but I love to just spend time with them.”