With the international break in full swing, focus is already on the summer ’26 World Cup: It doesn’t seem a year since the last one!
Often these international breaks provide an opportunity for reflection over the state of club football: It seems West Ham’s longest serving player is waning fast and may soon be another footnote to the club’s history, along with contemporaries Michail Antonio, Lucas Fabianski, Vlad Coufal and a host of other Prague ’23 stalwarts.
On the face of it, the news that Tomas Soucek didn’t top the poll for ‘Czech player of the year’ might seem unremarkable.As whufc.com commented*:*
Tomáš Souček has finished fifth in the voting for the 2025 men’s Czech Footballer of the Year award.
The West Ham United midfielder and Czechia national team captain had won the prestigious title on four previous occasions and was the defending award winner.
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The 31-year-old was named his country’s outstanding player in 2019, when he was with Slavia Prague, and three more times since joining West Ham, in 2020, 2023 and 2024.”
Four times the winner; but his crown has now passed on – as most likely, soon will his starting spot in West Ham’s midfield.
Four times a winner but it seems the years and the miles are catching up
At 31 now, increasingly Soucek is set to become an impact sub or a bit part player as the years catch up. Never the fastest, “Tornado Tom” struggles to get into the Czech starting eleven these days but still does a job for his coach from the bench.
Fingers crossed for the guy that his Czech side make it to the finals in the summer – it’d be a fitting finale for him.
An absolute West Ham legend, his 217 Premier League appearances have been full of blood (literally) – guts and determination. Never complaining, always hard working and – for those who watch from the stands- always one to greet youngsters with a sweaty but treasured gift of his shirt after the game-no matter how far he’s run or how poorly the team performs.
Enjoy his commitment while you can.