What was shaping up to be a dream first season away from West Ham United for Vladimir Coufal – now playing Bundesliga football with TSG Hoffenheim – could yet have a very unhappy ending.
While the Hammers have given themselves a real shot at survival despite spending what feels like 99 per cent of the season in the bottom three, Hoffenheim are heading into the final stretch in a very different sort of situation.
Vladimir Coufal’s current employers were firmly entrenched in the Champions League positions from matchday 16 to matchday 27. But for the first time since mid-January, when they thrashed Borussia Monchengladbach 5-1 at the PreZero Arena, the former West Ham United stalwart now finds himself on the outside looking in.
Vlad is statistically the BEST right-back in Europe! 🇨🇿 🫨
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Vladimir Coufal of Hoffenheim in action during the Bundesliga match between TSG Hoffenheim and SC Freiburg at PreZero-Arena on February 14, 2026 in Sinsheim, Germany.
Coufal was the driving force behind Hoffenheim’s top-four charge not so long ago; recording seven assists from right-back and helping Christian Ilzer’s team rack up a club-record eight successive home wins.
In a cruel twist of irony, though, Coufal would be forced off injured as Hoffenheim suffered a 2-1 defeat by Mainz on their own turf on Saturday. Slipping out of the top four for the first time in months, as a result.
Vladimir Coufal has made a big impact since swapping West Ham United for Hoffenheim
For Andreas Schicker, Hoffenheim’s sporting director, the focus must be on securing some sort of European football. If not the Champions League, then the Europa. Or, failing that, the Conference League.
“I think we’d be well advised to leave out the word [Champions League] altogether,” Schicker tells Schwabische.
Vladimir Coufal during Hoffenheim's Bundesliga game against Freiburg.
Photo by Simon Hofmann/Getty Images
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“Ultimately, the chances are still very, very good that we’ll be heading towards Europe. Getting that sense of ease back will be the key.”
After winning 11 of 14 Bundesliga matches between October and February, Hoffenheim have now won two of eight. That Mainz reverse is their fourth defeat in that spell, coming off a 5-0 thrashing by direct rivals RB Leipzig on the other side of the international break.
“We are currently conceding too many clear-cut chances,” adds a calm but concerned Ilzer. “That’s why we’re finding it so difficult to get results. It’s the same on the [attacking] side, where that right decision is also lacking.
“Nevertheless, we won’t bury our heads in the sand or overthink it. It’s important not to overthink things, but to give the lads clear, simple guidance.”
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Coufal’s vast experience, one imagines, will be absolutely integral if Hoffenheim are to bounce back from their untimely wobble.
Coufal is ‘a world-class guy and a model professional’, TSG teammate Grischa Promel said in happier times. West Ham’s 2023 Conference League winner was Europe’s standout right-back, statistically-speaking, until a few weeks back.
A pillar of consistency and a source of genuine creativity on the pitch, Coufal has also become a reliable right-hand man to Ilzer behind the scenes. While West Ham have missed Coufal’s personality and iron-willed leadership, a host of Hoffenheim youngsters have hung onto his every word in a dressing room all the better for his presence.
With a vital home game against fourth-place Stuttgart to come before the end – there are currently only three points and one place between the two rivals – Coufal should still have a very big say in an unpredictable Champions League tussle.
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