Douděra: My story is for the book, I was never a talent. I’m proud of what I’ve done

Within a year, David Doudere’s life changed. The 24-year-old talent has hardly played for the Czech national team since he moved from Mladá Boleslav to Slavia.

His professional career kicked off at Dukla, where he spent two seasons in the league and six months in the FNL as a youngster. He was then picked up by Mladá Boleslav, where he spent a year and a half acclimatising.

And last season he really hit the ground running. He scored 10 goals and added 4 assists in 31 games, even recorded the fastest sprint in the league and got a well-deserved transfer to Slavia.

He caught on with the best club of recent years quite immediately and has been making regular appearances in the starting lineup. His performances have been rather erratic, but at 24 years old he has the potential to improve.

And so came the first invitation to the Czech national team. “When I transferred to Slavia, I thought I was already at the top club level and I could achieve something. So at that moment I thought that I could also get into the national team if I succeed, because at that level it is very popular,” Douděra said in an interview at the Czech national team meeting.

“I don’t even know how to describe it to the fans because it’s an incredible feeling for me. My dad and I always say that my story is one for the books. But I don’t want to brag about it, it’s more like I just have it in me. Everyone has a story and everyone got here somehow,” adds the Slavija right back.

“But I wasn’t a great talent from a young age. I was never in the youth national teams, I only played in the 20s and 21s. So I have a completely different story than the guys who are used to being in the national team from the age of 14 or 15. I’m proud of myself for what I’ve done and I want to continue,” Douděra assures.

The 24-year-old’s competition will be Vladimír Coufal at right back. The West Ham defender has a certain position in the starting line-up, but there is a question mark over his health, as he has missed the last five games. Douděra must be on his toes.

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