Soucek on goal drop: Opponents guard me more, I had a lot of space at the beginning

He is a stable member of the West Ham and Czech national team, but he is not always successful. For the last two seasons his name has been mentioned in a negative sense. Tomáš Souček spoke to Radiožurnál Sport about his lower productivity.

Tomáš Souček signed for West Ham in the spring of 2020 after Slavia’s successful performance in the Champions League. The Sešiovans then won two points in the company of Barcelona, Inter Milan and Dortmund, and he was there as captain.

Soucek was a guest at the Hammers with the understanding that if the club saves itself in the Premier League, the option will automatically be activated. That is indeed what happened. He contributed to staying among the elite with three strikes and a reliable defensive performance.

In the following season, the captain of the Czech national team shone even more. Ten goals, one assist, unbelievable numbers for a midfielder, defensive confidence and to top it all – a nomination for the Premier League’s best player.

The 2021/22 season wasn’t quite as spectacular. Soucek made mistakes defensively, but still kept his place in the lineup. What the team missed most was his goals. Five shots and one assist were not enough to get him criticised in Britain.

“When I came in as an unknown player, I had a lot of space. They were guarding the teammates they knew,” Soucek said in an interview with Radio Sport.

Soucek didn’t have as much space in his second full season with the Hammers. He scored most of his goals in his senior season from corners, but this time he didn’t have the space. The Hammers still finished seventh and went to the Conference League the following season.

“As the goals kept coming, the opponents were saying, ‘Keep an eye on Thomases’ and stuff like that. Itwas an honour that they were saying that, but it was harder to get through,” the midfielder continued.

The last season was full of twists and turns. The criticism on his person was strong, only a couple of games went his way and the 2+3 record means he didn’t help much in terms of goals either. But all that was erased by the triumph in the Conference League.

“I tried to keep scoring goals, but I wanted to do other things as well,” Soucek said.

Source: Radiožurnál