What was behind Guardiola’s embrace of Coufal: Comparisons to a champion and praise for offensive and defensive performance

When you lose a game to Manchester City and Pep Guardiola praises you after the game, it must make your head spin. Vladimir Coufal’s words obviously gave the Spaniard confidence, as he assisted in the next two rounds.

West Ham’s two-week-old match with Manchester City was quite thrilling. The Hammers survived big chances, Alphonse Areola worked his magic and James Ward-Prowse took the half-time lead after an assist from Vladimir Coufal.

The favourite equalised in the first minute of the second half and then turned the game around to 3-1, yet Coufal could leave the pitch smiling. At the end of the match, the visiting coach Pep Guardiola hugged him.

“He said that super assist. That knuckle down and that he really liked me in that game. And even though Doku scored, that I more or less couldn’t do anything about it. The last thing he said was that I reminded him a bit of Kyle Walker in style, which was also a pleasure,” the national back said in an interview with Canal+ Sport.

Walker was one of the stars of the match along with Coufal. Both right-backs shone on their respective lines, with the England international also helping to defend the lead. The comparison with him is indeed a compliment, as he is one of the best right backs of the decade.

The highlight of Coufal’s performance was the defending on the 1:1 goal, when Jeremy Doku played with him like a little boy. On the other hand, the Belgian speedster has been giving all his opponents problems since his arrival from Rennes.

The media didn’t pay much attention to Guardiola’s hug, there weren’t even any pictures of the emotional moment on the internet. The Czech viewers were alerted by Canal+ Sport in the broadcast of the summary of the fifth round of the Premier League.

“It was a big surprise for me. Mr Guardiola came up to me, gave me a hug, which was absolutely incredible for me, and I have to say I recorded the screen recording,” Coufal continued.

Coufal’s Slavia side received a similar honour four and a half years ago. Although he was unable to feature in the double-header with Chelsea due to injury, Maurizio Sari’s compliment on a commitment he had never seen before was also extended to Coufal. Now Guardiola has praised him directly.

“I will probably save the footage in my memory or album and keep it with me until I probably die, because when will the best coach in the world talk to you like that. Itwas an emotional experience for me,” Coufal added.

Source: Canal+ Sport