In a recent social media post Vladimir Coufal suggested that his determined on-field demeanour made him look like a psycho. The observation would have brought a wry smile from Stuart Pearce, one of his West Ham United coaches, who revelled in acquiring the nickname during his playing career. Pearce probably did not know that the right back was known as “Robocop” at Slavia Prague for being apparently indestructible, regularly declaring himself fit to play in spite of bad injury. It was the continuation of a perception that began at Slovan Liberec, when, during an aerial challenge, he was bitten on the head by an opponent, who left behind a piece of tooth. On a separate occasion, he recovered from an infection after knee surgery that

Source: The Times March 29, 2021 16:04 UTC