This evening, West Ham United will face AZ Alkmaar in Upton Park for the second leg of their Europa Conference League semifinal matchup. The Hammers took a 1-0 lead from the first leg in London. Tomas Soucek acknowledges that West Ham United may have the motivation to win against AZ Alkmaar as a result of their defeat in the Europa League semifinals last year.
West Ham have a one-goal advantage from the first leg at the London Stadium, which they won 2-1. The Hammers will play AZ in Holland in the second leg of their Europa Conference League semi-final matchup. However, the Dutch team’s fantastic home record in European games adds to the ongoing challenge of the tie, as they have not lost in any of their past 25 home meetings in Europe.
Soucek is aware that the Hammers will face a challenging test, but the international for the Czech Republic is eager for West Ham to move past the heartbreak of falling short to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-final stage last season and perhaps take it a step further by making it to the final of the Europa Conference League.
And he thinks West Ham must draw lessons from last season’s failure if they are to win the championship in his native Prague the following month.
What Motivation Soucek Has For West Ham
Soucek Spoke ahead of their game about their upcoming challenge against AZ Alkmaar. He said, “I remember last year that we were very disappointed after the semi-final and even more a few days and few months after that we didn’t reach the final, Now, it’s even more motivation for all of us that we know we are one game from it, especially when we lost it last year, it makes it even more for this year.”
He further added, “I didn’t watch the [Frankfurt] game because I was so disappointed for many days and even months. Even now, I wanted to be there in the final, but I remember nearly every set-piece or [thing] we could do better this time and even I saw that we didn’t do well in the first leg, so I was happy that we did now in the first leg. Every tie is very important to go in the right direction for the first one, but now, we have a second leg and we have to show at least a similar performance to the last leg at home.”
“Since I knew the final is in Prague – at the beginning of the season – I told the guys: come on we need to go there because it’s my home. So it’s an even special motivation for me to get there because I know the stadium very well. I came there at 10 years old so it’s another special motivation.”
Meanwhile, Soucek claims West Ham have learned from the first leg against AZ last week, with the midfielder urging his teammates to replicate the second half performance at the London Stadium. Thanks to goals from Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio turned the game in the Hammers’ favor after Tijjani Reijnders gave the visitors the lead in the first half.
Indeed, Soucek agrees that the game’s outcome taught the Hammers a lesson following a tough first half in which they struggled to adjust to the AZ playing style.
Soucek’s Premier League Run So Far
Premier League Record
| Appearances | 121 |
|---|---|
| Goals | 20 |
| Assists | 5 |
| Yellow Cards | 13 |
| Red Cards | 1 |
Soucek joined West Ham for a cost of £20 million in July 2020, and he was won the Czech Golden Ball a month later. Soucek soon became a fan favorite among West Ham supporters, netting his first goal for the Hammers in a 1-0 Premier League win over Fulham.
In the 2020/21 season, the Czech scored 10 goals and provided one assist, making him the club’s equal top scorer alongside striker Michail Antonio. With wins over Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, and Manchester City, West Ham clinched sixth place in the Premier League and entry into the Europa League.
Because of his accomplishments, Soucek won the Czech Golden Ball and Hammer of the Year for the second consecutive year. He has developed into a crucial part of West Ham under David Moyes.
