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Luděk Mikloško
Luděk Mikloško (born 9 December 1961) is a Czech football coach and former professional footballer. As a player, Mikloško was a goalkeeper who notably played in the Premier League for West Ham United, for whom he played over 300 games. He also played in the Football League for Queens Park Rangers and in his native country for RH Cheb and Baník Ostrava. He was capped 40 times by Czechoslovakia and was part of the team that competed at the 1990 FIFA World Cup. He was later capped twice by the Czech Republic. Following his retirement, Mikloško returned to West Ham and worked as the club's goalkeeping coach before leaving in 2010. He has since moved back to the Czech Republic. Early lifeBorn in Prostějov, Mikloško started with football at home in Němčice nad Hanou. At the age of 13, he was scouted to be a goalkeeper for the youth league in his hometown.[2] Club careerCzechoslovakiaMikloško began his career with RH Cheb before joining reigning Czech champions Baník Ostrava in 1982.[3] He left Czechoslovakia having made 234 appearances in the Czechoslovak First League.[4] West Ham UnitedMikloško transferred to West Ham United under Lou Macari in February 1990 before Billy Bonds was appointed Macari's successor, for a fee of less than £300,000.[5] Mikloško made his league debut on 18 February in a 2–2 away draw against Swindon Town.[6] His fourth match was the second leg of the 1989–90 League Cup semi-final against Oldham Athletic. West Ham had lost the first leg 6–0, with Phil Parkes in goal in what proved to be his last game for West Ham after an eleven-year association with the club.[7][8] From this point until the 1997–98 season, Mikloško was the first-choice goalkeeper.[9] Mikloško played 56 matches for West Ham in the 1990–91 season, including every league match, as they were promoted as runners-up from the Second Division. The club made the semi-finals of the FA Cup, before losing to Nottingham Forest, with him playing in all of their seven cup games.[10][11] He was named Hammer of the Year in 1991.[9] and Man of the Match performance against Manchester United on the last day of the 1994–95 season the latter of where West Ham drew 1–1 with Manchester United at the Boleyn Ground to help secure Manchester United's rivals, Blackburn Rovers, their first league title in over 80 years.[12] Mikloško conceded once before being sent off in a December 1995 away match against Everton after a foul on opponent Daniel Amokachi. As West Ham had no goalkeepers available as substitutes, defender Julian Dicks took over between the posts, conceding twice in the second half as Everton ran out 3–0 winners.[13] In his final season, Mikloško competed with Craig Forrest for the goalkeeper position.[5] His last game came on 6 December 1997 in a 2–0 away defeat against Derby County,[9] scoring an own goal in the game.[14] The following match, he was replaced in goal by Forrest.[15] Queens Park RangersMikloško signed for Queens Park Rangers in 1998 for a nominal fee after a three-month loan spell.[16] His last professional match occurred on 3 March 2001.[17] Under new coach Ian Holloway's first game in charge, QPR lost 3–1 at home to Sheffield United.[18] International careerFrom 1980 to 1982, Mikloško represented Czechoslovakia under-21 24 times,[4] being named best goalkeeper at the 1980 and 1982 editions of the Toulon Tournament.[19] He made his debut for Czechoslovakia in a 3–1 friendly victory against Denmark on 27 October 1982.[2] Between 1983 and 1984 he made two appearances for the Czechoslovakia Olympic team. Mikloško went to the 1990 FIFA World Cup with the Czechoslovakia squad, but did not play in the tournament.[4] His final match for the national team took place on 2 April 1997 in a 2–1 home loss against FR Yugoslavia.[2] In total Mikloško made 40 appearances for Czechoslovakia and two for the Czech Republic.[9] Retirement and subsequent careerAfter his retirement, Mikloško returned to West Ham to take up a goalkeeping coaching role, but left the club in March 2010.[20] He later returned to the Czech Republic and works for a sporting investment agency.[21] As of 2024, he was also employed as sporting director at his former club Baník Ostrava.[22] Personal lifeIn December 2024, Mikloško announced his decision to withdraw from cancer treatment. In 2021 he had an operation to remove a lump on his hip but a further tumour grew in his stomach. Having had radiotherapy which helped, further tumours meant chemotherapy would be required which he declined.[22] HonoursIndividual
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