Luděk Mikloško

Luděk Mikloško
Mikloško as goalkeeping coach with West Ham United
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-12-09) 9 December 1961 (age 63)
Place of birth Prostějov, Czechoslovakia
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)[1]
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1969–1975 Němčice nad Hanou
1975–1976 Železárny Prostějov
1976–1980 Baník Ostrava
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1982 RH Cheb 23 (0)
1982–1990 Baník Ostrava 211 (0)
1990–1998 West Ham United 318 (0)
1998 → Queens Park Rangers (loan) 12 (0)
1998–2001 Queens Park Rangers 45 (0)
Total 606 (0)
International career
1980–1982 Czechoslovakia U21 24 (0)
1982–1992 Czechoslovakia 40 (0)
1983–1994 Czechoslovakia Olympic 2 (0)
1996–1997 Czech Republic 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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 life

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Born 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 career

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Czechoslovakia

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Mikloško 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 United

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Mikloško 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 Rangers

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Mikloško 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 career

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From 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]

Personal life

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After 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]

In 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]

Honours

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Individual

References

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  1. ^ "Ludek Miklosko Goalkeeper, Profile & Stats". Premier League. 25 July 2022. Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Nohavica, Jakub (9 December 2021). "První Čech, který se prosadil v Anglii, slaví. Legendární Mikloško má šedesát". Deník (in Czech). Vltava Labe Media. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  3. ^ Evans, Matthew (28 November 2018). "Luděk Mikloško and the heroics that denied Manchester United the title in 1995". These Football Times. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Jeřábek, Luboš (2007). Český a československý fotbal – lexikon osobností a klubů (in Czech). Prague, Czech Republic: Grada Publishing. pp. 124–125. ISBN 978-80-247-1656-5.
  5. ^ a b "Ludo: 'we Must Be Mad!'". West Ham United F.C. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  6. ^ Thomas, Roshane (24 March 2021). "Luděk Mikloško: "West Ham warned me about this young fan who actually changed his name to Mikloško"". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  7. ^ "Game played 14 February 1990". WestHamStats.info. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Phil Parkes". WestHamStats.info. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  9. ^ a b c d "Welcome to the Wonderful World of West Ham United Statistics Ludek Miklosko". Westhamstats.info. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  10. ^ "Game played 14 April 1991". WestHamStats.info. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  11. ^ "2nd Division 1990-91". WestHamStats.info. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  12. ^ White, Jim (21 March 2014). "Flashback: The day a man called Ludo ruined Manchester United's game | and dreams of the double". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  13. ^ Hodgson, Guy (12 December 1995). "Everton revel in Miklosko's misery". The Independent. Retrieved 30 December 2024.
  14. ^ "Derby County 2–0 West Ham United". WorldFootball. Heim: Spiel. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  15. ^ "Game played on 13 December 1997". WestHamStats.info. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  16. ^ Incenzo, Tony (4 July 2024). "The Greatest Goalkeepers To Play For QPR". 888sport Blog. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Season 2000/2001". Soccer Base. 9 December 1961. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  18. ^ "QPR 1-3 Sheffield United". BBC Sport. BBC. 3 March 2001. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  19. ^ a b "Tournoi Espoirs de Toulon: Official Player Awards". RSSSF. 12 October 2022. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  20. ^ "Miklosko leaves Hammers". West Ham United. Archived from the original on 30 April 2010. Retrieved 10 May 2010.
  21. ^ "Ludek Mikloško". Premier League Heroes. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Ludek Miklosko: Former West Ham goalkeeper withdraws from cancer treatment". BBC Sport. 29 December 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2024.
  23. ^ Lynch. The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 148.
  24. ^ The Official P.F.A. Footballers Heroes. p. 149.
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