Luděk Mikloško

Luděk Mikloško (born 9 December 1961) is a Czech football coach and former professional player.

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 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.

Club career Czechoslovakia Mikloško began his career with RH Cheb before joining reigning Czech champions Baník Ostrava in 1982. He left Czechoslovakia having made 234 appearances in the Czechoslovak First League.

West Ham United Mikloško went to English side West Ham United on trial in December 1989. He 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. Mikloško made his league debut on 18 February in a 2–2 away draw against Swindon Town.

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. From this point until the 1997–98 season, Mikloško was the first-choice goalkeeper. He was named Hammer of the Year in 1991. 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.

In his final season, Mikloško competed with Craig Forrest for the goalkeeper position. The following match, he was replaced in goal by Forrest.

Queens Park Rangers Mikloško signed for Queens Park Rangers in 1998 for a nominal fee after a three-month loan spell. His last professional match occurred on 3 March 2001. Under new coach Ian Holloway's first game in charge, QPR lost 3–1 at home to Sheffield United.

International career From 1980 to 1982, Mikloško represented Czechoslovakia under-21 24 times, He made his debut for Czechoslovakia in a 3–1 friendly victory against Denmark on 27 October 1982.

Retirement and subsequent career After his retirement, Mikloško returned to West Ham to take up a goalkeeping coaching role, but left the club in March 2010. He later returned to the Czech Republic and works for a sporting investment agency. As of 2024, he was also employed as sporting director at his former club Baník Ostrava.

Honours Individual Toulon Tournament Best Goalkeeper: 1980, 1982 1992–93 First Division