Before Tomáš Souček, before Vladimír Coufal, there was Luděk Mikloško.
The man ‘from near Moscow’, as his iconic and often-heard chant goes, was the first-ever footballer from the Czech Republic to play in England when he joined West Ham United in 1990.
Playing for the Irons for eight years, Mikloško paved the way for Czechs to forge their own path in the Premier League – particularly with West Ham.
Tomáš Řepka and Radoslav Kováč donned the Claret and Blue in the past but, with Souček and Coufal making their homes in east London and having been joined by international teammate Alex Král on loan last season, Mikloško says his former club has never been more renowned in his country.
“I’ve definitely noticed more people talking about West Ham,” he told whufc.com. “I think every single person in the Czech Republic now knows Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal are playing at West Ham.
“I think everyone here knows about West Ham and has watched the team, and I think now there are even more supporters for West Ham here than when I was playing!”
It is not just having midfielder and 2020/21 Hammer of the Year Souček and defender Coufal in the team that has helped raise West Ham’s popularity in the Czech Republic. The team’s growth and performances in the last two seasons have been noticed across Europe, particularly with the Irons reaching the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League last season.
Mikloško believes the success can be traced back to consistency and continuity in the playing squad and the staff.
“I think we’ve seen a fantastic couple of years. It’s been a brilliant improvement. It’s not only the team. It’s the staff as well because they’ve had a few years together and the staff is made up of ex-players and there is a continuity between the players and the coaching staff. I think that is very important.
“Mark Noble was an amazing captain for West Ham, a true team leader, and now we’ve got Declan Rice who has learned from Mark and can now take over. I hope Mark stays around the Club too and will be working there because he’s a fantastic lad who can give so much off the pitch to the Club.”
The 2022/23 season is shaping up to be another exciting one for everyone associated with West Ham. The Club have already completed the signings of Nayef Aguerd from Rennes and Flynn Downes from Swansea City, while Alphonse Areola has made his move to the Club permanent.
Mikloško is looking forward to seeing how the competition between Areola and Łukasz Fabiański for the starting position plays out, and knows the two will support each other throughout the season.
He continued: “It’s always good to have a good number two, and even a good number three, who are pushing the number one. I’m sure they are all pushing each other and it’s fantastic for all of them, because then all the goalkeepers will be ready. The biggest shame is that only one of them can play.
"The manager and the coaches, they will see them every day and will know how they work. But if one can’t play then it’s great to have another who has just as good quality. The goalkeepers will have a good relationship together and will try to help each other in training, which I think is very important as well.”
Mikloško has served as the contact point for West Ham’s U18s during the last week as Kevin Keen’s young Hammers participated in the Zlatý Kahan Cup – a prestigious, pre-season tournament hosted by his first club; Baník Ostrava.
“I’m so pleased that the lads came out for the Zlatý Kahan Cup. Baník Ostrava is the club where I started and I was with them from 15 until I was 28-years-old. Then I joined West Ham and, really, in my life I have two clubs – West Ham and Baník Ostrava.
“Both teams have a lot of similarities, the biggest of which is the hugely passionate fans. I’m very glad that the team, and the Club, came out here.
“It’s a very highly considered tournament. We obviously had two years with COVID and the tournament couldn’t be organised. We had the chance to do it again this year, but it wasn’t easy to get the teams here. Most of the teams still had a bit of uncertainty with COVID-19, but I think it’s been great. I’m sure Banik can also learn from this year’s tournament in terms of the organisation and make it even better next year.”
The U18s claimed 6-1 and 4-0 wins in the opening two fixtures of the competition to progress to the finals. A 2-0 victory last Friday set up a thrilling final on the Saturday but a heart-breaking, late 4-2 defeat to Flastav Zlin meant the competition was won by the Czech side.
Despite the loss, and the second-placed finish, Mikloško can see a lot to be positive about for the young Hammers.
“The boys have been absolutely fantastic. They performed very well and every single person that I’ve spoken to here are talking very highly about West Ham. They like the style of football and the team was the youngest one out here for the competition too. It was a shame not to win the competition but the performances were very, very good.
“I just hope all of them find a professional career in men’s football. It’s a long way to go for the boys and it’s not easy to get to the Premier League. They may need more time, or to go on loan, but they need to go step and step and continue to work as hard as I’ve seen them doing during the last week in this competition.”
