Miroslav Votava

Mirko Votava

Personal information
Full name	Miroslav Votava
Date of birth	(1956-04-25) 25 April 1956
Place of birth	Prague, Czechoslovakia
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Werder Bremen (youth)
Youth career
	Dukla Prague
1968–1973	VfL Witten
1973–1974	Borussia Dortmund
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1974–1982	Borussia Dortmund	257	(28)
1982–1985	Atlético Madrid	96	(9)
1985–1996	Werder Bremen	357	(18)
1996–1998	VfB Oldenburg	15	(0)
Total		725	(55)
International career
1979–1981	West Germany	5	(0)
Managerial career
1997–1998	VfB Oldenburg
1998–1999	SV Meppen
2002–2004	Union Berlin
2004–	Werder Bremen (youth)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Miroslav "Mirko" Votava (born 25 April 1956) is a German retired footballer and a current coach.

A defensive midfielder of stamina and tactical awareness, he played 546 matches in the Bundesliga (fourth in the all-time list at the time of his retirement), retiring at the age of 41. Most of his professional career was spent in with Werder Bremen, with which he won a total of five titles – he also spent eight years with Borussia Dortmund.

Votava represented West Germany at Euro 1980.

Club career

Borussia Dortmund / Atlético

Born in Prague, Czechoslovakia, Votava started learning his football trade at local FK Dukla. However, his parents left the country during the Prague Spring, settling first in Australia then West Germany, in Witten. He began playing professionally with Borussia Dortmund in 1974, with the club in the second division.

Scoring three goals in 22 games during his first Bundesliga season, Votava was an undisputed starter onwards, only missing three contests from 1977–82 combined, although he failed to win any silverware.

He subsequently moved to Atlético Madrid for 58 million pesetas, being an instrumental figure for the Colchoneros which always finished in the top four in La Liga during his three-year spell, and also lifting the Copa del Rey in 1985.

Werder Bremen

Votava returned to West Germany aged 29, signing with SV Werder Bremen, where he would play a further 11 campaigns and rarely missing a game. He helped the club to the 1991–92 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and two league titles (to which he contributed with 65 matches and five goals combined). On 24 August 1996, aged 40 years and 121 days, he became the league's oldest goalscorer, scoring in a 1–2 loss at VfB Stuttgart.

As he was understandably slowing down, Votava left Bremen during the 1997 January transfer window, joining second division's VfB Oldenburg and retiring at the season's end, with his team ranking last. During a 23-year professional career, he was never sent off.

Votava then moved into coaching, starting with last club Oldenburg then moving to SV Meppen, both in the regional leagues. From late 2002 to early 2004, he took the reins of 1. FC Union Berlin in the second level, following which he returned to Werder as a youth coach (he had previously worked with the club as a scout).

International career

Votava chose to represent West Germany internationally, and made his debut on 21 November 1979, playing fifteen minutes in a 3–1 friendly away win over the Soviet Union.

He appeared in a further four internationals, including UEFA Euro 1980's group stage match against Greece (0–0) as the national side emerged victorious in the tournament.

Honours

Club

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1991–92
• Bundesliga: 1987–88, 1992–93
• DFB-Pokal: 1990–91, 1993–94; Runner-up 1988–89, 1989–90
• Copa del Rey: 1984–85

Country

• UEFA European Championship: 1980

External links

• Miroslav Votava profile at Fussballdaten
• Miroslav Votava profile at BDFutbol
• Miroslav Votava at National-Football-Teams.com
• Worldfootball profile