Luděk Mikloško, who starred for West Ham United from 1990 to 1998, has passed away at the age of 64.
West Ham announced on their official website, "Everyone at West Ham United is deeply saddened by the passing of Luděk Mikloško at the age of 64, following a courageous battle with cancer."
Mikloško joined the Hammers from the Czech team Baník Ostrava and went on to make 373 appearances for the East London side.
The goalkeeper was the successor to another Hammers favourite between the sticks, Phil Parkes. Mikloško helped West Ham gain promotion from the Second Division in his first season with the club. That campaign, Mikloško also won the Hammer of the Year award.
Luděk Mikloško was one of West Ham greatest goalkeepers
A notable performance from Mikloško was when he won man of the match in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on the final day of the 1994/95 Premier League season. That result meant that Blackburn Rovers won the title.
The Hammers had a lot of heroes at the time. In a match with Everton in 1995, Mikloško was sent off, and Julian Dicks went in goal. Craig Forrest eventually replaced Mikloško as the Hammers' goalkeeper.
Mikloško went on to play for Queens Park Rangers. However, Mikloško would return to West Ham as goalkeeping coach and held the position from 2001 to 2010. He worked under Alan Pardew, Glenn Roeder, Sir Trevor Brooking, Harry Redknapp, Gianfranco Zola and Alan Curbishley.
The former goalkeeper was present in Prague as the Hammers won the Europa Conference League in 2023. The following year, Mikloško decided to withdraw from cancer treatment. Mikloško then served as guest of honour for a West Ham game against Liverpool at the London Stadium.
His song "My name is Luděk Mikloško, I come from near Moscow, I play in goal for West Ham" will continue to be sung by Hammers supporters.
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