Michal Váňa (born 13 May 1963) is a former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player from Czechoslovakia, who played professionally in Europe and Asia.

Early career

Váňa played for numerous clubs in his native country of Czechoslovakia, including

Dukla Prague Dukla Prague ( cz, Dukla Praha) was a Czech football club from the city of Prague. Established in 1948 as ATK Praha, the club won a total of 11 Czechoslovak league titles and eight Czechoslovak Cups, and in the 1966–67 season, reached the semi ...

Slavia Prague Sportovní klub Slavia Praha – fotbal (Sports Club Slavia Prague – Football, ), commonly known as Slavia Praha or Slavia Prague, is a Czech professional football club in Prague. Founded in 1892, they are the second most successful club in th ...

and

Benešov Benešov (; german: Beneschau; also known as Benešov u Prahy) is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 16,000 inhabitants. The town is known for the Konopiště Castle. Administrative parts Villages of Baba, ...

Career in Asia

Váňa was part of the Singapore M-League, which won the 1994 Malaysia Cup. He disappeared in mid-season, and remains a fugitive. The ex-Malaysia Cup star was arrested and charged with six counts of match-fixing. He escaped from the country before he could be tried in court, leaving on a different passport after his original one had been confiscated. According to a Singapore newspaper, Váňa's Bayshore Park condominium was almost completely emptied. He was given a lifetime ban from football by

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

, which was later annulled. He was last seen in Singapore on 28 September 1994, two days before his trial was to begin. In 2011, an Australian production company named Touchwood Productions claimed to have found Váňa, and they interviewed him for a documentary on the life of

Abbas Saad Abbas Saad ( ar, عباس سعد; born 1 December 1967) is an Australian soccer manager and former player, who is currently managing National Premier Leagues NSW side Sydney Olympic. International career Born in Lebanon, Saad's family moved to ...

, who was also linked to Váňa. Saad was charged and given a lifetime ban from football. The Documentary featuring Michal Vana, titled "The Abbas Saad Story" was released and aired in Malaysia in March 2015 on ASTRO TV.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vana, Michal 1963 births Living people Czech men's footballers Dukla Prague footballers SK Slavia Prague players SK Benešov players Czech expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Singapore Men's association football forwards