Miroslav Holeňák (born 10 February 1976) is a retired Czech

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

. He played mostly as defender but was also capable of playing in midfield.

Club career

Miroslav Holeňák began with football at the age of eight in his hometown Zlín, going on to make his professional debut as a midfielder in the 1993–94 season. Holeňák quickly became a starting player and three years later transferred to

Petra Drnovice 1. FK Drnovice was a Czech football club based in the Moravian village of Drnovice near Vyškov, founded in 1932. The club played in the top flight of Czech football, the Czech First League, between 1993 and 2002, and again in the 2004/05 season. ...

. After four years in

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

Holeňák moved to

Slovan Liberec FC Slovan Liberec (), commonly referred to as Slovan Liberec or simply Slovan, is a Czech football club based in the city of Liberec. The club is one of the most successful in the Czech Republic, having won three league titles and the domesti ...

for 14 million

Czech crowns Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

. Converted to a central defender, he went on to make a major contribution as the team secured the 2001–02 league title and was called up to the Czech national team. At the end of the 2002–03 season, it had appeared as though he would move to Sparta Prague, before he ultimately opted for a transfer to their rivals Slavia. After the expiration of his contract Holeňák left the

Gambrinus liga The Czech First League, known as the Fortuna liga for sponsorship reasons, is a Czech professional league for football clubs. At the top of the Czech football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Seasons typically ru ...

and joined the

Austrian Bundesliga The Austrian Football Bundesliga (german: Österreichische Fußball-Bundesliga, italic=no , "Austrian Football Federal League"), also known as Admiral Bundesliga for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Austrian football league system. Th ...

team SV Mattersburg. Only one year later Holeňák returned to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

and again signed with FC Slovan Liberec.

International career

Holeňák debuted for the Czech national team on 27 March 2002 in a 0–0 draw against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

. His second start came in April of the same year in

Ioannina Ioannina ( el, Ιωάννινα ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus, an administrative region in north-western Greece. According to the 2011 census, the c ...

against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. His last match was a 4–1 victory against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

in August 2002. He was included in the squad for the match against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

on 11 October 2003 but did not start.

References

External links

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Club Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holenak, Miroslav 1976 births Living people Footballers from Zlín Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Czech men's footballers Czech Republic men's youth international footballers Czech Republic men's under-21 international footballers Czech Republic men's international footballers Czech First League players SK Slavia Prague players FC Slovan Liberec players FC Zlín players SV Mattersburg players 1. FK Drnovice players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Expatriate men's footballers in Austria Czech expatriate sportspeople in Austria