Ivan Chodák (3 February 1914 in

Dolný Kubín Dolný Kubín (; also known by #Names, other names) is a town in northern Slovakia in the Žilina Region. It is the historical capital and the largest settlement of the Orava (region), Orava region. Names The name is derived from the archaic Slov ...

– 14 February 1994 in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

) was a Slovak footballer, coach, and doctor of medicine. He studied at the Faculty of Medicine,

Comenius University Comenius University Bratislava () is the largest university in Slovakia, with most of its faculties located in Bratislava. It was founded in 1919, shortly after the creation of Czechoslovakia. It is named after Jan Amos Comenius, a 17th-century ...

in Bratislava, earning his doctorate in 1938. In Bratislava, he became a well-known doctor specializing in

otorhinolaryngology Otorhinolaryngology ( , abbreviated ORL and also known as otolaryngology, otolaryngology–head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N or OHNS), or ear, nose, and throat (ENT)) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical an ...

. He began his football in early 1935, where he temporarily played for FC Vrútky and played for VS Bratislava in the autumn. Chodák played his first league match in club colors of 1. ČsSK Bratislava on 1 December 1935 against

Teplitzer FK Teplitzer FK was a Czechoslovak football club from the town of Teplice, which played seven seasons in the Czechoslovak First League. It was founded in 1903 as a football club associating the local German population. The club was the first from Cz ...

. He took part in 193 league matches and scored 23 goals. Apart from being a goalkeeper, he played in every position. He also represented

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, 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 west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

eleven times. He retired from playing active football career in 1946. Due to his fair-play attitude, he was nicknamed the "Knight in Football Boots". Apart from football he also participated in other sports like running races, that ranged from 800m to 5000m, to high jumping. In 1934, he achieved the academic champion title of

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

in cross-country skiing, which allowed him to participate in the Academic World Winter Games in

St. Moritz St. Moritz ( , , ; ; ; ; ) is a high Alpine resort town in the Engadine in Switzerland, at an elevation of about above sea level. It is Upper Engadine's major town and a municipality in the administrative region of Maloja in the Swiss ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. As a student, he played ice hockey for VS Bratislava and SK Bratislava. He was a two-time finalist and champion of Slovakia. He was in the selected players team three times. He served as the first sparring partner in

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

for

Hilda Múdra Hilda Múdra, née Hildegard Klimpel (1 January 1926 – 22 November 2021), was an Austrian-born Slovak figure skating coach (sport), coach. Her most notable student was Ondrej Nepela, the Figure skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics, 1972 Olympic ...

, renowned for training Olympic gold medalist

Ondrej Nepela Ondrej Nepela (22 January 1951 – 2 February 1989) was a Slovaks, Slovak Figure skating, figure skater who represented Czechoslovakia. He was the Figure skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics, 1972 Olympic champion, a three-time World Figure Skati ...

. For over 25 years, he coached all Slovak teams, from the A-team to junior teams, including unregistered players. In the 14th of February of 1994, at the age of 80, he died from natural causes. In that same year the SFZ announced the creation of 'The Dr. Ivan Chodak Fair Play Prize' That's given every year, at an award ceremony held in

, a football

stadium A stadium (: stadiums or stadia) is a place or venue for (mostly) outdoor sports, concerts, or other events and consists of a field or stage completely or partially surrounded by a tiered structure designed to allow spectators to stand or sit ...

named after him.

References

* Július Psotka mladší: MUDr. ''Ivan Chodák, rytier v kopačkách''. Šport press

1999, . * Zdenka Lenetayová: ''Šport a osobnosti / Sport and Personalities''. SZTK – Museum of Physical Culture in Slovak Republic, Bratislava 2008. * Zdenka Letenayová, Viliam Karácsony
"Ivan Chodák"
. SZTK – Museum of Physical Culture in Slovak Republic, Bratislava 2014.

External links

*
Slovak National Sport EncyclopediaUEFA.com
* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chodak, Ivan 1914 births 1994 deaths Sportspeople from Dolný Kubín Slovak football managers Slovak men's footballers ŠK Slovan Bratislava managers ŠK Slovan Bratislava players Men's association football midfielders Slovakia men's international footballers Slovak figure skaters Slovak cross-country skiers Czechoslovak football managers