Goalkeeper Miller Would Be Scared in a Hockey Goal
Twenty-six-year-old Miroslav Miller looks like an easy-going person and meeting him just confirms that feeling. Indeed, it's a trait that is desirable for any team sport, and especially for a soccer goalkeeper. He stood in a goal for the first time in his home village of Rudná in 1992. Today he can hardly remember how successful he was. In any case, he has kept the same position.
From Rudná, he went to Bohemians in 1998 and after another half year to Admira. He was so successful in the league there that the second-league Mladá Boleslav recruited him and he signed a professional contract in 2000. "Here I have enjoyed my greatest sporting achievements in a rise to the premier league and victory over Olympique Marseille in the UEFA Cup," says Miller, hoping that more achievements lie ahead of him. Currently, he deems it important to stay in the top positions of the league while a possible advance from the fall group to the spring competition of the UEFA Cup would be a nice extra bonus. "The league is important now. It should end with a position granting us one of the European cups for the next season," he says, obviously clear about his current sporting goals.
After a recent injury of his arm, he has had a difficult position in Boleslav's goal as the team has a hard time getting results. "It's not pleasant to see the team lose, but we need to forget about it and fight for an improvement. I believe that one successful match will lead us to a winning series." For this reason the home duel with Most is important, followed by a match with the defenders of the champion's title, Liberec. At the end of last year's season, Mladá Boleslav gained a terrific victory in Liberec, which promises revenge with an interesting twist in North Bohemia. "It will be a fight for the top position in the league rather than because of the last defeat," thinks Miller.
The season is now at its most difficult for a goalkeeper. Cold wind, heavy rain and soaked grass are the nightmares of all goalkeepers. Worse than freezing during a winter tournament. "Conditions similar to those in Ostrava last week are the most difficult for a goalkeeper." The risk of an injury increases, which, however, the goalkeeper cannot admit. Besides the risk of injury, another characteristic feature of a professional soccer player's life is his nomadic way of life. Constant traveling and occasional training camps mean separation from the family. "It's not always pleasant, but one can live with it. Plus it's true that pre-match camps help us to concentrate on soccer," notes Miller, who has celebrated his wedding anniversary with his wife Monika only once. Their current common concern is furnishing the new apartment that they have bought in Rudná. Which is why he has no idea whether he will have time for his sports hobbies - tennis and ice hockey - after the end of the fall season. In ice hockey he surprisingly takes positions in the field. "Even though an ice-hockey goalkeeper has massive pads, I would not stand in a goal," admits Miller, revealing his fear of a fast flying puck.
