Ivo Viktor

Ivo Viktor was born on May 21, 1942, in Krelov, Czechoslovakia. He trained at Spartak Šternberk, eventually joining Železárny Prostějov at 14. But a year later, he switched clubs to Rudá Hvězda Brno. After playing at several clubs, he finally settled down for good when he joined one of the best clubs in the world in 1963, Dukla Prague, which boasted players like Josef Masopust and Svatopluk Pluskal.

Recognized locally for his incredible agility and excellent positioning in goal. He spent a total of 14 years at Dukla Prague, a club where he unquestionably became one of the best goalkeepers in history. During this time, he won three Czechoslovak championships and three Czechoslovak Cups.

Voted Czechoslovakian Player of the Year five times in 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976. He is one of the few goalkeepers to achieve this feat, especially during a golden age for his country's football. An excellent player with his club, he quickly attracted the attention of the national team, which he joined in 1966. With his club, he notably appeared in 23 European competition matches, conceding 27 goals and keeping eight clean sheets—excellent statistics for football at the time.

He participated in the 1970 World Cup, a failure for his national team and for him personally. But he would make up for it in the best possible way a few years later. 1976 would be the best year of his career, the year of his consecration. At 34, the goalkeeper then played in the last international tournament of his career, Euro 1976. He performed very well during the qualifiers, and had an even more incredible tournament, successively eliminating the Netherlands and West Germany in the semi-finals and final. A key player in his team, he won the penalty shootout and gave his country a European title. Voted best player of the tournament, the goalkeeper would also finish 3rd in the Ballon d'Or that year, a very rare thing for a goalkeeper. But after that, he would suffer from some health problems, and he would finally decide to end his career in 1977, at the age of 35.

- Bronze Ball in 1976

- Voted Czechoslovakian Player of the Year in 1968, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1976

- Named to the Euro 1976 Team of the Year

- Received the Vaclav Jira Award in 2009

- Received the Czech Republic Medal of Merit in 2012

- Inducted into the Dukla Prague Hall of Fame

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