But he was very unlucky. At the last moment, an injury prevented him from participating in the only world championship, at which the Slovak representatives presented themselves in the era of independence. Nevertheless, Miroslav Karhan had a great career in which he played in the highest competitions of four countries. He celebrates his fiftieth birthday on Sunday, June 21.
Sixteen years have passed since the World Cup in Africa, which you had to miss. Does it still bother you, or is this unpleasant moment in your career over?
He certainly still regrets it. I intervened in many qualifiers before, if I remember correctly there were nine of them, in which we were fighting to advance to the World or European Championships, and when we finally succeeded, I dropped out of the nomination. But that also belongs to football life. Other players came who also scored a hundred, which was to be expected. They started playing in the national team at a young age and maintained high performance for a long time.
You didn’t lament too much even before the WC and even in more critical moments you looked more ahead…
We have nothing else to do, it can all happen. There is no point in dwelling too much on what was, because we cannot change it. I look more ahead, especially at what I can still influence myself.
Fifty is an age when many take stock. Do you also go back to your career, do you remember the important moments you experienced?
Very little. On various occasions, I still play football for the internationals, I meet with former teammates, then sometimes we remember some moments that we lived together.
You were a well-known football player for a long time, you had many fans. Will you still use your former popularity?
(laughter). I admit that I do. People still remember me, recognize me, and I can sometimes use my name and it’s easier to get things done. But I shouldn’t say that, because it smacks of patronage. They are small bonuses, if it was in the old regime, I would say that they would sell me tangerines under the counter or better meat.
Your national team record finally stopped at a respectable number of 107 starts. Do you remember any in particular?
There were a lot of them, if you add hundreds of meetings in the club jersey. Several were memorable, but I don’t even remember many details. But the match against Germany is among the exceptional ones. We won it 2-0 and I scored both goals. At that time, I was also active in the German Bundesliga, it had a special meaning for me. Such a match is not forgotten. But for example, the qualifying match with Latvia remained in my memory.
What made him special?
We did not play against such a famous opponent. But we were fighting to participate in the World Cup 2006 and the match was not going well for us. We were losing after the first half, but after the break we turned the tide and won 4:1. I scored the last goal, we were happy and there was euphoria in the stadium. In this qualification, we made it all the way to the play-offs, but in it we did not advance to the championship over the Spaniards.
You have played in the league in three top footballing countries – Spain, Turkey and Germany. You didn’t sit on a bench anywhere…
When a club from a top competition is interested in you, they will never take you to the bench, they want you to play and you have to be better than the domestic players available to me. After that, it’s just up to the player whether he takes it or not, whether he uses the chance he gets. Fortunately, I have always succeeded. I convinced the coaches, I guess I knew how to play football. The fact that I avoided major injuries was also important.
You played in Sevilla, in Besiktas and for the longest time in German clubs in Wolfsburg and Mainz. Where was the most difficult for you to get used to?
Each country has its own specifics and a footballer must be able to adapt. I don’t know how far in the order I left Slovaks for the leading competition, but I was definitely among the first. We had little experience of performing in big clubs. Perhaps the most difficult time for me was starting in Spain. It was my first work abroad, I was there alone, my way of life changed fundamentally. But I’m only talking about the beginnings, because in Seville I found a good group of foreign players and they helped me, I adapted quite quickly.
You also learned the language quickly. German was not a problem for you later either. Do you ever use your language skills?
I use both Spanish and German, which I can communicate fluently, I have less command of English. Surprisingly, even in lower football competitions, there are a lot of foreigners with whom I communicate. There are also many South Americans among them. Now I train the fifth division Hlohovec. We wouldn’t have built a team without legionnaires. In the team we have two Brazilians, one Nigerian…
What is the problem? In the past, many talents grew up in Slovak villages and small towns, and you also started in Hlohovec…
I don’t want to pull out any clichés, but it really is a completely different time. Young people already have other priorities and opportunities to use their free time, there are not many who want to work harder. They have the internet, mobile phones, social networks, a more comfortable life…
You spent the longest, ten years, in Germany. You were the first Slovak who took a strong hold there, you were followed by Mintál, Pekárik… Did you never think that you would stay there, like your national team teammate Mintál?
No, I didn’t think about that for a second. My wife and I have a family at home. It was also necessary to help parents who were in their years. While you’re playing football, it’s different, but when you finish your career and settle into normal life, you’re also looked at a little differently abroad. You’re not that interesting anymore.
When you finished professional football, you were 37 years old and you said that you could not imagine your next life after twenty playing seasons. Quite a long time has passed since then. Are you used to the “different life”?
Luckily I’m still hanging around football, I’m not out of it, which is good. While I was playing, I never thought about coaching, more like maybe some sort of managerial job. But I have to admit, I’m hooked, I enjoy being on the field and working with the guys. I experienced a period when I was out of football for more than a year, it was quite difficult. Now I still live by football, even if only in a lower competition, but I enjoy it just as much as when I was training in the league.
However, you experienced great football, full stadiums, high-quality competitions, you always had high ambitions. Are you satisfied even in the fifth league?
I could imagine that I will lead the team in the higher league as well. But I’m not the type to force myself somewhere, to offer. I know the types of coaches who show up in stadiums, especially where teams are not doing well and are waiting to be approached. Working in the lower competition – I also worked in the third league in Modra and Báhon – sometimes I even enjoy it more, because in the higher competitions there are a lot of smart people in the clubs who know everything, understand everything. In small clubs, there is more of a family atmosphere and it is built on friendships.
You have two sons, both are talented footballers. The elder Patrik is 22 years old and was given a chance in the first league Trnava, where you started with big football. He showed himself in a good light. In the past months, however, he disappeared from the lineup. What happened?
He didn’t get that many chances. But he had a series of good matches, then they lost one and I was under the impression that only Patrik lost it. They wrote him off. And he didn’t get another chance. In the last matches in the league, he started for three or five minutes at the end. That, of course, is not enough.
You were already a representative at his age. How do you see his next perspective?
I hope he leaves the club in the summer. He will go where he plays. This is what he needs most of all now.
What about younger Alex?
He also had the prerequisites to establish himself in league football, but he changed his priorities a little. He plays in Boleráz in the fourth league and started studying at university. He was unlucky to coach in youth teams. Sometimes it’s not an advantage to be called Karhan, he paid for it too. The youngest is daughter Emma, she is seventeen, she will grow up to be a skilled athlete. She is dedicated to throwing disciplines and could now also qualify for the under-18 European Championships. If we have time, we go to every one of her races to support her.
And of course also for my sons’ football matches…
No, I hardly ever go to those.
Do you have a reason for this?
I don’t go to the stadium in Trnava. When Patrik was playing, I saw a few meetings, but only outside.
Why don’t you go to the Trnava stadium?
I don’t have much to look up to there, I’ll put it that way. Football is not worth much and Patrik is sitting on the bench…
It seems that you are quite upset that he is not playing…
Of course, if he wasn’t up to it, I wouldn’t say anything. He has talent, even in the matches he started, he played well. I hope it changes now, he goes and plays in the league. It will confirm that it belongs there.
You train a team in a lower competition. Would you still dare to play in the championship game and keep up with the wards?
I wouldn’t be fast enough for them. But physically, conditionally, if I worked a little harder in training, I would dare to do it. But that doesn’t appeal to me anymore. Let young people play football.
What are you most excited about?
They say that sports lead to permanent disability. I’m glad it’s bypassing me. I had some problems with my knee when I was still playing, but now it’s fine. I’m lucky. I’m glad that I still do sports, I go to play tennis, ride a bike, play football here and there. I wake up in the morning and I’m quite fine. That’s nice.
We started the conversation with the 2010 World Cup in Africa, which you missed. The championship is currently running in three countries with a record number of participants and matches. Do you like this model?
This destroys football and the quality decreases, 48 participants is a lot. The same applies to the European Championships, where half of the continent is playing. I think that the World Cup will start only from the round of 16.
Do you have a favorite, a favorite team?
There are many favorites, it is a circle of up to seven to eight teams. I’ve been keeping my fingers crossed for Argentina since I was a child. He is also one of the favourites, defending his title, but I don’t think he will win it this time. Someone else will replace her on the throne. But who it will be is still hard to say.
