Injuries take their toll on König

He has played 44 times for Slovakia and donned the goalkeeper gloves for clubs in Switzerland, Turkey and Greece, but now Miroslav König is back home and mulling over his future in the game.

Back problems
The 35-year-old custodian is one of the country's most celebrated internationals but back problems have seen his career at Greek side Panionios GSS ended, leaving the experienced goalkeeper considering his next move. "I had contract with Panionios until the end of the season but, due to my back problems, I decided to go home and become a free agent," said König. "Now I must consider ending my career, although I still love this game.

Future decision
"I am not happy, but what should I do? The pain I had with the discs came suddenly last year and has now taken a turn for the worse. Panionios wanted to help me, gave me injections and some pills, but when I refused surgery we came to an agreement that I would leave the club," added König, whose last international appearance came in 2004. "So, now I am taking time off and want to decide my future in the summer. I am looking forward to coaching young goalkeepers but, at this time, I haven't spoken with any clubs. I will try to at a later date," he added.

Impressive streak
König was born in Nitra in 1972, where he still lives with his wife and two daughters. He played for six years at hometown club FC Nitra before stints at FC Spartak Trnava (1993-1994) and ŠK Slovan Bratislava (1995-1999) where he once went 1129 minutes without conceding a goal and clinched their fourth Slovakian title. His exploits earned him a move abroad and spells at three Swiss clubs – Grasshopper-Club (1999), FC Basel 1893 (2000-2001) and FC Zürich (2002-2003). "I broke my nose in Switzerland but it was an interesting period – especially Basel and FC Zürich," he recalled.

'Glory days'
One season in Turkey with Elazigspor and a short period with Czech outfit FC Baník Ostrava was followed by time with MŠK Žilina (2004-2006) before another move abroad with Panionios. "It is a small club but we were able to play in the UEFA Cup. They were glory days for us," said König, who has many memories to look back on. "For me the best was my debut in a friendly against Bolivia in February 1997 in Cochabamba. I remember Jozef Jankech was national team coach at this time and we won 1-0."