Borussia and Atlético Born in
Prague,
Czechoslovakia, Votava started learning his football trade at local
FK Dukla. However, his parents left the country during the
Prague Spring, settling first in
Australia then
West Germany, in
Witten. He began playing professionally with
Borussia Dortmund in 1974, with the club in the
second division. Scoring three goals in 22 games in
his first Bundesliga season, Votava was an undisputed starter onwards, only missing three matches from
1977 to
1982, although he failed to win any silverware. He subsequently moved to
Atlético Madrid for 58 million
pesetas, being an instrumental figure for the
Colchoneros which always finished in the top four in
La Liga during his three-year spell and also lifting the
Copa del Rey in
1985.
Werder Bremen Votava returned to West Germany aged 29, signing with
SV Werder Bremen where he would play a further 11 campaigns and rarely missing a game. He helped the club to the
1991–92 edition of the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and two league titles (to which he contributed with a total of 65 matches and five goals). On 24 August 1996, aged 40 years and 121 days, he became the league's oldest goalscorer at the time, scoring in a 2–1 loss at
VfB Stuttgart; the record lasted until 16 February 2019, when
Claudio Pizarro (aged 40 years and 136 days) scored against
Hertha BSC. As he was understandably slowing down, Votava left Bremen during the 1997 January
transfer window, joining second-tier
VfB Oldenburg and retiring at
the season's end, with his team ranking last. Over a 23-year professional career, he was never
sent off. Votava then moved into coaching, starting with last club Oldenburg then moving to
SV Meppen, both in the regional leagues. From late 2002 to early 2004, he took the reins of
1. FC Union Berlin in division two, following which he returned to Werder as a youth coach (he had previously worked with the club as a
scout). ==International career==