Before moving to Chelsea, Petr Čech played for Czech clubs for several years, and also defended the gates of the French team Rennes, but this was enough to show his fighting character. It is hardly possible to argue with the fact that football today has become relatively soft, and tough clashes have become exceptions. At the beginning of the tenth years, Čech had to literally defend his own goal, which attracted the coaching staff of Chelsea London.
After moving to the Premier League in 2004, the young player (22 years old) was immediately entrusted with a place in the main squad. Petr approached the task very seriously, acting so selflessly that the next match in 2006 ended with a serious head injury, and he had to stop playing for almost six months. Since then, he has acquired a signature accessory that has become his personal hallmark – a protective helmet. Fortunately, this feature did not affect his football capabilities today in any way, because he still reliably parried opponents’ kicks, which fans remember. In the end, he had a hand in four of Chelsea’s Premier League victories, as well as the Champions League and LE titles.
Highlights of Petr Čech’s Career
Looking at such legendary players, it is very difficult to single out any specific result, because they show something unusual with enviable consistency. In any case, Čech had a significant impact on the Premier League tables with his performance. But the following points can be considered as the most interesting ones:
- In the match against Bayern Munich (Champions League 2011-2012) he parried a penalty shot by Robben during extra time, and he won two penalty shoot-outs – against Olic and Schweinsteiger. This allowed the London club to be victorious in that season’s Champions League final at the German home stadium. In a post-match interview, Čech stated that it was the most emotional match of his life.
- Almost all matches against Lionel Messi. All their six games, the Argentine star tried to hit the gate of one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League, but each time, the final results in the tables were not in his favor.
The case in the semi-finals of the 2008 Champions League also deserves mentioning. Back then, the efforts of Čech allowed the team to achieve a great victory over Liverpool and go to the finals. However, “Chelsea” was defeated by “Manchester United” in the finals, but this is not the goalkeeper’s fault. During the penalty shootout, he was able to parry the hit of Cristiano Ronaldo, but this was not enough.
