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Petr Čech
Petr Čech
(help·info)
(born
20 May
1982 in
Plzeň,
Czechoslovakia) is
a
Czech international
footballer who is
currently a
goalkeeper for
Chelsea F.C.
Petr Čech has
previously played for
Viktoria Plzeň,
Chmel Blšany,
Sparta Prague, and
Rennes, and is
considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world.[1][2][3]
He was voted into the all-star team at
Euro 2004 after
helping his country reach the semi-finals,[4]
best Goalkeeper in the
2004-05 UEFA Champions League,
and was in the
FIFPro and
UEFA Champions League 2005-06
team of the season.
He currently
holds three records: a national record of not conceding a goal in 855
competitive minutes and an English Premiership record of not conceding a goal in
1,025 minutes and 25 clean sheets in Chelsea's 2004-05 title-winning campaign.
He had also gone 928 minutes unbeaten at Sparta Prague.
Club career
FC Viktoria Plzeň (1989-99)
Čech started
out as a midfielder for the youth team, occasionally taking the goalkeeping
position in games. When he broke his leg at age 10, he opted to become the
team's goalkeeper instead.
FK Chmel Blšany (1999-2001)
Čech made his
senior-level debut as a 17-year-old for
FK Chmel Blšany in
1999.
AC Sparta Praha (2001-02)
Čech really
came of age in the 2001/02 campaign following a €700,000 transfer to
AC Sparta Praha.
The young custodian won a first-team place four matches into the Czech season,
and proceeded to set a national record by going 855 minutes without conceding a
goal. Just for good measure, he began Sparta's
UEFA Champions League
campaign by shutting out holders
FC Bayern München
and was not beaten until Matchday 5.
Rennes (2002-04)
After just one
season at the Letná, Čech joined
Stade Rennais FC in
July 2002 for a reported fee of €5m. Not one of France’s glamour clubs, the
Czech was virtually ever-present as Rennes preserved their Ligue 1 status and
reached the Coupe de France semi-finals in 2003. He played all but five of
Rennes' games as they finished ninth in the team's
2003-04 Ligue 1 season.
Chelsea (2004-present)
In January
2004, he agreed a summer move to Chelsea for £7m (€10.3m), signing a five-year
contract.
When he arrived
at Chelsea, there was uncertainty over whether he would be the first choice
goalkeeper as Chelsea already had
Carlo Cudicini, who
many considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the English League.Cudicini
made several mistakes in the 2004 preseason, allowing Čech to become Chelsea's
first choice goalkeeper once the season started.
On
5 March
2005 Čech set a new
Premiership record of 1025 minutes without letting in a goal. He was finally
beaten by
Leon McKenzie of
Norwich City. He
had kept a clean sheet in the league since
12 December
2004 when
Thierry Henry
scored for
Arsenal. Čech was
given a special award by the Premier League for the new record, and he was also
awarded the Golden Gloves at the end of the
2004-05 season for
keeping a record 21 clean sheets. Chelsea retained the Premiership title in
2005-06, with Čech playing in all but two games in the League.
He signed a new
contract on
1 February
2006 which will
keep him at the club until 2010.
Čech underwent minor shoulder surgery on
27 June
2006 to repair a
long-standing injury stemming from the previous English Premiership season.[5][6]
Čech returned to action on
27 August
2006 during
Chelsea's Premier League match versus Blackburn, keeping a clean sheet.[7]
Head injury
On
14 October
2006, Čech and
Reading's
Stephen Hunt
challenged for the ball in the first minute of a league game at the
Madejski Stadium,
resulting in Čech's head colliding with Hunt's knee and leaving the keeper
concussed. After immediate replacement by
Carlo Cudicini (who
was also left unconscious during the game after a challenge with
Sonko), Čech was
taken to
Royal Berkshire Hospital's
Accident and Emergency unit, and that evening taken to Oxford's
Radcliffe Infirmary's
specialist neuro-surgical unit.[8]
Čech then underwent surgery for a
depressed fracture of the
skull.[8][9]
The injury nearly cost Čech his life.[10]
As a result of the collision, Čech has suffered intense headaches.[11]
He was warned by his doctor that returning too early could be fatal.[12]
Speaking shortly afterwards, Čech's father claimed his son would be out of
football for a year.[13]
Chelsea boss
José Mourinho in a
typically outspoken statement said "the challenge [was] a disgrace. He is lucky
to still be alive",[14]
later also criticising the South Central Ambulance Service
NHS Trust[15]
and the match referee, Mike Riley.[16]
Much media comment followed, some agreeing with, some condemning Mourinho.[17]
A number of commentators, including current and former goalkeepers, saw the
incident as highlighting the need for greater protection for keepers.
Following
hospital treatment, Čech returned home on
24 October
2006 and in the
following week he came back to a period of light training. In a note,
Chelsea informed
that the goalkeeper will be out for three months, a standard medical timescale
for the complete recovery of skull fractures[22].Čech
was interviewed on
Chelsea TV said
that he could not remember the injury itself and that he was grateful for all
the support he had received over this period.
Return
Čech made his
comeback against Liverpool on
20 January
2007, wearing a
rugby style headguard, which he continued to wear in every game until the end of
the season. The bespoke headguard was made by
Canterbury of New Zealand,
a company that specialises on protective rugby gear, and includes extra plastic
polymer foam protection to cover the areas of his skull weakened by the
collision.
Although
Chelsea lost this match 2-0, Cech then went approximately 810 minutes of
Premiership play without conceding a goal. On
11 April
2007, Čech was
awarded the Barclays Player of the Month award for the first time in his career
in recognition of the eight successive league clean sheets he had kept. This was
the first time in nearly seven years that a goalkeeper was awarded this honour.[23]
This run was ended during a 4-1 Chelsea victory over
West Ham United on
18 April
2007 when
Carlos Tevez scored
against him.
Following his
injury and comeback, Čech has been recognised as even more important to
Chelsea's success than before. He was one of the players named by his boss
José Mourinho as an
'untouchable' and was presented with the Chelsea Award for Outstanding
Achievement in recognition of his remarkable comeback from a serious injury.
His transfer
from
Rennes to
Chelsea in June
2004 is one of those about which the
Stevens inquiry
report in June 2007 expressed concerns because of the lack of co-operation from
agents
Pinhas Zahavi and
Barry Silkman.
International career
Čech has had 44
international appearances for the
Czech Republic.
He was part of
the Czech
Euro 2004 team.
Some stunning saves helped his team progress as far as the semi-finals, where
they lost to eventual winners
Greece on the
silver goal rule.
He was named in the all-star team as best goalkeeper at the tournament.
The Czech
Republic qualified for the
2006 World Cup,
held in
Germany, and were
placed in Group E, alongside
Ghana,
Italy and the
United States. The
Czech Republic was placed third by the end of the group stages, and with one win
against the United States, winning by 3-0, and two losses against Ghana and
Italy, the score 2-0 in both games, the Czech Republic did not advance to the
second round. Italy later went on to win the Cup.
Trivia
- Brazilian band
Fresno recorded
a track called Soneto Para Petr Cech ("Sonnet For Petr Cech") for
their third studio album,
Ciano,
which was released in 2006.
- He is under contract with
Lotto, and has
appeared in several magazine advertisements.
- In April 2007, he became the
first Goalkeeper in nearly 6 seasons to win the
FA Premier League Player
of the Month.
- He shares his birthdate with
Real Madrid
keeper
Iker Casillas,
who is exactly a year older.
Honours
Chelsea
Personal
Achievements
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