Biography Of Petr Cech

PETR CECH

Petr Cech is a goalkeeper for the Czech Republic and Chelsea in the English Premier League. He is easily recognised because of his protective headgear which he has worn for every match he has played in since fracturing his skull in 2006. His acrobatics between the sticks, and his good understanding with the defence, have made him officially the best goalie in the Premier League – setting a club record of 1025 minutes without conceding.
Petr was born on 20th May 1982 in Plzen, Czech Republic. He was born into a poor family who made the most of everything they had – encouraging Petr to push himself at whatever he did. He played as a striker up until he was 10 years old, when he suffered a fall and damaged to his spinal cord. As an impatient youngster, he couldn’t wait until he had fully recovered to play football, so instead opted to go in goal – a position he has stayed in ever since!
Petr worked his way up through the youth teams at Viktoria Plzen in the lower Czech Leagues, before signed professional forms for Blsany. A number of good performances saw him move for £500,000 to Sparta Prague, helping them to compete for the Czech League title with a contribution that included a run of 10 consecutive shut-outs.
After just one season with Sparta, Cech made his big money move to Stade Rennes, costing the French club £5m. He instantly became the Rennes first-team keeper, aged just 21, and was ever-present in his two seasons at Rennes, helping them to finish comfortably in the top half in his first year. With some of Europe’s biggest clubs watching from the sidelines, Petr Cech decided to stay a second season, though only on the condition that he could move in the next summer.
In February 2004, Chelsea boss Claudio Ranieri agreed a £10m fee for Petr Cech, with the talented goalkeeper joining the club officially at the end of the season. Cech was initially brought in as the understudy to Carlo Cudicini, but an injury to Carlo saw Petr given his chance in the Premier League, and he has retained the first-team spot ever since.
Jose Mourinho took over in 2005 but saw fit to leave Cech in the first-team, and later claiming that Cech was one of his ‘untouchables’. With Mourinho in charge, Chelsea won two Premier League titles and the FA Cup – Cech became one of the first goalkeepers to keep a clean sheet in new Wembley (Manchester United’s Van der Sar did on the same day).
In October 2006, Petr Cech was knocked unconscious by a dangerous challenge whilst playing against Reading. He was rushed to hospital, with doctors doing all they could to relive a depressed skull fracture. Thankfully, Cech made a full recovery and was back in training within a week, although he couldn’t play competitively because his skull needed time to heal.
Cech was back to his best in January 2007, and helped Chelsea to win the Premier League. The following season, Chelsea finished as runners up in both the Premiership and the Champions League.