Who is Chelsea legend Petr Cech?
Petr Cech, who was born on 20 May 1982, is a Czech professional former goalkeeper who spent most of his career in the Premier League club, Chelsea. Cech is argued, with Peter Schmeichel, to be the greatest shot-stopper in Premier League history.
Petr began his senior career at Chmel Blšany in 1999, where the goalkeeper played sporadically for two campaigns before relocating to Sparta Prague in 2001.
At age 19, Petr became a first-team regular, and his single season with the club saw the shot-stopper register a league record of not conceding a goal in 903 competitive minutes. Cech joined the French club Stade Rennais for a fee of €5.5m.
In Ligue 1, Petr starred in an under-performing club and was the subject of a then club-record transfer for a shot-stopper when he moved to Chelsea for £7m.
During his eleven-year association with the London club, Petr played 494 senior games, making him the Blues’ highest overseas appearance maker and sixth all-time.
Cech also helped Chelsea win 4 Premier League trophies, 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, Champions League and Europa League trophies. Petr also holds the London club’s record for clean sheets, with 228.
Petr Cech’s international career
Petr played his debut game for the national team in 2002 and is the most capped footballer in the history of the Czech national team, with 124 caps.
Cech represented the Czech national team at the 2006 World Cup, as well as the 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016 European Championships.
Petr was voted into the Euro 2004 All-Star team after helping the national team reach the semi-finals and served as captain before retiring from the international tournament in 2016.
In October 2007, Petr captained the national team in their Euro 2008 Group D qualifier with Germany. Cech kept a clean sheet, and the Czechs defeated Germany 3–0 away to book their place for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland.
Petr also has the record for the most Czech Footballer of the Year, and Czech Golden Ball wins. In March 2013, Petr played his 100th game for the national team, keeping a clean sheet in a 3–0 victory over Armenia.
Cech equalled the national record of ex-teammate Karel Poborsky in November 2015, when the goalkeeper played his 118th game in a 3–1 loss to neighbours Poland.
The following 27 May, Cech took the record outright by playing in a 6–0 friendly victory over Malta, according to Medium. In summer 2016, Petr announced his retirement from international football.
