Petr Cech: Chelsea FC Turned The Page On Me
Ex-Blues keeper Petr Cech has spoke (again) about his departure.
Chelsea FC goalkeeping great Petr Cech has discussed his tenure in West London and the circumstances surrounding his departure. He has been asked about this on several previous occasions, but it seems that each interview brings us one step closer to the truth regarding his move to Arsenal.
Speaking to Sport magazine, the former Blues player revealed that he knew that the club were eager to move on from him.
"Last year I realised that the club [Chelsea] had sort of turned the page from me. I knew the manager had made his choice and that this was not for me at this point of my career."
At the beginning of the 2014/15 season, Thibaut Courtois had returned from his loan spell at Atletico Madrid and became Jose Mourinho’s first-choice netminder. Cech’s role was reduced to a backup and cup keeper and at the age of 33, the Czech international felt that he still had more to give. Despite that, having spent over a decade at Stamford Bridge, he decided that you can have too much of a good thing.
"At my age and after all I’ve done it was like a chapter closing. Sometimes you have to think about yourself, and this was the best thing for me. At 33, I don’t want to just give things time, just to wait and see. So, after all I’d done at Chelsea, I felt it was the right time to move on."
No-one can deny the significant part that Cech played in transforming Chelsea into a footballing juggernaut. The Blues defence was protected by a consistently solid keeper (rather than the other way round) and Cech looked unbeatable for the entirety of his West London stint.
In fact, his service to the club was outstanding to the point that Roman Abramovich allowed his choice of next destination to be completely free.
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Unfortunately, Cech chose to move to London rivals Arsenal. Having said that, the unfortunate part was not the move, but the ill-feelings that such a transfer forced a minority of Blues fans to direct towards him.
Despite the hate, Cech has gone on to prove that he still has that world-beating talent in his locker. His four clean sheets have helped Arsenal to their five victories thus far although Blues fans will be pleased that his return to Stamford Bridge didn’t bring an away win.
Nevertheless, he will be key to Arsenal silverware this season as a suspect defence (Per Mertesacker) should inevitably be picked apart.
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