Petr Cech – Chelsea FC’s Greatest
By Lee Fraser
Born 20th May 1982 in the City of Plzeň in what was then known as Czechoslovakia before the fall of communism under the Velvet Revolution of 1989. Plzeň used to be known throughout the world as being the birthplace of Pilsner Beer, nowadays it’s known as being Big Pete’s birthplace!
Petr was one of triplets, his triplet brother Michal Čech died at the age of 2, leaving his triplet sister Šárka Čechová and his other sister Markéta Čechová as his surviving siblings. The fact that he is one of a triplet birth affects his appearance when playing today, but more of that later.
More from The Pride of London
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea player ratings: Abysmal, reckless, wasteful
- Bournemouth 0-0 Chelsea: 3 Blues talking points
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 1 Blue Mauricio Pochettino should drop
- Bournemouth vs Chelsea: 3 Blues who must start
- Predicted Chelsea lineup vs Bournemouth: Palmer starts in 4-2-3-1
As with so many footballers Petr didn’t start out in his now recognised position, indeed he started out as a midfielder/winger as a 7 year old for Škoda Plzeň, now known as FC Viktoria Plzeň. Whilst there he broke his leg aged 10 and that helped convince him to be a goal keeper because there was less pain involved playing for 90 minutes as a goal keeper! He progressed via FK Chmel Blšany and Sparta Prague where he broke the Czech record for not conceding a goal, finally conceding after 903 consecutive minutes. At this point in his career Arsenal tried to sign him but the deal didn’t happen because of difficulties in obtaining a work permit (thank you o God of Work Permits!).
From there he eventually signed for Stade Rennais in France. After a successful trial in 2003 Claudio Ranieri attempted to sign Petr as an understudy to Carlo Cudicini, and finally in June 2014 Petr Čech joined Chelsea FC in a £7million deal.
Next: Petr Čech – The Man.