Petr Cech – Chelsea FC’s Greatest

That date will always remain in the minds of Chelsea FC fans throughout the world, not because of a famous victory, but because it was the date that Petr Čech could have been killed doing something he loved, playing a game of football.

A routine slide out to collect the ball on the ground from Petr, a knee lowered into the head by Reading’s Stephen Hunt (as a “reminder” from someone trying to impress his manager as Hunt himself said in an interview afterwards), and Petr suffered a depressed skull fracture, which if it hadn’t been for an emergency operation in the early hours of the next day could have killed him. The fact that he was one of triplets is now considered by experts to be the reason why Petr’s skull is thinner than average and why he still wears his famous skull cap even to this day nearly 9 years later.

Petr himself doesn’t remember the incident or anything between getting changed pre game in the dressing room to when the whole team came to visit him in hospital 3 or 4 days later. He has however got every card and get well letter sent to him after the incident in a large cardboard box in his house, and refers to them as a source of help in a very difficult time in his life.

He does get annoyed when people ask him if he wears the skull cap because he is wary or cautious when challenging for the ball as a result of the incident, as reported by The Daily Mail in an interview given in August 2009: “It irritates me that people say, “He wears it because he’s afraid,” or psychologically it makes me feel more secure. They have no idea what my surgeon said. They have no knowledge of brain injuries. If I needed help psychologically I’d wear an American football helmet. When you play in goal you expect to get kicked. I had 50 stitches in my mouth. I don’t cover my face, do I? When the ball is there to be won I don’t consider what might happen.”

Incidentally the very fact that Petr does wear his skull cap every time now actually helped another Chelsea FC player, Kurt Zouma on 16^th December 2014. Both Petr and Kurt went up to clear a cross from the Chelsea FC penalty area and suffered a sickening clash of heads. Kurt Zouma had to go off suffering with potential concussion and Petr believes that if he hadn’t been wearing his head guard it could have been a lot worse for both of them. Referring to the incident Petr said in an interview: “But then I saw him (Kurt) lying on the floor. I was a bit concerned because we collided with a heavy clash. I think it was lucky he hit my helmet because the impact would have been much bigger. I think the helmet saved him, me as well. Because he hit most of the helmet and took away a little bit of the impact.”

Next: Petr Čech – The Chelsea years.