Petr Čech

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Petr Čech
Personal information
Full name Petr Čech
Date of birth May 20, 1982 (age 24)
Place of birth Pilsen, Czech Republic
Height 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Nickname Čechíno, Big Pete
Position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club Chelsea
Number 1
Professional clubs*
Years Club Apps (goals)
1999-2001
2001-2002
2002-2004
2004-		 Blšany
Sparta Prague
Rennes
Chelsea		 27 (0)
27 (0)
70 (0)
75 (0)
National team**
2002- Czech Republic 44 (0)

* Professional club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 23:45, 26 November 2006 (UTC).
** National team caps and goals correct
as of 03:47, 6 July 2006 (UTC).

Petr Čech (born 20 May 1982 in Pilsen, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech international footballer who is currently a goalkeeper for Chelsea. He is married to his childhood sweetheart, Martina.

He has previously played for Viktoria Plzeň, Chmel Blšany, Sparta Prague, and Rennes. Some stunning saves at Euro 2004 in Portugal helped the Czech team progress as far as the semi-finals and Čech was named in the all-star team as best goalkeeper at the tournament. In 2005, Čech was voted best Goalkeeper in the UEFA Champions League tournament of 2004-05 and was in the FIFPro and Champions League 2005-06 team of the season. He currently holds three records: a national record of not conceding a goal in 855 competitive minutes and an English Premiership record of not conceding a goal in 1,025 minutes and 25 clean sheets in Chelsea's 2004-05 title-winning campaign. He had also gone 928 minutes unbeaten at Sparta Prague.

Despite his relative youth, Petr Čech already boasts an extensive medal collection, and is widely considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the world. [1][2][3]

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] FC Viktoria Plzeň (1989-99)

Čech started out as a midfielder for the youth team, occasionally taking the goalkeeping position in games. When he broke his leg at age 10, he opted to become the team's goalkeeper instead.

[edit] FK Chmel Blsany (1999-2001)

Čech made his senior-level debut as a 17-year-old for FK Chmel Blšany in 1999.

[edit] AC Sparta Praha (2001-02)

Čech really came of age in the 2001/02 campaign following a €700,000 transfer to AC Sparta Praha. The young custodian won a first-team place four matches into the Czech season, and proceeded to set a national record by going 855 minutes without conceding a goal. Just for good measure, he began Sparta's UEFA Champions League campaign by shutting out holders FC Bayern München, and was not beaten until Matchday 5.

[edit] Rennes (2002-04)

After just one season at the Letná, Čech joined Stade Rennais FC in July 2002 for a reported fee of €5m. Not one of France’s glamour clubs, the Czech was virtually ever-present as Rennes preserved their Ligue 1 status and reached the Coupe de France semi-finals in 2003. He played all but five of Rennes' games as they finished ninth in the team's 2003-04 Ligue 1 season.

[edit] Chelsea (2004-present)

In January 2004, he agreed a summer move to Chelsea for £7m (€10.3m), signing a five-year contract.

When he arrived at Chelsea, there was uncertainty over whether he would be the first choice goalkeeper as Chelsea already had Carlo Cudicini, who many considered to be one of the best goalkeepers in the English League. Cudicini made several mistakes in the 2004 preseason, allowing Čech to become Chelsea's first choice goalkeeper once the season started.

On 5 March 2005 Čech set a new Premiership record of 1025 minutes without letting in a goal. He was finally beaten by Leon McKenzie of Norwich City. He had kept a clean sheet in the league since 12 December 2004 when Thierry Henry scored for Arsenal. Čech was given a special award by the Premier League for the new record, and he was also awarded the Golden Gloves at the end of the 2004-05 season for keeping a record 21 clean sheets. Chelsea retained the Premiership title in 2005-06, with Čech playing in all but two games in the League.

He signed a new contract on 1 February 2006 which will keep him at the club until 2010.

Čech underwent minor shoulder surgery on 27 June 2006 to repair a long-standing injury stemming from the previous English Premiership season [1] [2]. Čech returned to action on 27 August 2006 during Chelsea's Premier League match versus Blackburn, keeping a clean sheet [3].

[edit] Statistics

Club Season Apps. Goals Yellow
Cards		 Red
Cards		 Clean
Sheets
Chelsea 2006-2007** 6 0 1 0 4
Chelsea 2005-2006 34 0 1 0 21
Chelsea 2004-2005 37 0 0 0 21
Rennes 2003-2004 33 0 1 0 12
Rennes 2002-2003 37 0 0 0 12
Sparta Prague 2001-2002 27 0 0 0 17
Blšany 2000-2001 26 0 0 0 7
Blšany 1999-2000 1 0 0 0 0

League games only. *Correct as of 7 August 2006 , **Correct as of 30 September 2006

[edit] International career

Čech has had 44 international appearances for the Czech Republic.

He was part of the Czech Euro 2004 team, who finished top of their group in the pre-tournament phase, qualified from their group in the first round of the tournament, defeated Denmark in the quarter finals, before losing to Greece in the semi-finals on the silver goal rule.

The Czech Republic qualified for the 2006 World Cup, held in Germany, and were placed in Group E, alongside Ghana, Italy and the United States. The Czech Republic was placed third by the end of the group stages, and with one win against the United States, winning by 3-0, and two losses against Ghana and Italy, the score 2-0 in both games, the Czech Republic did not advance to the second round. Italy later went on to win the Cup.

[edit] Head injury

On 14 October 2006, Čech and Reading's Stephen Hunt challenged for the ball in the first minute of a league game at the Madejski Stadium, resulting in Čech's head colliding with Hunt's knee and leaving the former concussed. After immediate replacement by Carlo Cudicini (who was also left unconscious during the game after a challenge with another Reading player), Čech was taken to Royal Berkshire Hospital's Accident and Emergency unit, and that evening taken to Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary's specialist neuro-surgical unit[4]. Čech then underwent surgery for a depressed fracture of the skull[4][5]. The injury nearly cost Čech his life.[6] As a result of Hunt's challenge, Čech has suffered intense headaches[7] He has been warned by his doctor that returning too early could be fatal.[8] According to his father, he could be out of football for a year[9].

On 19 October 2006, Čech was transferred from the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford to a hospital close to his home in London [10].

Chelsea boss José Mourinho said "the challenge [was] a disgrace. He is lucky to still be alive",[11] later also criticising the South Central Ambulance Service NHS Trust[12] and the match referee, Mike Riley[13]. Chelsea said in a later statement: "Chelsea FC has reviewed the video of both incidents. We endorse the post-match comments of José Mourinho regarding the seriousness of these incidents. Chelsea will be writing to the Football Association with our observations."[4]

Reading manager Steve Coppell said "I know 100% for sure there's no intent"[14], while football pundits Alan Hansen[5] and Bob Wilson[15], and media commentators Martin Samuel[16], Clive Tyldesley[17] and Des Kelly[18] have all given their backing to Hunt. However, Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann,[19] manager Arsène Wenger,[20] former West Ham United goalkeeper Luděk Mikloško,[21] Daily Mirror columnist Oliver Holt,[22] football journalist and pundit Gabriele Marcotti[23] (who said there was no malice from Hunt but the challenge was "reckless and dangerous") and Čech's Chelsea team mates Didier Drogba[24] and Carlo Cudicini[25] have all condemned the challenge.

Following hospital treatment, Čech returned home on 24 October 2006, where he continued his rehabilitation, and in the following week he came back to a period of light training. In a note, Chelsea informed that the goalkeeper will be out for three months, a standard medical timescale for the complete recovery of skull fractures[26].

On 27 October 2006, Čech was interviewed on Chelsea TV said that he could not remember the injury itself and that he was grateful for all the support he had received over this period.

[edit] Trivia

Brazilian band Fresno recorded a track called Soneto Para Petr Cech ("Sonnet For Petr Cech") for their third studio album, Ciano, which was released in 2006.

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/5119818.stm
  2. ^ http://edition.cnn.com/2006/SPORT/football/06/27/czech.cech/
  3. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/5266318.stm
  4. ^ a b c "Cech has operation", chelseafc.com, 2006-10-15. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  5. ^ a b "Keeper Cech has surgery on skull", BBC Sport, 2006-10-15. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  6. ^ "I'LL BE BACK", The Daily Mirror, 2006-10-28. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  7. ^ "Cech complains of severe headaches following head injury", The Daily Mirror, 2006-10-27. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  8. ^ "Doctors: Cech out for rest of season", www.soccerway.com, 2006-10-16. Retrieved on 2006-11-16.
  9. ^ "My boy will be out for one year", The Sun, 2006-10-17. Retrieved on 2006-10-17.
  10. ^ "Injured Cech making good progress", BBC Sport, 2006-10-20. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  11. ^ "Mourinho angry as keepers injured", BBC Sport, 2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  12. ^ "Royals were right over Cech", itv Sport, 2006-10-18. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  13. ^ "Referee Riley: I did not make Cech leave the pitch for treatment", The Daily Mail, 2006-10-16. Retrieved on 2006-10-21.
  14. ^ "Coppell gives his views on Chelsea game, Hunt collision, ref Riley and more", readingfc.co.uk, 2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  15. ^ Alan Hansen. "Clumsy challenge had roots in dressing room", The Daily Telegraph, 2006-10-16. Retrieved on 2006-10-16.
  16. ^ Martin Samuel. "So, José, you believe that this was deliberate, do you? In that case we challenge you: try it", The Times, 2006-10-18. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  17. ^ Clive Tyldesley. "Mourinho fails to make charge stick against Hunt", The Daily Telegraph, 2006-10-16. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  18. ^ Des Kelly. "It's Chelsea, not Hunt, who need to apologise", Daily Mail, 2006-10-17. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  19. ^ "Jens admits keeper fears", skysports.com, 2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  20. ^ "Wenger fears for keepers' safety", bbc, 2006-10-17. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  21. ^ "Miklosko speaks out over Cech", skysports.com, 2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  22. ^ Oliver Holt. "Look Again..This Time Mourinho Has Got One Right", Daily Mirror, 2006-10-18. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  23. ^ "English head games", Sports Illustrated, 2006-10-19. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  24. ^ "Drogba accuses Hunt", skysports.com, 2006-10-14. Retrieved on 2006-10-18.
  25. ^ "Cudicini unhappy with Riley role", BBC, 2006-10-19. Retrieved on 2006-10-20.
  26. ^ "Cech home and set to train", chelseafc.com, 2006-10-24. Retrieved on 2006-10-25.

[edit] External links

Czech Republic Czech Republic squad - 2006 FIFA World Cup Czech Republic

1 Čech | 2 Grygera | 3 Mareš | 4 Galásek | 5 Kováč | 6 Jankulovski | 7 Sionko | 8 Poborský | 9 Koller | 10 Rosický | 11 Nedvěd | 12 Lokvenc | 13 Jiránek | 14 Jarolím | 15 Baroš | 16 Blažek | 17 Štajner | 18 Heinz | 19 Polák | 20 Plašil | 21 Ujfaluši | 22 Rozehnal | 23 Kinský | Coach: Brückner
Chelsea F.C. - Current Squad

1 Čech | 3 A. Cole | 4 Makélélé | 5 Essien | 6 Carvalho | 7 Shevchenko | 8 Lampard | 9 Boulahrouz | 10 J. Cole | 11 Drogba | 12 Mikel | 13 Ballack | 14 Geremi | 16 Robben | 18 Bridge | 19 Diarra | 20 Ferreira | 21 Kalou | 22 Hedman | 23 Cudicini | 24 Wright-Phillips | 26 Terry | 40 Hilário | 41 Ma-Makalambay | Manager: Mourinho
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