The Czech International who stood at 6 ft. 5 was an impressive shot-stopper who had an outstanding clean sheet record in the Premier League. He is one of the best goalkeepers to emerge in the 21st century.
His Premier League career lasted 15 years in which he represented two of London’s biggest rivals, Chelsea and Arsenal. Cech caught the attention of Jose Mourinho during his time at Rennes as he saved the club from relegation in his final season.
Cech arrived in England in the summer of 2004 upon the arrival of Jose Mourinho. The semi-pro ice hockey goaltender was the most expensive goalkeeper at the time and he proved he was worth the money.
At the end of his first season, Cech set a record of 1,025 minutes played without conceding a goal, he won the Premier League Golden Glove as he helped them win their first League title in 49 years. It signified the reign of the Roman Abramovich era as well as the class of “The Special One”.
In his second season, Cech and Chelsea won their second Premier League title as the left-footed goalkeeper was named the 2005 best goalkeeper by IFFHS and he won his first Czech player of the year title in 2006.
The first half of his third season was terrible as he suffered back to back injuries which left him out of the squad till January. He suffered a fatal head injury which caused a depressed skull fracture.
Cech had a speedy recovery and made a remarkable comeback against Liverpool in January whilst sporting a rugby like headgear. He spent the rest of his career wearing the headgear as a precaution.
The soft-spoken intelligent goalkeeper went on to win 6 major honours with Chelsea which included 4 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups, a Champions League, Europa League and FIFA Club World Cup.
He was surplus to requirements after the arrival of Thibaut Courtois at Chelsea. In search of first-team football, Cech made the switch to London rivals Arsenal thanks to Arsene Wenger who was a huge fan of the goalkeeper’s exploits.
Cech came with a wealth of experience and created balance in the team which had a large crop of young players. With Arsenal, Cech recorded his 170th Premier League clean sheet. He was named goalkeeper of the season as he received the Golden Gloved despite a lacklustre defence at his disposal.
He went on to win the FA Cup in his second season in North London. He narrowly missed out on an EFL cup victory against Manchester City in his third season and lost the Europa League final to his former club, Chelsea. Cech was highly criticised for his performance in the final and his decision to announce that he will be returning to Chelsea in a role as technical and performance adviser.
Cech had a successful career at International level. He made his way through the youth ranks starting at the under 15 teams all the way to the men’s first team. His heroics during the 2002 U-21 European Championship earned the Czech Republic their first trophy at International level.
He also earned 124 caps serving his country for 14 years. He represented the Czech national team during 4 major tournaments which included a World Cup campaign and 3 UEFA Euro tournaments.
Cech holds numerous records in the Premier League and for the Czech national team. He has many accolades which he has received through the span of his 20-year playing career. The accolades cut across the Premier League, UEFA, FIFA, PFA and Czech Football.
Cech has been a great contributor to the game of football especially in the Czech Republic and the English Premier League. He will forever be remembered as one of the greats of Premier League football.
