Petr Cech

Petr Cech Biography - Preview
Not a lot of goalkeepers get their biographies written, mainly for the fact that they don't shine out like a striker or a midfielder does and they are much more prone to mistakes than any other player on the pitch.

Still, this Cech biography was inevitable, as we are talking about one of the best soccer goalkeepers of today and one of the most prominent figures at Chelsea FC. So let's begin this Petr Cech Biography with a short review of his early period, his time at Rennes and his boost to stardom at Chelsea.


Petr Cech Biography – Early Career
Being born in the Czech town of Plzen, his local team, FC Viktoria Plzen was his obvious first choice. However, few know that Peter Cech didn't start out as a soccer goalkeeper, but he was actually a midfielder or striker for the youth team of FC Viktoria Plzen.

After breaking his leg at age 10 however, he was often set in the goal of the team, until he fully recovered and began to like this position.

At age 17, he moved to FK Chmel Blsany in 1999, which was a step forward, getting his first professional contract, but still wasn't the big break Petr Cech had hoped for.

After playing 27 matches in 2 seasons for Blsany, Cech shone out as a talented young goalkeeper and it was AC Sparta Praha, one of the most important teams in the Czech league that sought to profit from the young goalkeeper's talent and signed him in an expensive deal for the Czech league (especially for a goalkeeper), 700 000 euros.

He immediately won a first team place for Sparta Praha and had a great season with the team, managing to set a national record of going 855 minutes without conceding a goal and having a great campaign in UEFA Champions League.


Petr Cech Biography – Rennes
Petr Cech's performances at Sparta and especially his awesome games in UEFA Champions League with the team brought him in the attention of several big European clubs, but it was Stade Rennais FC (you can just call it Rennes if your French is not up to date) that finally clinched a deal with the Czech team, signing Peter Cech for 5 million euros, a big sum for a goalkeeper in 2002.

Admittedly, Rennes wasn't a top team in the French league, but it was definitely considered a launch pad to soccer stardom, as many of the team's components found themselves moving to bigwigs Olympique Lyonnais, Paris Saint Germain, Girondine Bordeaux or Auxerre.

In 2 years at Rennes, Petr Cech managed to help the team avoid relegation (the usual objective with which Rennes started the season back then) and not only that, but his brilliant goalkeeping brought the team in the French Cup's semi finals in 2003 and managed to finish ninth in the following season. His big break was yet to come however…


Petr Cech Biography – Chelsea
In 2003, Carlo Cudicini, Chelsea's first choice goalkeeper was considered one of the best in the English League, but since the glory of a soccer goalkeeper is usually short, a string of mistakes on his part sent the Chelsea officials looking for a replacement goalkeeper, or at least someone that could spark some competition for what they thought was an unmotivated Cudicini.

They found this replacement in Peter Cech and signed the Czech goalkeeper in the summer of 2004 for a fee of 10 million euros. Although still considered the second choice for Chelsea's goal, Petr Cech quickly won his first choice status as Cudicini kept on making mistakes that would cost his team points and the fans' support.

Being in the forming dream team of Chelsea meant a lot of pressure for the young goalkeeper, but also the chance to rise to fame. Given the chance, he showed the World what he can do, setting a personal and Premiership record, not conceding a goal for 1025 minutes. That season also had him win another award, the Golden Gloves, for earning an impressive 21 clean sheets during the entire season.

Currently, Petr Cech is still on top of his game and has the full support of the fans and staff of Chelsea, despite suffering a grave injury during a Premiership match against Reading, when he fractured his skull after colliding with an opponent.