Petr
Čech

Petr Čech (May 20, 1982, Pilsen), one of the best goalkeepers of his time and arguably the best Czech goalkeeper ever premiered in the top Czech league when he was only 17 years old. He played for Blšany against Sparta Prague, the team that acquired him two years later and in which he became the first-choice goalkeeper shortly after. With Sparta, he even played in the Champions League and one year later he moved to his first team abroad. By that time, he had won the European Under-21 Championship. In the final, he conceded only one goal in the penalty shoot-out against France and became the hero of the tournament. And it was to France, namely to Rennes, where his next steps were.

He played in Ligue 1 for two years. At the end of this period, he reached the third place as the first-choice goalkeeper of the Czech national team at the Euro 2004. Then he moved to a more ambitious club, the English-side Chelsea, a transfer arranged prior to the European Championship.

Čech spent 11 years at Stamford Bridge and worked his way up to become one of the legends of the club. With the London club, he won both the Premier League and the FA Cup four times, the English League Cup three times, and once he triumphed in both the Champions League and the Europa League.

His ended his career in Arsenal, the city rival of Chelsea. During the four-year stay, he won another FA Cup title. After retiring from football, he shocked the world of sport by a rather unusual transfer when he became a goaltender for Guildford Phoenix, an ice hockey team playing currently the second highest tier in Britain. At the same time, Čech returned to Chelsea as a technical and performance advisor.