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Arsenal Goalkeeper Petr Čech will retire at the end of the season, his 20th season as a professional and his 15th in the English top flight.
36-year-old Čech made his professional debut at the age of 17 for Czech First League side Chmel Blšany in October 1999 in a 3-1 loss to Sparta Prague. He made 27 appearances for the club before joining Czech giants Sparta Prague in January 2001.
Čech made 27 appearances for Sparta in the 2001/02 season before moving to French side Rennes in a deal reportedly worth €5.5 million.
His career could have gone a whole lot differently. The four time Premier League winner looked set to sign for Arsenal 13 years earlier than his 2015 arrival after impressing in international matches for the Czech Republic. The deal fell through due to the Czech international encountering difficulties with obtaining a work permit and he therefore made the move to the North West of France.
Čech himself previously stated that he ‘didn’t miss much’ by not signing for the Gunners in 2002 and we’ll never know what it would have done for his career and also for Arsenal, who at the time had David Seaman in goal, who was coming to the end of his career.
Čech made 70 appearances over two seasons for Rennes and played his part in keeping the the side in Ligue Un during his first season. In May 2003 his side were bottom of the league, yet managed to avoid the drop with a win over Montpellier on the final day of the season.
A Premier League legend
Čech completed a move to Chelsea in February 2004, although he would stay at Rennes until the end of the season. He became Chelsea’s most expensive goalkeeper in history, although the £7 million fee proved to be one of the best pieces of business in the Premier League era.
The Chelsea great can boast an impressive amount of winners medals, 15 in total, 13 of which he picked up at the Blues. He collected four Premier League winners medals and he was part of the Chelsea side that famously won the Champions League in 2012.
Čech the player is defined by his remarkable goalkeeping, but he is also known by many due to a shocking head injury he sustained in a match against Reading in October 2006. The Chelsea number one collided with Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt having bravely rushed out to the edge of the box and slid to get the ball, however Hunt could not stop his run and his right knee collided with Čech’s head.
The goalkeeper underwent surgery for a depressed skull fracture and doctors later reported that it nearly cost the then 24-year-old his life. The harrowing incident led to calls for goalkeepers to be better protected, calls that are still being made today. Čech returned in January 2007 wearing his now famous protective head guard, which he still wears to this day.
Čech became Chelsea’s first choice keeper straight away due to an unfortunate injury to Carlo Cudicini during the 2004/05 pre-season. He made the position his, remaining Chelsea’s first choice goalkeeper for the next decade.
What a decade it was for the Premier League legend- full of memorable matches, world class performances, trophies and honours. Let’s take a look at some of his achievements during this time:
- Golden Gloves: 2004/05, 2010/11, 2013/14, 2015/16
- PFA Team of the Year: 2004/05, 2013/14
- Chelsea player of the Year: 2010/11
- Premier League Titles: 2004/05, 2005/06, 2009/10, 2014/15
- FA Cup Winner: 2006/07, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2011/12
- League Cup Winner: 2004/05, 2006/07, 2014/15
- FA Community Shield Winner: 2005, 2009
- UEFA Europa League Winner: 2012/13
- UEFA Champions League Winner: 2011/12
A number of records were broken during this time at Stamford Bridge. In the 2004/05 season he set a Premier League record of 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal (this was later broken by Edwin van der Sar). In the same season he kept a record amount of clean sheets, 24 clean sheets in a 38 game season. Remarkably, Chelsea only conceded 16 goals throughout the whole campaign. Another record.
Čech has had some lower points during his time in the Premier League. After ten years as Chelsea’s first choice ‘keeper with very little competition, simply due to the fact that he was one of the Worlds best, the 2014/15 season saw this change.
Thibaut Courtous, out on loan at Atlético Madrid in the 2013/14 season, had played an integral role in the side that won their first La Liga title since 1996 and had his sights set on. Courtois returned to Chelsea and started in the opening game of the 2014/15 season ahead of Čech and a mixture of injuries and Courtois’ good form meant that this continued for the remainder of the season.
In the summer of 2015 Čech signed for Premier League rivals arsenal for a reported fee of £10 Million. Čech publicly stated that he did not want to be sat on the bench at that stage in his career and had decided to move on and look for new challenges.
He started the 2015/16 season as Arsenal’s first choice keeper ahead of David Ospina and it stayed this way right through to the 2018/19 season. During this time Čech recorded his 170th Premier League clean sheet in December 2015. If you are still unsure as to whether he should be classed as one of the best goalkeepers the Premier League has seen, then the fact that in March 2018, he went on to become the first goalkeeper in the Premier League to keep 200 clean sheets should hopefully help you make that decision.
Football has evolved since Čech’s debut back in 1999 and one of the biggest changes is that a large amount of teams now have ten outfield players all unbelievably comfortable on the ball and the top teams require a goalkeeper with the vision, composure and passing ability that most ball playing midfielders would be proud of. For all his greatness, the ability to play the ball out from the back isn’t one of Čech’s stronger points.
Unai Emery took over as Arsenal boss at the start of the 2018/19 season and it was clear to see that Emery required a keeper comfortable on the ball. After a few matches as number one Čech lost his place to new signing Bernd Leno.
On the 15th January 2019 Čech announced that he would retire at the end of the current season.
“This is my 20th season as a professional player and it has been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract, so it feels like the right time to announce that I will retire at the end of the season.
Having played 15 years in the Premier League, and won every single trophy possible, I feel like I have achieved everything I set out to achieve.
I will continue to work hard at Arsenal to hopefully win one more trophy this season, then I am looking forward to seeing what life holds for me off the pitch.”
Big names such as David De Gea, Peter Schmeichel, Edwin van der Sar, Jose Mourinho and both Arsenal and Chelsea were quick to show their appreciation for the goalkeeper:
A champion on and off the pitch. ?
Enjoy your retirement, @PetrCech! pic.twitter.com/VrAa2UTTLj
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) January 15, 2019
For your consummate professionalism, for being the perfect role model, for the 50 clean sheets, for your honesty, your integrity and for your inspiring work with @AFC_Foundation, we want to say…
Thank you, @PetrCech! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/AGXeIAAZKA
— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal) January 15, 2019
Se retira uno de los grandes porteros del mundo… Siempre bonito enfrentarse a ti! Todo lo mejor, @PetrCech!! ???
One of the best goalkeepers in the world retires… Always challenging and good to play against you! All the best, @PetrCech!! ??? pic.twitter.com/1hQlC4ihLN
— Andrés Iniesta (@andresiniesta8) January 16, 2019
