Memorable moments. The intervention that changed Petr Čech’s life

Petr Cech has made history as one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League. In addition to his great saves, the helmet he wore after the 2006 incident to protect his head is inseparable from him. Who almost ended Cech’s career 16 years ago?

Memorable Moments is a special project by Ruiku that recalls the most iconic moments that have happened in football. Today we look back at Petr Čech’s nasty injury.

Petr Cech joined Chelsea from Rennes in France and quickly became the number one goalkeeper. Thanks to some great performances, he settled into the starting lineup and didn’t let his teammate Cudicini in goal too much.

The young goalkeeper’s career progressed brilliantly, winning the Premier League twice in his first two seasons and also receiving the individual award for the most clean sheets in a season (21). But everything changed on 14 October 2006, when the Czech goalkeeper fought for his life…

The fateful match against Reading

In the eighth round of the English top flight, Chelsea took on Reading at an outdoor stadium. Petr Cech, who started his 76th Premier League match on 14 October 2006, was in goal.

Only 14 seconds were ticking away on the scoreboard when Cech went to the edge of the box to catch a long ball that Stephen Hunt was charging at. The Chelsea goalkeeper didn’t hesitate and covered the ball with his gloves on the ground. But the Reading midfielder finished the action and hit Cech in the head with his foot.

At first, the injury didn’t look serious, and perhaps most fans thought that Čech would be able to continue the game. But the opposite was true.

After a few minutes of treatment, it became apparent that the Chelsea star really wouldn’t be able to continue playing and the doctors demanded a quick transfer to hospital. At that point, Cech’s life was on the line.

After being transported to a medical facility, an examination revealed that he had a skull fracture. An operation followed, which was successful and it was already clear then that the Chelsea goalkeeper was in for a long recovery. It was difficult to predict whether we would ever see him on the pitch again.

The return of the legendary helmet

Petr Čech did not give up and returned to the goal after just three months. However, the “memory” of that fateful match was the helmet he always wore to protect his head. Čech himself admitted that he was “born again”, but he was still giving great performances on the pitch.

In the years that followed, he became a legend at the London club and won numerous trophies. Before the end of his career in 2019, he tried his hand at Arsenal and then returned to Chelsea, where he worked in management.

On the 30th of June this year, Petr Cech ended his stint at Chelsea and is currently pursuing his passion – hockey. He plays for the English second division club Guildford Phoenix. The last time you could see Čech was during an NHL game in Prague, where he took the opening faceoff.

Source:: Youtube, Sport, Transfermarkt, Tribuna