"This is my 20th season as a professional and it's been 20 years since I signed my first professional contract. So I feel it's time to announce that decision and I'll retire at the end of the season. Peter Cech recently announced on social media that he would officially hang up his boots at the end of the season.
Cech holds the Premier League record for clean sheets. Photo/Visual China
The "tank soldier" Stamford Bridge became famous
In 1982, Cech, who was born in the Czech Republic, had a poor family life and was reluctant to switch from his favorite but expensive hockey sport to football. In the beginning, Petr Cech played as a left winger on the pitch. A perilous order allowed the unlearned Cech to show amazing talent for goalkeeping and fell in love with the position of goalkeeper.
In 1999, at the age of 17, Petr Cech signed his first professional contract with Czech side Bercini. In 2004, Jose Mourinho, who joined Chelsea, brought Cech to Stamford Bridge for £7 million, the most important transfer of Cech's career.
In his first season at Chelsea, Petr Cech won an impressive record of 24 clean sheets in the league, a record that no one has ever broken, and he also won the premier League's inaugural Golden Glove Award, which has been a legend since then.
In a Chelsea away game against Reading in October 2006, Petr Cech was hit in the head by an opponent in a save and fractured his skull. After up to 3 hours of surgery, two metal tablets were implanted in the skull, Cech regained consciousness and slowly improved. A few months later, the Czech gatekeeper returned to the green field, but since then, Cech has always played with a protective gear, hence the nickname "Tank Soldier".
After being reborn from the fire, Cech continued the path of canonization. The 2012 Champions League final became one of the most classic battles of Cech's career, and in the face of the indiscriminate bombardment of opponents, Cech stuck to the city and helped the Blues lift the only Champions League trophy in the history of the team.
During his 11 years with Chelsea, Cech played 494 matches in all competitions, including 333 Premier League games and 162 clean sheets, winning 1 Champions League, 1 Europa League, 4 Premier League titles, 4 FA Cups, 3 League Cups and 2 Community Shield titles.
Turn to the sought-after to achieve the "Zero Seal King"
If Cech grew up to be one of the top goalkeepers in European football at Stamford Bridge, Arsenal is a blessed place to make Cech's Premier League history.
In the summer of 2015, Cech joined Arsenal for £10 million. December 30, 2015 was a significant milestone in Cech's career. On that day, Arsenal beat Bournemouth 2-0 to overtake Leicester City by one point and rise to the top of the table. This is Petr Cech's 170th clean sheet in the Premier League, and he broke David James' previous record of 169 clean sheets to become the Premier League "king of clean sheets".
In his three seasons at Arsenal, Cech played 129 games. In 110 Premier League games, Cech has kept 40 clean sheets. He won 1 FA Cup and 2 Community Shield titles with the Gunners.
In his 15 years in the Premier League, Petr Cech has played 443 Premier League games for Chelsea and Arsenal, with 202 clean sheets. Cech's clean sheets are number one of all Premier League goalkeepers and 33 more than second-placed David James.
A week ago, Arsenal boss Emery said of Cech's going to stay: "I am very happy that there is an experienced player like Cech in the team, we need him and we will talk to him in the future. "I want to stay with arsenal, but it's only January, the season is still very long, you never know what's going to happen. ”
Yeah, you never know what's going to happen in the future. In the end, the Czech goalkeeper decided to end his football career at Arsenal at the end of the season.
"In 15 seasons in the Premier League, I have won every trophy as much as I can and achieved what I was looking forward to. I'm still doing my best at Arsenal and hopefully I can lift another trophy together before the end of the season. After that, I was looking forward to my life off the field. Cech said on social media.
Football will pay tribute to the "god of cutting doors"
After Cech announced his retirement at the end of the season, Arsenal issued a statement saying the team respected Cech's decision and thanked him for everything he had done. "Recently, Cech told us about his decision. Like all fans, we feel sad about it, but we fully understand and support Cech. We know that no matter what Cech decides to do in the future, he will continue to make a great contribution. ”
Arsenal said that in his 15 years in the Premier League, Cech has been a professional role model on and off the field, and he has a special place in the hearts of football fans around the world, "We thank you for everything you have done for the club and look forward to helping the team to finish this season well, I wish you all the best in the future." ”
Old club Chelsea also posted on official social media tribute to Cech, "Inside and outside the field, Cech is a winner, enjoy the retirement life, Peter Cech!" ”
Mourinho brought Cech into the Premier League, where the two won the Premier League title in their first season together. "I was honoured to be the coach who gave him the number one shirt when he was still very young. Since then, it's all up to him, his stats, his performance, the number of clean sheets, the number of titles he has won, and his professionalism. His retirement will be a huge loss for football, but history will not be forgotten. Mourinho said.
Manchester United goalkeeper De Gea posted a Note 33 shirt on social media with the caption: "I've always loved Cech's shirt and there's no doubt that he's one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history. We'll miss you! ”
The legendary goalkeeper Casillas, who currently plays for Porto, also greeted the goalkeeper of the same era at the first time: "I have a lot of respect for Cech, he is one of the best goalkeepers I have ever seen, and all the best for the future. ”
data:
Premier League games: 443
Clean sheets: 202 (Premier League record)
Maximum number of clean sheets in a single season: 24 (2004-2005)
trophy:
1 Champions League winner
1 Europa League title
2 Community Shield champions
3 League Cup winners
4 Premier League titles
5 FA Cup titles
honor:
3 UEFA Best Goalkeepers
4 Premier League Gold Gloves
7-time Chelsea Player of the Year
Czech Footballer of the Year 9 times
Beijing News reporter Deng Hanyu
Edited by Wang Chunqiu proofread by Zhai Yongjun