One of the downsides of being consistently brilliant is that people start to expect it all the time. Since arriving at Stamford Bridge eight months ago, Petr Cech has produced so many match-winning moments that our amazement is in danger of dissipating. For every outstanding save he makes, he causes us to raise our eyebrows a little less.
Amid the glory of attacking football on show in Chelsea’s 4-2 defeat of Barcelona, it was easy to forget that the young Czech won the game for Jose Mourinho’s side.
”I think I can be proud to have been involved in such a great game. Maybe it was already the final in advance because it was so good.”
AC Milan, Juventus and Bayern Munich may disagree, but Cech does not think that any team in the world carries a greater attacking threat than the Catalans. He certainly hasn’t seen anything like it in the Premiership.
”From an attacking point of view, Barcelona are the best team we have played all season. They are so good with the ball and their passing is incredible all around the pitch. We played very well in defence and still they scored two and had more chances to score. That says a lot about their attacking power.
”They are one of the best teams in the world going forward, which is why they created so many chances even against the best defence in …” modesty makes him tail off ”… one of the best defences in the world.”
Cech may be dominant on the pitch but there is nothing cocky about him away from the playing field. Slumped on a sofa as I arrive, he politely stands up before shaking my hand.
Despite his success, Cech refuses to mention his own name when asked to rank the best current goalkeepers, a list from which Premiership number ones are conspicuous by their absence.
”Gigi Buffon of Juventus is still the number one, then [Iker] Casillas, who has been playing for Real Madrid for such a long time despite still being only 23 years old. Dida is always performing well at Milan and [Oliver] Kahn is always in the top five, even if he maybe hasn’t been as great as before this season.
”Buffon may be a bit smaller, but he has everything that you want from a great goalkeeper. He relays his confidence to his defence and they feel that they have a great keeper behind them. Everybody can make mistakes but his consistency level is amazing. You never see him have a bad game.”
Cech rarely seems to have an off day either. From an early age his coaches taught him the importance of marshalling his defence and this, combined with Mourinho’s meticulous preparation that includes giving each player a dossier on the opposition before a game, means that Chelsea have been all but impenetrable this season.
Cech started out as a winger but ended up in goal as a nine-year-old when his team’s goalkeeper was injured. He excelled at Chmel Blsany before moving to Sparta Prague at the age of 19. He almost immediately set a Czech premier-league record, going 903 minutes without conceding.
After only a few first-team games, he faced Bayern Munich in a crucial Champions League away tie. Cech produced a performance of astounding maturity for a 19-year-old and the game ended goalless. And he wasn’t even nervous.
”I don’t do nervous really,” he says. ”You always have to respect your opponent, respect the game of football and be 100% focused. If you are 100% concentrated for 90 minutes you can still make a mistake, but even if you let in a goal you know that you have done your best. I know that I am always doing my best, so I am not nervous.”
Cech, who originally wanted to be an ice-hockey goalkeeper, played 12 Champions League games for Sparta before moving to French club Rennes in 2002. That year, he also helped the Czech under-21 side win the European championship, making a string of important saves in the final against France before keeping out three penalties in the shootout.
Cech believes his two years with Rennes were crucial to his development. He says that training in France is very different than in England, goalkeepers receiving much more specialised training. Perhaps that is one of the reasons England is unable to produce world-class goalkeepers at the moment.
Does he miss anything about living in France?
”It is a big difference because in France the gastronomy is one of the best in the world, but if I want to go to a French restaurant there are enough in London. I have settled here really quickly.”
Back on the football pitch, there are at least two managers out there who must smile ruefully every time Cech pulls off a save. Arsène Wenger twice tried to sign him but Cech was unable to get a work permit, while the former Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri must wish that he had had at least one season with Cech in goal, as it was the Italian who signed him before departing last year.
Cech, however, never met Ranieri as Chelsea had an away game when he signed his contract. Mourinho then arrived and told Cech and Carlo Cudicini that they were starting from scratch and that pre-season performances would decide who would be first choice at the start of the season.
Cech believes the manager’s attitude has given him an advantage over less fortunate goalkeepers at Manchester United and Arsenal.
”They have kept changing goalkeepers a lot so they are likely to suffer from a lack of confidence and that is not good. If you are confident you can do your best, but if it is lacking you are scared to try something you might have done if you had that confidence. Some people blame the new balls but that is the same for every goalkeeper.”
Cech is even completely focused throughout our interview, his composure wobbling only slightly when a Russian woman whips off her coat to reveal a large chest in a low-cut top, begging for a photo. He acquiesces with a shy smile.
In fact, his whole demeanour is promising for Chelsea. This is not someone who is likely to lose his hunger for the game or let fame and money get to his head.
”Unfortunately money is very important in this world we live in but it is up to every individual to deal with it,” he says. ”For me it is very much a question of education and upbringing. You have to have respect for money but sometimes you get people who stop thinking about their career and for them it is just a case of saying, ‘Look at me, I have a lot of money now and I can do whatever I want.’ I wouldn’t do that.” — Â