Petr Cech is one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history. Throughout a storied career, the Czech international won almost every trophy on offer, finishing his career with a huge list of achievements.
What are Petr Cech’s achievements? Petr Cech has won the Premier League four times, the Champions League, the FA Cup five times, the League Cup three times and the Europa League once. He played 20 seasons of professional football between 1999 and 2019.
Petr Cech has a very long list of achievements after a brilliant career in England. His headline achievement is that Cech was the keeper for four Premier League titles, with all of those coming with Chelsea. Cech won those four titles in the space of ten years, with his last Premier League title coming in the 2014-15 season.
Cech was also the starting keeper for Chelsea when they won the Champions League in 2012. He was crucial in that Champions League success, with Cech saving two penalties in a row in the Final to secure the Champions League title for the blue side of London.
The FA Cup is the trophy that Cech has won the most times, finishing his career with five FA Cup titles. The first of those came in 2007 and Cech won his final FA Cup title with Arsenal in 2017. This was the only major trophy that Cech won with Arsenal, with his other four FA Cup titles coming with Chelsea.
The Champions League trophy was not the only major European trophy that Cech won in his career. A year after winning the Champions League with Chelsea, he was also the starting keeper when Chelsea defeated Benfica in the 2013 Europa League Final. This helped Cech to forget losing the FIFA Club World Cup final.
Cech also had a lot of success in the League Cup, particularly with Chelsea. He won the trophy three times with Chelsea, with the first being part of a double in 2005 alongside the League title. This helped Cech to forget the pair of League Cup finals defeats, one with Arsenal and one with Chelsea.
Cech has also won the Community Shield four times, two of those coming with Chelsea and two of those coming with Arsenal. Cech did not have a huge amount of success internationally but he did win one trophy internationally. Cech won the UEFA European
Under-21 Championship with the Czech Republic U21 team in 2002. But Cech also has a long list of individual achievements as well as team accomplishments.
Petr Cech’s individual achievements
Petr Cech has got a long list of individual achievements, thanks to being one of the best keepers in Premier League history. During his time in the League Cech won four Golden Glove awards, given to the goalkeeper who kept the most clean sheets that season, showing just how good the Chelsea defence was with Cech in net.
He was part of the PFA Team of the year twice, as well as being the goalkeeper for the European Champions Team of the Tournament for 2004. He was awarded as the Best European Goalkeeper in four different years, as well as being Chelsea’s Player of the Year in the 2010-11 season.
Cech is one of the best Czech players in football history. Due to that, he has won a huge number of awards in his home country. Petr Cech was Czech Footballer of the Year nine times, including winning the award six years in a row. He last won the award in 2016 despite it being closer to the end of his career.
Cech also won the Czech Republic Golden Ball a whopping 12 times. This is the award for the best footballer from the Czech Republic, voted for by Czech sports journalists. It shows how much of a hero Cech was in his home country this his career.
Why did Petr Cech wear a helmet?
Petr Cech was known for wearing a helmet during his time with Chelsea and Arsenal. There was a good reason for this. Cech actually began his Chelsea career not wearing a helmet but that changed in late 2006.
In a game against Reading at the Madejski Stadium, Cech’s head collided with the knee of Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt. Cech was knocked unconscious when it happened and was immediately taken to hospital in Reading. Doctors were not initially concerned about the injury and did not realise how serious it truly was.
Cech had to undergo surgery for a depressed skull fracture. It was a life-changing injury which nearly cost Cech his life. Cech suffered intense headaches after the injury and it completely changed his life. Cech would be ruled out for three months while he was recovering.
When Cech returned to the Premier League in January 2007, he chose to wear a rugby head guard, also known as a scrum cap. This was to help Cech protect his head, with the Czech Republic goalkeeper wearing the rugby helmet for the rest of his professional career. He also partly wore the helmet due to having a weaker skull due to being a triplet.
How good was Petr Cech?
Petr Cech is considered the best goalkeeper in the history of the Premier League, having a huge amount of success in the league. Cech is considered one of the most consistent and best goalkeepers in the history of football. He is known for being a perfect all-around keeper with all of the physical and mental attributes you would want from a goalkeeper.
Cech has a history of making crucial saves in critical moments. He had some brilliant performances in finals, with the 2012 Champions League Final and the 2010 FA Cup Final going Chelsea’s way thanks to penalty saves from Cech. He is a brilliant shot-stopper who was very difficult to get past.
When you hold countless Premier League records including most Premier League clean sheets in a career and a season, you have to be one of the best goalkeepers of all time. Cech was an exceptionally good keeper, being a crucial part of the record-breaking Chelsea defence of the 2000s.