A lot of people will remember Petr Cech for his time with Chelsea. With the Blues Cech was part of a record-breaking defence that won multiple Premier League titles as well as Champions League success. But Chelsea are not the only club Cech has played for.
What teams did Petr Cech play for? Domestically, Petr Cech played for Chmel Blsany, Sparta Prague, Rennes, Chelsea and Arsenal. He also played internationally for the Czech Republic.
Petr Cech played for a lot of different teams in his successful domestic career that spanned 20 years and brought a huge amount of achievements.
Chmel Blsany
After coming through the ranks of Viktoria Plzen, Cech moved to Czech First League team Chmel Blsany, making his debut at the age of 17. He would play for Chmel Blsany for a couple of years, building a reputation in the Czech Republic that got him attention from some very big clubs.
Sparta Prague
Cech signed a long-term deal with Sparta Prague in January 2001 and was immediately successful, breaking the record for the longest time without conceding a goal in the top division of Czech football. It was during his single season with Sparta Prague that Cech began to gain attention from European clubs.
Rennes
Despite previous interest from Arsenal, Cech moved to Rennes after a deal with the Gunners fell through. In Ligue 1, Cech continued to show improvement, making his international debut in the same season he signed for the French team. Cech was still able to impress teams around Europe despite Rennes almost being relegated from Ligue 1.
Rennes finished 15th in his first season, just two points off relegation and they improved massively in his second season, finishing ninth and comfortably avoiding relegation. Rennes still had a good defence with Cech even when they were near relegation and he became one of the most talked about prospects in Europe.
Chelsea
It was with the Blues that Cech became one of the greatest goalkeepers of his generation. Initially bought for £7 million, he was the most expensive goalkeeper in Chelsea history. He got his opportunity with Chelsea immediately thanks to an injury to first-choice keeper Carlo Cudicini.
It was a great move for Chelsea and Cech, with that first season seeing Chelsea keep a record 24 clean sheets with Cech in goal, a record that is yet to be broken. This brought the club Premier League title success, following that up with another title in the 2005-06 season.
Throughout his time with Chelsea Cech would be one of the most consistent players in their defence. He would play 494 times for Chelsea across eleven years, winning almost every achievement possible in that time. Cech was also part of a Champions League-winning side, winning the Europa League a season later.
Cech was the goalkeeper as Chelsea became one of England’s most successful clubs and was crucial in the team’s success in the 2000s and 2010s. He is a London legend and a Chelsea great. Most thought that Cech would finish his career with the London side.
Arsenal
Petr Cech did finish his playing in London, but not for Chelsea. Chelsea had decided to move on from Cech and accepted a £10 million offer from London rivals Arsenal. It was a very controversial move, with a lot of Chelsea fans being unhappy that he was allowed to move to their cross-town rivals.
But it was a smart move for Cech as he was the starter straight away for Arsenal. He was the starter when Arsenal beat Chelsea in the 2015 Community Shield. Cech would continue playing for Arsenal for the next four years, winning an FA Cup with the Gunners. His final game for Arsenal was the 2019 Europa League final.
He announced his retirement in January of 2019, having lost his starting spot at the start of the 2018-19 season due to Arsenal signing German international Bernd Leno. A 4-1 loss in the final to former club Chelsea is probably not how Cech would have wanted to end his football career.
Who replaced Cech at Chelsea?
Chelsea’s decision to move on from Petr Cech was a massive one. Cech had been the goalkeeper for the club’s most successful period in their history. Chelsea had planned to replace Cech for quite a few years, having bought the succession plan in 2011.
Thibaut Courtois was the man to replace Cech at Chelsea. Chelsea bought him in July of 2011, for a reported £9 million fee. Courtois actually did not act as Cech’s backup after being signed. He was loaned out to Atletico Madrid for three straight seasons, being with Madrid when they won La Liga in 2014.
Courtois returned to Chelsea in the summer of 2014, with boss Jose Mourinho wanting to involve Courtois in that season. The Belgian keeper quickly became the starter for Chelsea, playing 39 times in the 2014-15 season with Cech acting as his backup. With Cech still feeling like he had more to give, he decided to look elsewhere for first-team football, having been replaced by Courtois.
What international team did Petr Cech play for?
Petr Cech played over 100 games for the Czech Republic. Petr Cech was born in Plzen in the Czech Republic. He was playing for his country from a very early age, having represented the Czech Republic at U15, U16, U17, U18, U20 and U21 level before making his first team debut in 2002.
He is the most capped player in Czech Republic history and was part of the teams that played in the 2006 World Cup as well as four European Championships. He was part of the team of the tournament in the 2004 European Championship after helping his country to the semi-finals.
Czech was quite often the best player for the Czech Republic and was one of the first names on the team sheet for his entire career. Cech announced his retirement from international football on July 8th 2016 and his appearance record is unlikely to be broken for quite a long time.