Petr Cech: Celebrating 20 Years Since Chelsea Signed Iconic Goalkeeper Who Became a Club Legend

• Petr Čech signed for Chelsea from FC Stade Rennais in France on February 9, 2004
• The club legend made over 490 appearances for the Blues before joining Arsenal
• Čech retired from professional football after only a few seasons with the Gunners

It’s officially 20 years since Chelsea made one of their greatest signings ever.

The London-based club brought in Petr Čech on February 9, 2004, and the keeper became a modern-day legend at the club.

With the 41-year-old still competing in sporting activities, Sports Brief looks at Čech’s legendary career at the Blues.

When did Chelsea sign Petr Čech?

Having come up through the youth ranks at FC Viktoria Plzen, the former Czech Republic international goalkeeper attracted attention from bigger European sides once he moved to Stade Rennais (Rennes) in 2002.

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On February 9, 2004, he officially signed for Chelsea on a five-year deal but only joined them the following season, The Guardian noted. 21 years old at the time, Chelsea acquired his services for £7 million.

When did Čech make his Chelsea debut?

The former Czech Republic international proved his quality right from the start and was given a start in the 2004/05 season opener against Manchester United.

The Blues would go on to win 1-0, just one of the many clean sheets he would achieve during his time at the London-based side, Chelsea’s website confirmed. He kept 24 clean sheets that season as Chelsea won their first league title in 50 years.

Clean sheets and Čech became so synonymous with each other that he still holds the record for most clean sheets in Premier League history.

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What trophies did Čech win with Chelsea?

That does not include the four English Super Cups he also won with the side.

When did Petr Čech retire from football?

After 11 successful seasons and 494 games at Chelsea, Čech swapped the blue for the red as he joined their London rivals, Arsenal.

After spending four years with The Gunners, the keeper decided to retire, saying that he achieved everything he set out to achieve, Sky Sports reported.

What does Čech do after retiring?

While he retired from football in 2019, the Chelsea great didn’t retire from all sports.

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The former Arsenal star instead swapped being a keeper in football to being a keeper in ice hockey. In October 2019, he turned out for the Guildford Phoenix, enjoying a very impressive debut game.

He remains active in the sport and last year joined the Belfast Giants on a temporary loan in Elite Ice Hockey.

Čech celebrates Messi’s failure to score

Chelsea legend, Čech has set numerous records and achieved many feats, but there’s one he’s still incredibly proud of.

The former Arsenal goalkeeper was thrilled Lionel Messi never scored against him during his time as a Chelsea keeper.

As reported by Sports Brief, the two sides met 10 times between 2004 and 2012 and Messi could not get past Čech.