Petr Čech is a goalkeeper who plays for English side Chelsea and the Czech Republic. Čech signed for Chelsea after having impressed at Euro 2004, where the Czech Republic reached the semi-finals. Two years earlier he had impressed when the Czech Republic won the U-21 European Championship, which led to his transfer from Sparta Praha to French club Stade Rennais. Čech played two seasons in France before arriving at Chelsea, initially to be the 2nd choice behind their Italian goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini. However, Čech’s excellent form and Cudicini suffering with an elbow injury quickly had Čech settling in as Chelsea’s first choice. In his first two seasons with Chelsea they won and defended the Premier League title.
In October 2006 Čech suffered a very serious head injury in an away match against Reading. CT scans revealed a skull fracture which could have cost his life. When Čech made his come-back the following January he was wearing a rugby scrum cap, made by leading manufacturers Canterbury. This initially became a problem for Chelsea’s official sponsors adidas. That was easily solved by having the Canterbury logo removed from the cap. Čech has continued to wear this protective head gear. In the 2009-10 season Chelsea went on to win the double.