What Ever Happened to Petr Cech?

A precipitous fall from grace

There once was a time, not too long ago, when Petr Cech was considered the best goalkeeper in the world -  the irreplaceable ingredient to Chelsea‘s success. But then things went a bit pear shaped. Poor positioning. Sloppy mistakes. A growing uncertainty with high balls.  The once-impenetrable wall began to show cracks.  This was put into sharp relief in the Czech Republic v. Turkey match at the 2006 Euros. Cech was exposed three times in the final 15 minutes as Turkey overcame a two-goal deficit to knock the Czechs out.  We were again reminded of Cech‘s increasing liabilities last weekend when Chelsea, 4-0 up against Bolton, let in 3 quick goals to turn a blowout into a nail-biter.  And last night, against Liverpool in the Champions League, Cech made one of his biggest blunders yet when he utterly failed to cover the near post on a cheeky free kick by Fabio Aurelio.

Petr Cech watches Fabio Aurelio's free kick hit the net

Cech‘s drop in form can be traced back to one defining moment:  In October 2006, Reading midfielder Stephen Hunt challenged for a ball inside Chelsea‘s penalty area and ended up knocking out Cech with a knee to the head. Cech recovered from his physical injury three months later, but he has clearly yet to overcome the mental repercussions. It’s yet further proof that, more than anything else, a player’s performance comes down to confidence. Even the hiring of Cech‘s old goalkeeping coach at Rennes hasn’t stopped the slide. And now, after last night’s blunder-fest, Chelsea are faced with an idea that previously would have been considered blasphemous: If the club intends to fulfill its ambitions as the best in the world, then maybe, just maybe, Petr Cech is not the right man to have between the posts.