Czech football legend Petr Čech to play his first game since retirement

The goalkeeper will feature for Chelsea in a youth game this evening, his first since May 2019

Tom Lane

Written by Tom Lane Published on 14.12.2020 11:47:00 (updated on 14.12.2020) Reading time: 1 minute

Czech football legend Petr Čech will play his first game since May 2019 this evening.

The goalkeeper will play for Chelsea against Tottenham in a youth match the club has confirmed.

Čech is unlikely to feature regularly, as his main role with Chelsea is as a technical and performance advisor, but due to the regular youth team goalkeeper playing over the weekend and second choice staying in the first team bubble, he is expected to start the game at Kingsmeadow.

A statement on the club website said:

“There are several reasons for his involvement, mainly that Lucas Bergstrom played for the youth team at the weekend and Karlo Ziger has been preferred to remain in the first team testing bubble.

“It is also useful for the veteran keeper to have some match fitness in the unlikely event he is ever required to step in for Frank Lampard's side and, similarly, for our youngsters to play alongside someone with such vast experience in the game.”

Čech retired after playing for Arsenal against Chelsea in the 2019 UEFA Europa League Final, but was registered as a player for the Blues this season.

He has made more appearances for the Czech national football team than any other player and has won every major trophy in the English top flight, including the Champions League.

Since his retirement in 2019, the former Czech football captain took to another sport, when he played ice hockey for British team Guildford Phoenix.

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