Did you Know?
Since his emergence as a precocious talent in his youth, Čech has been considered to be one of the greatest and most respected goalkeepers of his generation. A tall and athletic keeper, with a strong mentality, throughout his career he has stood out for his reflexes and shot-stopping abilities, as well as his positional sense, handling, and command of his area. Čech holds a number of goalkeeping records, including the Premier League record for fewest appearances required to reach 100 clean sheets, having done so in 180 league appearances, joint most number of clean sheets in a season (21), as well as the record for the most clean sheets in Premier League history. At the end of the 2016–17 season, the record stood at 190. During the 2004–05 season, Čech went 1,025 minutes without conceding a goal – a Premier League record, until it was surpassed by Edwin van der Sar of Manchester United on 27 January 2009. Čech is the only goalkeeper to have won the Golden Glove with two separate clubs, winning it a joint record four times; in 2004–05, 2009–10, 2013–14 and the 2015–16. Additionally he holds a Czech professional league record of not conceding a goal in 903 competitive minutes, a club record at his former club Sparta Prague, having gone 928 minutes unbeaten in all competitions in 2001–02, when his unbeaten run in the Czech First League was combined with his performances in the Champions League. On top of this he holds the record for the number of Czech Footballer of the Year and Czech Golden Ball wins.