Petr Cech is the latest former player to be inducted into the Premier League Hall of Fame.
One of the greatest goalkeepers of his era, Cech helped Chelsea win four league titles and kept a record 202 clean sheets.
Ahead of his formal induction at an event in London this evening, Cech shared some memories of his time growing up, his career and who he thinks will join him in the Hall of Fame.
On his childhood…
"I grew up in Pilsen, a town most famous for pilsner beer and Viktoria Pilsen, who were my first club when I was seven.
"Back then, Czechoslovakia was under a communist regime, so everything was different to what we know now, but one thing which contributed to a great generation of players – especially in the early 90s – was that sport was everything we had.
"If you ever wanted to be able to leave the country, sport was the tool. There was not much to do apart from training and spending time outside with your friends because there were no PlayStations, nothing on TV, no phone and no other distractions."
On becoming a goalkeeper…
"As a child, I loved every sport. With my sisters, I played handball, basketball, tennis, hockey and of course football. But I wanted to be like the ice hockey goalie with the mask, the gloves, and the pads. I was always attracted to that.
"I started off playing football as a left-winger and I read the game quite well, I would just go in goal for the last 10 minutes of training sessions to allow the goalies to come out and play for fun. My coach noticed I was not afraid of the ball.
"As a 10-year-old playing in attack, I was through on goal one-on-one with the goalie, which ended in complete disaster. I suffered a tibia fracture and ended up in a cast for months.
"After the injury I couldn't run for an entire game and this basically put me in goal permanently. That felt like destiny. That was the decision, and I never looked back!"
On his record for most Premier League clean sheets (202) as a goalkeeper…
"When I hit 100 clean sheets, and it was the fastest 100 as well, I thought, 'OK, that's an achievement in such a tough league.' But I am always thinking of the next milestone, 'Can you do 150?'
"When that happened, I thought, 'Nobody's done 200' and I thought that would be amazing.
"I'm proud that I managed to get more than 200 clean sheets and I saved a penalty [for Arsenal] in the Watford game to reach 200, which made it special.
"It's not only an achievement for a goalkeeper. You need your team-mates to come together and when defenders dive in to block shots for you, it makes it easier."
Cech on playing for Chelsea…
"There was a lot of expectation as a lot of money that had been spent at Chelsea. There was an amazing stat that I cost more than every single goalkeeper in the history of Chelsea Football Club.
"It was such a great part of my life, so it will always remain in my heart and the club is like a second family to me.
"I’m proud of the mark we left on the Premier League. You never really have the chance to look back on it whilst you’re playing as it’s so relentless, but I can look back now and know that it was a special time."
Cech on the record-breaking Chelsea defence who conceded just 15 goals in 2004/05…
"We as a team took pride in getting clean sheets. It was not only the defenders and goalkeepers, it was everyone chipping in to make sure that if we can’t win, we don't lose. If we don't concede, you only need one shot and you get three points.
"That's what I'm proud of. The clean sheets in that season were beautiful and something to remember, but if you finish third, then you’d think, 'OK great, I have all the records, but all I really wanted was the title.'
"Those clean sheets were the decisive factor in us winning the title. That's what really stands out for me – that every clean sheet not only contributed to all the records, but especially to winning the title.
Cech on returning after suffering a serious head injury in October 2006…
"Nobody could have known that my game would last 15 seconds, but that can be part of football. Luckily, we were close to Oxford and I could go the short distance to the hospital there for my operation.
"When I realised the position I was in, I thought: “There are two things I can do.” One is to do everything I can to recover and give myself a chance of getting back on the pitch. The second is that the injury is too big and I’m finished and will need to do something else.
"I chose the first option and thought, 'I will show everybody that I can come back. I'll do everything. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen.'
"I came back way earlier than everybody expected because the plan was not to play again that season. As soon as I was told that my skull was solid enough with my helmet, I wanted to get back out there.
"The biggest advantage for me in my recovery was not remembering the incident. That first day in training, I dived at people's feet and everybody was like: 'Oh, you're crazy.' I believed I was fine and I didn’t want to stop.'"
Cech on his career at Arsenal…
"I liked playing against Arsenal because the games were always intense. The crowd was always loud, and they were played an exciting style of football. With their history and tradition, I was so happy that I could join Arsenal. I wanted to join a club with the intention of chasing trophies and winning the league.
"I loved every minute of my Arsenal stay… there are obviously things which will always hurt, and that's the season where we finished second just behind Leicester City."
On which Premier League Hall of Fame player he would have loved to have played with…
"Sergio Aguero. Because it would be nicer to see him score for my team than against me!"
On which Premier League Hall of Fame player is the hardest…
"Wayne Rooney, because the only time in my career I saw Michael Essien bump into a player and fall over was when he ran into Rooney. Rooney was tough."
On which current Premier League star may join the Hall of Fame in future…
"Kevin De Bruyne with his amazing ability passing, creating and scoring goals. If Erling Haaland continues for a few years, he will probably have a fast-track!"
Also in this series
Part 1: Petr Cech inducted into Premier League Hall of Fame
Part 2: Reasons why Petr Cech joins the Premier League Hall of Fame
