Before going to football, Petr Cech used to practice ice hockey. Rather, the hockey game has eaten into the blood of the Czech goalkeeper.
Since he was a 5-year-old boy until now, Cech has never stopped playing ice hockey. The Flames club is still a place where the 36-year-old goalkeeper regularly comes to practice as an unofficial member.
In late 2018, Cech returned to his hometown to attend a match to honor his close friend Martin Havlat, a monument in Czech hockey. The Arsenal goalkeeper had a bad performance when standing guard on the ice. But when he returned to England, he received criticism about being too adventurous with an easy-to-injury sport. Unai Emery coach still stood up to support his passion. The Arsenal captain understood that ice hockey was something Cech could not give up.
Playing in the Premier League, Cech nurtures the passion for ice hockey through Guildford Flames, the team that will play the final. Cech knew Flames when he was invited by a friend to watch the club play against Manchester Phoenix at the Ice Hockey Championship in the United Kingdom. Milos Milechernik, one of Flames’ key players at the time, who was a fan of Cech, invited him to take a picture with the team.
The Flames players were surprised to learn that the world’s top goalkeeper was an amateur ice hockey player. Milos Milechernik invited Cech to attend rehearsals whenever he wanted. The Czech goalkeeper has since watched Flames as a second home behind Arsenal. When idle, Cech only takes half an hour to drive to Guildford to train with Flames players. “I play close to the Flames players, I feel the atmosphere is no different from Chelsea or Arsenal”, the 36-year-old goalkeeper shared. Milos Milechernik, now playing the assistant coach in Flames, promised Cech to do everything to win the championship on 10 March.
Cech was passionate about hockey, and he practiced it quite often as a supplementary subject for the guard. “Ice hockey matches take place at a very high speed. It helps me to exercise and maintain reflexes, “said Arsenal goalkeeper. Even though Flames lost the finals, hockey’s flame is constantly burning in Cech’s heart, even when he hangs gloves at the end of the season.
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