Petr Čech reveals why the FA Cup was his favorite competition

Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has admitted the FA Cup was a special competition as it brought back memories of his childhood.

The Czech international is the club's most successful keeper in the competition, having won the four titles out of the eight in total.


In an interview with the club's official website on the day the competition's final should have been played were it not for coronavirus, Cech revealed his love for the competition did not start in England but dates back to years while growing up in his country.

"We could not watch much of English football but the FA Cup final was one of the games which was always on," he said.



"If you had a big game from the Premier League then occasionally you would see that or some highlights, but the FA Cup final was one of the games that you would always be able to see, with all the magic of being played at Wembley and the atmosphere.

"When I came over here and played my first FA Cup game I had these memories of seeing that on TV. As communism finished and we moved into democracy and we could watch football as everybody else could. But it always left a special mark on me so my first FA Cup game when I came to Chelsea, I was really looking forward to it and over the course of my career the FA Cup was one of my favourite competitions,"

He recalled the first FA Cup final he watched at the age of 14, in which, coincidentally, Chelsea faced Middlesborough.


"It was the Chelsea vs Middlesbrough game, when [Roberto] Di Matteo scored early because it was one of those games when I was already 14 and you follow football in a slightly different way. That was one of those games that stuck in my head,"

Cech tasted further success in the competition when he moved to Arsenal, guiding the side to a win against his former side Chelsea at Wembley.
Petr Čech reveals why the FA Cup was his favorite competition