We start with Petr Cech and his days as a junior with hometown club Viktoria Plzen…





What age did you start playing at your club?

I was seven. You had to be at a certain level. Every six months there was a trial day and whoever wanted to join would come and the club would decide if you were good enough or not.

From the fifth grade onwards you had the chance to join a school that worked in agreement with the club. That school would allow you to go away to compete in tournaments but only if your academic results were good. If you did the right thing at school, you were always free to go to play football.



What positions did you play?

I started as a central midfielder or a left winger. When I was eight or nine we had a game where none of our goalkeepers arrived. Because I used to play in goal in ice hockey I was always attracted to try it. I said ‘okay, just this once I will go in goal’.

After that I started playing in goal and outfield, but when I was 10 I was playing outfield and broke my leg. By the time I recovered from that I couldn’t play 90 minutes outfield without pain so that made the decision easy!



Looking back, what was the best piece of advice you received?

To keep focused on your studies when you are growing up. In the Czech Republic we all knew that very few players make it at a top club, and so you have to keep your options open with regards to earning a living.



Any haircuts or clothes you are embarrassed about now?

Life behind the iron curtain was not about haircuts or excess. You would rather nobody notice you. Even after the revolution it took some time before everything changed in the country.



Tell us about the moment you were offered your first professional contract?

I played the Under-16 European Championships in 1998 and afterwards I got a preposition from Chmel Blsany. At that time Viktoria Plzen also had the Under-17 Czech goalkeeper and I knew he was above me in the hierarchy because he was older. I wanted to see how far I could go so I took the offer from Blsany – it was about £250 a month - and that was the best decision I ever made.



Did you win any competitions with your academy team?

We were always competing to win the league; we normally finished in the top three or four. By Under-17 or Under-18 level you played for points, to try to win the league or not get relegated. That taught us that of course you need to play well but you also need results.



You have an academy of your own, don’t you?

The idea is to give kids that are fanatical about football the chance to spend two weeks at a football-orientated summer camp.

It’s open to everyone, it doesn’t matter their level. We show them how they should train, look after their body, how they should pay attention to their education – things they can do to improve themselves on their own. It’s about the philosophy.