Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech reveals he spent EIGHT hours studying footage of Bayern Munich penalty takers ahead of dramatic Champions League shootout win in 2012
- Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties to win the Champions League in 2012
- Petr Cech saved Arjen Robben’s extra-time penalty and then shone in shootout
- The goalkeeper went the right way for each of Bayern’s five spot-kicks that night
- He’s now revealed how he and Chelsea’s other keepers prepared for a shootout
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has revealed he spent more than eight hours watching Bayern Munich penalties ahead of the Champions League final in 2012.
The 36-year-old stopper shone at the Allianz Arena as Chelsea secured their maiden Champions League triumph in dramatic fashion.
After Didier Drogba netted a last-gasp equaliser in normal time, Cech saved an Arjen Robben penalty in extra-time before helping Chelsea triumph in the shootout.
Petr Cech was a Chelsea hero as they beat Bayern Munich to win the 2012 Champions League
Goalkeeper holds the famous trophy with Didier Drogba following their penalty-shootout win
He went the right way for each of Bayern’s five penalties, eventually saving from both Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger to allow Drogba to win the trophy from the spot.
Cech has now explained that his research entailed watching eight hours and nine minutes of footage – which showed every penalty every one of Bayern’s players had taken over the previous five years.
‘The video of Bayern penalties lasted two hours and 43 minutes. Every possible player shooting a penalty,’ he told COPA90.
‘The game was played in 2012 and we had every penalty of every player in the squad since 2007.
Cech saved from Arjen Robben in extra-time and then shone in the penatly shootout too
‘It might have been a coincidence but having watched all these videos I wouldn’t say’ – Cech
‘We did it as a goalkeeper group. It was me, Hilario, Ross Turnbull and even Jamal Blackman. Each of us had the video so each of us went through it on our own and put marks, notes and things we thought about each of the shooters.
‘Then when the game was approaching, we had a meeting where we all sat together, everybody with their notes, and we compared what we had on the paper and then we watched it again.
He added: ‘I saw it three times so it was probably more (like) seven hours. Then obviously it helped. It might have been a coincidence but having watched all these videos I wouldn’t say it’s a coincidence.’
Cech, now at Arsenal, will retire at the end of the season. He has saved 16 penalties out of a total of 77 throughout his career.