Chelsea icon Petr Cech has revealed he was just ‘6mm away’ from stopping the famous Andres Iniesta goal that knocked the Blues of the Champions League and sent Barcelona to the final.
The former goalkeeper has been speaking on Cadena SER about his career, life after it and everything else in between.
One of the biggest moments of his career was the 2009 Champions League semi-final clash with Barcelona, a match that has gone down in footballing folklore.
The Blues hosted their Catalan counterparts at Stamford Bridge following a 0-0 draw in the first leg and appeared to be on their way to the final courtesy of a Michael Essien’s goal in the ninth minute.
However, their hearts were broken by Andres Iniesta, whose superb striker in the third minute of added on time at the end of the game drew Barcelona level and saw them advance to the final on away goals.
That goal was one of many big moments in a scintillating encounter that saw Chelsea denied a penalty on four separate occasions and the referee, Tom Henning Øvrebø, later admit that he made mistakes.
Things could, and probably should, have played out very differently and Chelsea icon Cech has now admitted he’s worked out he was millimetres away from ensuring that they did.
“Andrés is a very good person, he competes hard, but he is very clean,” he said in response to a personal message from the former Barcelona star.
“When you go to watch a football match, you always want to see a player like Iniesta, Messi or Xavi. That’s football. Always seeing that the protagonists who play with the ball are so intelligent, they have the technique and can-do things that others can’t. Andrés is a spectacular player and person.”
“I was very close to the ball, 6mm away. I almost touched the ball, but when you have a perfect shot, in a moment like that… what can you do?
“Sometimes this is the goalkeeper’s life, you know that, if you have to someone who makes the perfect shot, the goal is very big and there is a huge space to cover.”
