Former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper, Petr Cech has explained that playing against Wayne Rooney was always a “nightmare” during his time in the Premier League.
Chelsea legendary goalkeeper was asked about some of his toughest opponents, and he quickly reserved a special praise for Manchester United legend Rooney.
Insight Media gathered that both players went up against each other for 27 times in all competition; Cech won 11 times while Rooney won 10 and the remainder ended as draws.
Cech stated that Rooney is simply too good to prepare for, he is capable of “everything”, including potentially scoring from anywhere such as the halfway line, direct kick and even at air.
Cech told Amazon Prime: “Wayne Rooney was the one, like when we played United in the league, he was always the one. I was like ‘oh, come on, this is a nightmare’. Because he can chip you from the halfway line and he’s relentless, he’s everywhere. He keeps coming, he keeps pressing, and never gives you half a second. So it was always the preparation even from the goalkeeper coach.
“He always said: ‘You know we play Rooney, he can do anything’. I said, ‘yeah, unfortunately.’ I said, ‘I can’t cheat’ because he will see that. But there’s many ways you can play with people but generally, when you play against the top players, they will always find a way and it becomes challenging. This is what I loved about the Champions League or the Premier League because you play against the best players, and it brings the best out of you as well.”
Cech is currently playing ice hockey for Oxford City Stars, while Rooney is looking for a new job after being sacked by Plymouth
