Gothia Cup

Legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech: "It’s a great organisation"

Legendary goalkeeper Petr Cech supports his children in the Gothia Cup.

Petr Cech was an amazing goalkeeper for clubs like Chelsea and Arsenal. Now he is here with his two kids. His son and daughter both play for Phoenix Football Academy, which is here with nine teams.
– I have to say that it’s a great organisation, says Petr Cech.


Petr Cech is a legend in the Premier League and he also played 124 caps for the Czech Republic. He's watching his two children play at different venues in Gothenburg this week.
– It’s great to be here and it's great for my kids to take part in the tournament. You’ll see all the other teams in the categories. Everyone is enjoying their stay and the tournament, says Petr Cech.
He continues:
– You see that the players are having fun, it’s the most important thing. What I like is that you have all the levels of football here, you have teams from academies and you have the local teams from the grass-root level. It's amazing because they can compete against each other and experience a big tournament.
This is his first time at the Gothia Cup.
– I have never been here before, because of covid-19. We have friends that have been here many times before and they keep coming back because the players love it here.

Both his daughter Adela and his son Damian Cech are happy here.
– My children have fun. Everyone is hanging together and they're having other activities outside the pitch. They meet new friends. It’s a great idea. You might be disappointed when you don’t win every game, but overall, the experience is amazing for everyone.
Damian is a goalkeeper, just like his father.
– Yeah, my son is a goalie. He loves it. It’s the most important thing. He enjoys stopping shots from going in, says Petr Cech.
He's so glad to be here with his family.
– I’m happy to see my children play. My father used to do it for me while growing up. He stood there quietly and watched me, but I knew he was there. He supported me and took me to trainings. It’s important as a parent to support the kids.
Petr Cech likes being a football parent.
– I’m very quiet as a football dad. I let them get on with the games. We talk about the games afterwards. They know that we support them.
Once again, he praises the Gothia Cup.
– It’s a great organisation. It’s over 1500 teams here and it’s a lot of things to organize. This is very well organized, and there are no problems. I want to give credit to the organisation, says Petr Cech.