Petr Cech is a man of many talents, the most obvious of which was as a goalkeeper.

He won the Premier League four times with Chelsea and lifted the Champions League title, too. He has five FA Cup winner’s medals to his name, four from his time with the Blues and another with Arsenal. Whilst playing for the Gunners, he was named in the PFA Team of the Season, and he is a four-time Premier League Golden Glove winner. One thing Petr Cech does well is goalkeeping.

He represented his country 124 times and was once named by Italian legend Gianluigi Buffon as one of the best keepers in the world. He’s respected by his peers for his ability and was even named in Alan Shearer’s Premier League Team of the Decade. High praise indeed.

What else is remarkable about this Premier League icon? We have found four facts you may or may not know about the Czech stopper.

He’s a keen drummer
If you are a staunch fan of Cech, you will know he loves to drum. He’s got his own YouTube channel, where he can be found belting out hits by Coldplay and Foo Fighters, amongst others. In 2020, he joined folk-rock band The Wills and Willing for their video, Iceberg. “The video was only shot in recent days because the social distancing rules got in the way,” Cech said after filming. “Each of us shot his part separately.” It’s believed he is recording new material with the band in 2021.

He plays hockey
Football isn’t the only sport with a goalkeeper, and if you get used to stopping things going past in one discipline, you can do it in another. Cech took up ice hockey at a semi-professional level, turning out for Guildford Phoenix in 2019. He had a dream debut too: he saved two penalties against Swindon Wildcats 2 and was named Man of the Match. He used the experience to sustain his fitness ahead of the 2020/21 season when he was named as a Chelsea squad player.

He hosted award shows

In December, Cech was part of the line-up at the SBC Awards, broadcast from his beloved Stamford Bridge. The SBC Awards are designed to recognize excellence within the iGaming and casino industry, which may have put the big stopper out of his comfort zone. Doubtless, he brushed up on his poker terminology to prepare for the show, just as he would study penalty takers techniques when in goal for the Blues. He could have turned to co-presenter Vinnie Jones, an accomplished poker player with a reputation for appearing in celebrity tournaments. Kirsty Gallacher made up the trio of presenters, another poker novice who could support Cech through the event.

He’s bilingual
It’s hardly a surprise that a Czech Republic native living in London knows a couple of languages. Still, remarkably Cech knows seven different languages, which will have been crucial when talking to teammates. There’s no fear of him struggling to grasp the basics of iGaming for an awards show when he has learned French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish in his career. With all that brushing up on languages, iGaming and hockey rules, as well as skin-bashing with bands, it’s a surprise he ever managed to win all the trophies he did!