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The Blues legend faced many high caliber forwards during his career, but he ranks Man Utd’s all-time top scorer as the best.
Legendary Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech named former Manchester United striker and Everton Wayne Rooney as the toughest opponent he has faced during his career.
Now retired, Cech played 443 Premier League matches for the Blues and Arsenal, and claimed titles in English with the Stamford Bridge team, who also helped his success in the Champions League in 2012.
As one of the modern greats in his profession, Cech has faced many of the game’s best stars, but the keeper rated Rooney above the rest.
When asked by Chelsea’s official website who was his toughest rival as a goalkeeper, the 37-year-old said: “Wayne Rooney. Every time we played United, I had to make sure I was aware every time I had the ball, because it was so unpredictable and very smart.
“He is a guy who can chase, who can fight, who can run, who is smart with his shot. He could score from the halfway line, he could try to hurt you if you were too high. That was a challenge that I enjoyed. ”
He admitted that his time at Chelsea came to a somewhat bitter end with Thibault Courtois being retired from Atlético de Madrid, where he had spent three years on loan.
“He was not happy at all,” he confessed. “I could see in preseason how hard he was working. There was nothing obvious to suggest that I would not be ready to keep my place.
“But in a soccer team you can only have one goalkeeper playing every week, and unfortunately it was. Thibaut was considered the future of the club with all its potential and quality. I understood that the choice was made, even if I didn’t think it was my time.
“Leaving Chelsea was the most difficult decision I had to make. Having played for this club for so long and becoming such a big part of the club’s history, I always thought I was going to end my career at Chelsea, or maybe leave in the past few years. “
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Meanwhile, he reflected on the league standard, which he says has grown stronger in the past decade.
“The league has become more competitive,” he said. “When I arrived in 2004, probably the top 12 teams were very strong, with strong squads, and so it would really depend on the years for the other eight teams. It was more difficult for them to attract international players.
“It started to change around 2007, 2008 when Premier League dominance began. Suddenly, you would see international players reaching all the teams, even the promoted teams. The league became a major attraction. The teams began to get stronger and stronger, and the competition became increasingly difficult each year. That has continued to this day. It’s what makes the Premier League the best. “
