The world of sport is full of strange crossovers. We have seen Connor McGregor take to a boxing ring and take on Floyd Mayweather, and Andriy Shevchenko swap the boxing ring for a football pitch. But could Petr Cech’s recent announcement be one of the more bizarre in the history of the sport?
Cech’s footballing career saw him become one of the best goalkeepers in Premier League history. Punters would usually have to take advantage of these sites to maximize their returns on the club that the Czech was out to win more money.
His career excelled in every department, and he was even able to come back from a near-fatal head injury to win the Champions League while at Chelsea. His stint in England saw him end his career at the most decorated Czech in English football history. He won four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, the League Cup on three occasions and the Champions League and Europa League.
But, his recent announcement that he would be playing sport again came as a shock to many. And once they realized that it wasn’t actually on a football pitch, but instead an ice hockey rink, then they were baffled.
He revealed on Twitter that he would be completing a life ambition to play ice hockey as he signed for Guildford Phoenix. The fourth-tier hockey side will be delighted to have a safe pair of hands in their net, but will the transition be as smooth as many think?
It’s difficult to judge, but there are goalkeeping skills that will transfer from the football field onto the ice, and if he can showcase his footballing goalkeeper skills on the ice, then the deal could be a huge success. The deal is only scheduled to run until the end of the season, but already questions have been asked about what that means for his Chelsea position in the boardroom.
It isn’t likely to affect, and he will be able to occupy both positions. The Blues have welcomed his announcement and stated that they are excited to see him back in the net but in a different sport.
Sportspeople who cross over into different sports have had contrasting fortunes down the years, and success in one sport doesn’t immediately mean that it will follow the athlete into the new one. But, Cech has always been an avid fan of ice hockey and used to play to a high standard before switching to football.
It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the new sport, and the numbers that are attending games are only likely to increase now they have a sporting superstar in their ranks. The popularity of ice hockey in the UK is near non-existent, and this move could be an interesting ploy to gain interest levels.
Fans will have to wait and see whether he will reach his peak, but it’s unlikely that we will see Cech represent an NHL side soon.
Lev Yashin went back and forth between ice hockey and football goalkeeping throughout his professional career.