Čech relishing 'special occasion'

The Chelsea FC goalkeeper Petr Čech believes another breathless encounter is in prospect when the English title-holders tackle their Spanish counterparts FC Barcelona for a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. "I think these matches will be even better than last year because everyone knows how it finished then," he told uefa.com. "We want to show that we can beat them again and they'll want to show that they're a better side than us so it promises to be a great tie."

Magic moments
If asked to recall the magic moments of a Round of 16 epic littered by genius last season, Ronaldinho's outrageous outside-of-the-foot goal and John Terry's decisive header would no doubt feature prominently. Perhaps not so the interventions of Čech, even though the unflappable Czech international produced three critical saves in the second half at Stamford Bridge alone - frustrating Juliano Belletti and Barça captain Carles Puyol and superbly turning Andrés Iniesta's drive against a post three minutes before his captain finally settled the tie in the London club's favour.

Clean sheets
It was a performance which underlined how important Čech, now 23, had become to the smooth running of the Chelsea machine following his €10.3m move from Stade Rennais FC the previous summer. Immediately installed as José Mourinho's No1 when he may have started the season as Carlo Cudini's understudy, Čech justified that faith by keeping clean sheets in seven of the first eight games of the season to set the tone for a miserly campaign in which Chelsea conceded just 15 goals in 38 Premiership matches.

Team of 2005
Even though their European campaign would end in semi-final disappointment at Anfield, a League Cup triumph and first English title since 1955 ensured it was still a watershed season for the London club. Having been named the best goalkeeper at UEFA EURO 2004™, where the Czechs also suffered a defeat in the last four, Čech's consistency in his first season at Stamford Bridge saw him claim the goalkeeper's jersey in the uefa.com users' Team of 2005 by an overwhelming margin - displacing his hero Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus and Italy.

'Uncomfortable situation'
Speaking to uefa.com, Čech said: "Obviously it's very pleasing to win personal awards but I try to only think of achievements on the pitch as the whole team works for them. I am very focused and concentrated on my work." But is it easy to maintain that focus when playing behind a team so used to dictating the pace of a match and attacking for long periods? "It's very difficult," he continued, "because if you have only two saves to make in 90 minutes that's an uncomfortable situation for a goalkeeper.

'Dark side'
"You have to wait and wait while staying focused and concentrated. You are constantly waiting for the moment to be decisive - if you do this well you're doing your job, but there is always the dark side of these type of games when the opposition have two shots and score two goals." Barcelona scored twice in each leg against Chelsea last season, and as Čech acknowledged, will be doubly determined to exact revenge for that 5-4 aggregate defeat this time around.

'Special'
For Čech, the pre-match hype is part of the allure of the UEFA Champions League. "It's the competition that every player wants to be in as it gives you a chance to come up against the best teams and best players in Europe," he said, adding of Wednesday's visit of the Catalans: "It will be a little bit special." Like Čech himself.