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CHELSEA: Ruud rates Maka; Cech on concentration

/noticias.info/ Former Chelsea manager Ruud Gullit has joined the large band who believe Claude Makelele to be football’s finest midfield anchor while Petr Cech has revealed that he is nerve-free, even in the most pressured games. That is according to interviews given to Champions magazine.

Gullit, Chelsea’s Player of the Year in 1996 and the man who coached the club to the FA Cup a year later has been asked to select his all-time Champions League XI. While he chooses former Milan team-mates Maldini, Baresi, Rijkaard and van Basten in four positions, when it comes to influence in the middle of the park, the Dutch master opts for our Claude, insisting:

“The best holding player there is. In my side he turns defence into attack. He has an in-built ability to read the attacking lines of the opposition — he anticipates them all the time.”

Meanwhile Petr Cech believes: “It doesn’t help being nervous. I am never nervous because I know I will have tried my best. If I stay 100 per cent focused for 90 minutes I can still make a mistake, but knowing I am always doing my best keeps me calm.

“You don’t have to be crazy to be a good keeper, but you have to be a bit special and have a strong mentality. The pressure on a keeper is enormous because his mistakes could be match-deciding. You have to have a strong personality to cope with that kind of pressure.”

Cech has also explained other facets that go towards making him in many people’s eyes the world’s finest goalie, including focus and getting inside the head of his coaches.

“Pre-match rituals are important,” he reckons. “About three hours before a game I switch off my mobile phone and I don’t speak to anyone, not even my family. I always have to switch my thoughts just to football before a game, I can’t think about other things.

“You can practise being focused, but I also think it is something you are born with. You can, though, always improve your concentration in training and that’s very important for a goalkeeper.

“It is important to listen to your manager. I always try to understand the philosophy of my coach because I have to know what he wants us to do. The players have to do what the coach tells them otherwise nothing will work.”

The full Cech interview and Gullit team are in the latest issue of Champions magazine, the official magazine of the UEFA Champions League which is out now and available in newsagents across the UK. notas_de_prensa_archivo