Petr Cech only lined up against Dennis Bergkamp on four occasions, but that gave him more than enough time to see how talented our legendary striker was.
The former Chelsea goalkeeper was well aware of Bergkamp before he moved to England in 2004, and says the striker was one the standout players he has been fortunate enough to share a pitch with during his glittering 18-year career.
“I always loved to watch Bergkamp play,” Cech told Arsenal Player. “It’s a bit unfair to choose one player because there are so many fantastic players and I was so lucky to play with so many unbelievable players for both teams, but when you watched Dennis Bergkamp play in his prime it was amazing to see what he could do.
“The vision, the thinking, the execution of the passing and changing the pace, the space and the technique with his goals - he had everything. Obviously the first time I played against him, I was aware that everything could happen because I watched him on TV and then played against him. You know you have to be aware.
“At Chelsea I played with so many fantastic players, but to choose one is very hard. If you have to choose Lampard, if you have to choose Drogba or if you have to choose any other player… I loved to watch Deco for example. When Deco came, it was absolutely amazing to watch him play, to watch him train with such ease and class.
“He could do anything you could imagine with a football. It was fantastic to see and the same as Santi too. If you look at Santi, you just think ‘Wow, this guy is on a completely different planet’.
“If he was playing five against one in this room, he would get through us with such ease that you wouldn’t even think it is possible. These kinds of players always stay in your memories because they’re amazing to watch.”
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