Petr Cech names Man Utd star who was a ‘nightmare’ to face

During Cech’s tenure, Manchester United, under Sir Alex Ferguson, was a formidable force, challenging Chelsea across various competitions until Ferguson’s retirement in 2013.

United finished as Premier League runners-up to Chelsea in 2006 and 2010, and the Blues defeated the Red Devils in the 2007 FA Cup final.

However, Ferguson’s United beat Chelsea in the 2008 Champions League final, denying Cech a second winners’ medal in Europe’s premier club competition.

Cech has now revealed the one ‘relentless’ United player who caused him the most headaches during that period: Wayne Rooney.

‘Wayne Rooney was the one, like when we played United in the league, he was always the one,’ Cech told Amazon Prime.

‘I was like, ‘Oh, come on, this is a nightmare’ – because he can chip you from the halfway line and he’s relentless, he’s everywhere.

‘He keeps coming, he keeps pressing, and never gives you half a second. So it was always the preparation even from the goalkeeper coach.

‘He always said, ‘You know we play Rooney, he can do anything’ – I said, ‘Yeah, unfortunately’.

‘I said, ‘I can’t cheat’ because he will see that. But there’s many ways you can play with people but generally, when you play against the top players, they will always find a way and it becomes challenging.

‘This is what I loved about the Champions League or the Premier League because you play against the best players, and it brings the best out of you as well.’

Legendary striker Wayne Rooney amassed an astonishing 253 goals and 138 assists over 559 appearances for Manchester United from 2004 to 2017.

During his time at Old Trafford, he won five Premier League titles, three League Cups, the FA Cup, the Champions League, the Europa League, and the Club World Cup.

Rooney is currently the third-highest goalscorer in Premier League history with 208 goals, trailing only Alan Shearer (260) and Harry Kane (213).