Jonathan Whitmore mentioned one of the first uses of analytics that viewers could actually see live: “A lot of goalkeepers, especially during penalty shootouts, use this. The first well-known example is Jens Lehmann at the 2006 World Cup. Right before the penalty shootout, he received a note listing all the penalty takers and information on where they were most likely to shoot. Even Jordan Pickford still does this, and every time he saves a penalty, it’s always thanks to the information written on his water bottle.”
Cech responded to some fans who called him a “dinosaur” and claimed that his style of play wouldn’t fit into the modern game, saying he only used to kick long balls. “If you look at the percentage of short passes, I was well above the league average for goalkeepers every single season. Every season. Yet people still think that, because I played ten years ago, I wouldn’t fit into today’s style. I used to laugh at that—when I had the ball at my feet and could get more involved and help build up play, that’s exactly what I enjoyed,” said the Premier League legend.
The full TV version of this episode of the Big Pete documentary series will be available on CANAL+ Sport and the CANAL+ streaming service in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Poland, Myanmar, Belgium, the Netherlands, Austria, Romania, and Hungary, and on SuperSport in South Africa and Switzerland.