Former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has joined NIHL South West 2 side Guildford Phoenix.
The ex-Czech Republic international in football has made the switch to ice hockey after retiring from the sport last season to end a glittering career.
The 37-year-old is well known fan of Guildford Flames since adopting them as his team after first arriving in England in 2004, when he signed for the Stamford Bridge side under Jose Mourinho.
And Cech is excited to make his bow in a sport he’s loved since he was a boy and has been training with Guildford recently.
He told the Guildford Phoenix website: “I hope I can help this young team to achieve their goals for the season and try to win as many games as possible when I have the chance to play.
“After 20 years of professional football, this is going to be a wonderful experience for me to play the game I loved to watch and play as a kid.
“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to play with the Phoenix to get the match experience.”
Cech retired from football at the end of last season, but works with Chelsea as their Performance and Technical Advisor (PHOTO: Arsenal FC)
Cech played 124 times for his country and won four Premier League titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups, a Champions League and a Europa League.
His last game came in Arsenal’s Europa League final to former club, Chelsea at the end of last season, but rejoined Chelsea to become their Technical and Performance Advisor.
Phoenix have had a good start to the season
His switch to ice hockey to their NIHL South West 2 season, with double figure victories over Bristol Pitbulls and Solent Junior Devils. They’ll face Swindon Wildcats 2 this week, where Cech could make his debut.
Phoenix player-coach Andy Hemmings is already excited to see what he can bring to this team.
He said: We’re excited to have Petr join the Phoenix team and we’re looking forward to seeing him in action this weekend.
“He has improved a lot since I first saw him on the ice and I’m excited to see him play.”
