Former Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech, has paid tribute to late Indonesia’s goalkeeper, Choirul Huda who died after colliding with his fellow teammate during a match.
Huda, 38, died shortly after colliding with his fellow teammate, in a match on Sunday.
The Arsenal goalkeeper had suffered a depressed fracture on the skull, while in Chelsea, in a match against Reading in 2006. He had undergone an emergency brain surgery which saw him out of action for up to three months.
He returned to playing wearing a protective head-guard and has done so since the incident occurred.
Petr Cech, 24 at the time, had sustained the injury in a collision with Reading’s Stephen Hunt at the Madejski Stadium on October 14, 2006.
The Czech international described recovery from the incident as the biggest challenge he has faced in his career.
“It was a massive challenge for me because there were days when you just feel like it will never happen, it’s not going well, you don’t feel well and you think, ‘OK, what am I going to do.
“But then you had days where all the positive things came back and I was really happy with the way I did it. I enjoyed the rest of the season when I came back because it was kind of a bonus. Nobody expected me to play so I really enjoyed that because I played with less pressure as I was appreciating the fact that I was back.”
Cech’s manager at the time, Jose Mourinho was highly emotional at the incident which he described as disgraceful.
“There are things that concern me and leave me in a very emotional situation. My goalkeeper was in the dressing room for 30 minutes waiting for an ambulance.
“The ambulance could not go in the direction of the dressing room. He could not leave the dressing room properly. He had to go in a wheelchair in the lift when he had the injury.
“He left 30 minutes after my doctor called for an urgent ambulance. If my goalkeeper dies in that dressing room or in the process it is something English football has to think about.
“This is much more important than football. I would like someone to tell me why my goalkeeper was left in this situation.”
Cech however returned to playing on January 2007 with a head guard.
