Cech hoping for a happy birthday

Posted Saturday, May 19, 2012 by ESPN

There is only one thing Petr Cech wants for his birthday on Sunday, but there will not be any tantrums from the Chelsea goalkeeper if he fails to get it.

Cech turns 30 within hours of the final whistle of tomorrow's Champions League final and he admitted there would be no better gift than finally holding aloft the trophy that has eluded him for the last eight years.

"It'll be fantastic to have the 30th birthday on the day after I won the Champions League," Cech said.

"If I get a cup, I don't need a cake."

The perfect early birthday present would be the ideal way to make up for Cech being denied the perfect late one in Chelsea's only previous Champions League final four years ago.

A day after Cech turned 26, the keeper suffered penalty-shootout heartache against Manchester United in Moscow.

But, while that defeat haunts many of his team-mates until this day, the Czech Republic star is made of sterner stuff.

"We had 120 minutes as well as the penalty shoot-out to win the cup," Cech said.

"Sitting in a corner and crying because I lost is not my style, because it's just the way it is and you can't change the history.

"You can only change the future and the present, and the present now is that we are again in the final and we will have another go and I hope that this time it will finish in a completely different way."

Didier Drogba admitted this week he had presumed Chelsea would react to their 2008 agony by winning the Champions League the following year.

Cech was under no such illusions.

"We have been here eight years and it's going to be only the second Champions League final," he said.

"It's a long journey to the final in the Champions League.

"So it's not easy and sometimes just one unlucky game can change your whole season.

"This time, hopefully the unlucky game happened already."

That certainly could be said for Chelsea's Barclays Premier League campaign but they have enjoyed little but good fortune in Europe since caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo took charge.

"I think this season just proved that, in football, everything's possible," said Cech, reflecting on epic victories against Napoli and Barcelona.

"After the Napoli game away, I think everybody had written us off and here we are in the final."

The bad luck Chelsea have endured in the Champions League all came in one go, with John Terry, Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles all picking up suspensions against Barcelona.

With Gary Cahill also limping off injured and David Luiz already ruled out, the Blues faced going into the final without any recognised centre-backs.

"If you save everything, you don't have to have defenders!" Cech joked before welcoming the return of Luiz and Cahill.

"Playing a final without defenders is not really a great idea.

"I hope that everybody from the squad who's available to play will be fit and ready to play because we'll need everybody."

Especially Cech, who has been in simply sensational form in recent weeks and could be the hero again tomorrow night if penalties beckon yet again.

"I will have all the information I need for the penalty shoot-out but I think that it's not going to go to a penalty shoot-out," he said.

"I think the game will be decided in 90 minutes."

And if it is not, what would Cech do differently to 2008?

"The other time, we tried to guess," he said.

"This time, we'll try to ask the opposition players where they'll shoot!"