Arsenal goalkeeper Jens Lehmann (center) celebrates with defenders Colo Toure (left) and Saul Campbell in 2006. Photo: Matt Dunham/AP
Petr Cech and Jens Lehmann will rekindle their old rivalry on Saturday when they take part in the Game4Ukraine Charity Match at Chelsea Stadium at Stamford Bridge.
During the game will be collected funds to rebuild schools and educational resources for children in Ukraine, with football legends such as Cech and Lehmann, along with a host of music stars.
Telegraph Sport spent a captivating hour in the company of former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeepers, who took on a variety of topics including The Invincibles, Chelsea's 2004-05 title-winning side, slacker Kevin Nolan and sweeper goalkeepers.
Let's talk about it. Let's start with the argument, which team was better — Arsenal in 2003-04 or Chelsea in 2004-05?
Jens Lehmann: was Chelsea, so it might have been different if he was here!”
Petr Cech:“In my first year, in 04/05, we played the Invincibles 2-2 and 0-0, so who was better? How to tell which team was better? They won the title without losing, and we won the title by breaking all records. So I don't know. You had nine draws, no Jens?
DL: “11? 27 wins and 11 draws or 29 wins and 9 draws (actually there were 26 wins and 12 draws). I don't remember exactly.»
PC:«Something like that. But if you look at it now and the League over the past few years, whoever draws nine games won't win the title in the end. You'll probably be Invincible, but you might not win.» League».
DL:“We had completely different styles. I saw John Terry sometimes standing behind you, guarding your gate! The entertainment part was probably also about José Mourinho and Arsene Wenger. This is rivalry. He shifted slightly from Arsene and Sir Alex Ferguson to Arsene and José. He provoked all the time, and he needed to leave his own mark. It was quite funny, even for the players. You don't see that much now, not with Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola.»
There was a feeling that Chelsea and especially Roman Abramovich's wealth hurt Arsenal a bit…
JL: Arsenal were building a huge stadium when Roman Abramovich came in and started spending all the money and it was quite difficult, whereas I think there are still about 40,000 people in the Chelsea stadium, right?
PC: «42,000, well 41,862 I think to be precise.»
DL: «But when Roman Abramovich came in, it was unpleasant for the other teams because he was very ambitious and the investment turned out to be very successful.»
PC:“We have built a strong team. We had money and we bought good players, but at the time it wasn't just about signing superstars. When me and Didier Drogba came, well, we played in our national teams, but we were quite young and the Portuguese came too. The club used money but we built a really strong team that could last ten years and that was the key to success and not just spending money.
Would you like to take on the current Manchester City team vs Arsenal on 04/03 and Chelsea on 05/04?
JL: “Of course I think City are a great team, but physically we were stronger. They have great pace, but so do we.”
PC:“I would definitely like to see it. Take these teams and put these teams against each other. It would be very interesting to see. What will happen on the field. The style of football was different, but Arsenal were very technical and could play fast and they had a midfield with a real engine and people who could shoot too, no problem.
“Chelsea had it, we had a huge engine in midfield, so it would be very interesting to see how these teams compete. It's always hard to predict what's going to happen and it's going to be very different styles, but that doesn't mean it's going to give City an immediate advantage.
What's the biggest change in goalkeeping since you've been playing?< p>< strong>JL:“When I arrived in England, I was surprised by the intensity and style of attack by attackers and even defenders from set pieces. They approached the goalkeeper, pushed him and jumped on him. I liked it because I was good with my fists, and when an attacker or defender came up and saw a fist, he was a little more careful. I remember you must have played against him too. Pete, his name was Duncan Ferguson from Everton? Oh…
PC:“I was also surprised by the number of players in the box. I came to England and you went to the cross and you realized that six players were after the ball and after the goalkeeper. But I have always enjoyed playing at Bolton and Blackburn and I think I only conceded one goal at Bolton and maybe never. Blackburn was similar, although they were really physical.
“I had a big fight with Kevin Nolan and Ferguson when he came on the field with Everton and James Beatty and all these big players. Nolan was a real pain in the ass because he was very smart. He blocked you in the goal and he was very dexterous in his movements. And he was very dexterous with his ass, pushing it into you and you couldn't even reach him. There was a game at the Bridge, when Kevin Davis and I just started hitting each other, literally every time the ball flew in, he hit me with his elbow, then I came with my knee. It was all about who could hit the other harder without being punished. Everyone at Stoke hated playing Stoke, but I loved it.»
Petr Cech in goal at Chelsea trying to return the ball under pressure from West Ham's Kevin Nolan in 2013. “They knew how to punish us! Over time, they found a way to hurt us, especially when they had Peter Crouch. He was very difficult to defend because he had good timing and no matter what defender played, we just had a hard time defending Peter Crouch. At home it was different, but at Stoke it was hard for us. But it was not only Stoke, Blackburn and other establishments. I remember my first game against Manchester United where people hit and really fought each other but no one got a red card. I thought, “Wow, you can do whatever you want here,” but the punishment came later.”
PC:“You can’t have that anymore because of War because you can’t take risks anymore and people are worried about fouls. Now there are not many teams that could be called what we used to call traditional English football. Maybe Brentford is the same, but almost everyone else plays from behind and goals are scored from cuts and passes.»
Jens Lehmann tries to defend his goal for Arsenal after a Blackburn corner at the Emirates Stadium in 2008. Photo: Javier Garcia/Shutterstock. Goalkeepers these days need to be able to play more with their feet. Would any of you like to be a sweeper?
PC:“The goalkeeper has to really rely on the ability of the players around him to give him options and personality to take the ball. Because if you're playing in your own six-yard box and you stop the ball to wait for a player to move and he doesn't move, then you're in trouble. When you look at kids now, they all play like that, so I think we'll see more and more people play like that without real fear, because it's going to be okay.”
JL:“My problem is that players are not taught the relationship between risk and reward because people don’t really understand it and it’s an advantage when you play in goal to know what is risky and what is not. This approach, playing from behind, if the opponent understands what you are doing, then I think that statistically this is not a big benefit from such a game. The risk of playing out is much higher, and the reward is quite low in comparison. But I don't know why, someone started this approach and now a lot of people are picking it up and trying to do the same. I sometimes get the feeling they don't even know why.”
PC:“Everyone uses City as an example, but Ederson can hit the ball for 80 yards, they can play for a long time. They use both, when people press too early, the ball goes after them. When someone just plays short, short, short, you invite the opposition to press, but when you know it can be fast and direct, then they have to be careful and you have an advantage.
“I had it at Arsenal under Unai Emery and I really enjoyed it because there were clear rules about when to play short, when to play through midfield and when to play long. I can't say what the exact rules were because I'm pretty sure they should use that at Aston Villa! It's always been based on what Jens talks about risk and reward and where you can find the edge.
“When I started at Chelsea and we had Drogba in front, José always said, ‘Kick the ball for 85 yards and he holds the ball against any defender and in three seconds we are in the opponent’s penalty area. He always wanted to be in the penalty area in three seconds.
“But look at the Champions League final. It wasn't Ederson's pass that City won in the final, he actually got a little nervous and even knocked out some passes. But he made three big saves, so I always think that goalkeeping will ultimately depend on whether you can make the big save at the big moment? That's what I like when you talk about goalkeepers.»
Andriy Shevchenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko will be the captains of the Game4Ukraine teams. Photo: UNITED24 Why is Game4Ukraine important to both of you?
PC:“I was asked by Andriy Shevchenko and I wanted to help my friend, but this is much more than being friends or playing a charity game. It's about education, and I firmly believe that this is the most important thing for everyone. And when you have people in trouble and living in war, they don't know what each hour will bring. But at least while the kids are in school, their lives can look more normal during those hours. That's why I'm glad I can get involved and I hope it brings in enough money to rebuild the schools.»
DL: «Education is the most important thing in life, and people should be able to get a better education. No child in Ukraine is responsible for what is happening there, and this is a very tragic situation that touches all of our hearts. Sometimes the media coverage is not always as broad as it was at the beginning, but we should still try to help, and hopefully this game will encourage the resumption of education in Ukraine. He also has to keep people's attention on what's going on, because it's not justified to have a war so close to us and do nothing.”
Game4Ukraine tickets are still available for purchase. charity match at Stamford Bridge stadium Chelsea www.game4ukraine.com
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