Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech says he is retiring from worldwide football.
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“I would hate to end up in a situation when I would start feeling exhausted midway through a qualifying campaign”, the 34-year-old told reporters in Prague on Friday.
The 34-year-old Cech announced his decision of retiring from worldwide football on Friday, saying he wants to fully focus on his Arsenal club.
The Arsenal goalkeeper played his final major tournament for the Czech national team at Euro 2016 in France, when the team was eliminated in the group stage.
Cech had hinted earlier this year that Euro 2016 might signal the end of his worldwide career, revealing that after fourteen years with the national team and at the age of 34, it was time to consider his options going forward.
The Arsenal keeper made 121 appearances for the Czech Republic over 14 years becoming his country’s record cap holder in the process.
He continuesd on his domestic career hopes: “I’ve had so many club games to play year-by-year too” that he feels the need for a greater lay-off period.
“This is a purely football-based decision”.
“We lived some wonderful moments together – Wishing the team all the best for the future #CZE”, he wrote. The last thing I wanted to do was start a campaign and then say “I don’t think it’s right for me to continue” halfway through it.
“I made the decision before the European Championship”, he said. But as I said, you can not stop time and sometimes you need to make decisions looking to the future. “I believe it is the right move”.
“When I was a kid, my ultimate dream was to play for the national team at least once”.
“I like to do things 100 per cent and there will come a time where I have to ease the burden on myself”.
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Arsene Wenger will be hoping that Cech’s retirement will help Arsenal to get the best out of the Czech in the twilight of his career.
