On this day 19 years ago, a famous Chelsea fixture unfolded.
Petr Cech’s now-iconic skull cap wasn’t a fashion choice, but a necessity born from a nasty incident in Chelsea’s Premier League tie with Reading in 2006.
Just 20 seconds into the game, Cech was the recipient of a knee to the head from Stephen Hunt.
The Chelsea goalkeeper’s skull was fractured by the blow, one of the more serious incidents we’ve seen in the Premier League. But that wasn’t the only bizarre event of the evening.
Another collision forced John Terry into goal
Cech was replaced by Carlo Cudicini, and on the game went.
Chelsea went ahead on the stroke of half-time after a Frank Lampard free-kick deflected off a Reading defender. They didn’t make it easy for themselves, with John Obi Mikel getting himself sent off and on his full league debut, no less.
FA Barclays Premiership - Reading v Chelsea
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But the real bizarre moment was when another collision sent Cudicini to the floor, and required him to be stretchered off in the closing stages.
With no goalkeepers left on the bench, John Terry stepped in, and kept the clean sheet as Chelsea won 1-0.
But what may have been seen as a quick adaptation was actually planned out well in advance by the manager.
Jose Mourinho had a plan for everything
Mourinho’s success all over Europe is no coincidence. It’s hard work and an obsession with winning. Part of that is preparing the team for whatever might be thrown at them.
Speaking about that famous game to FourFourTwo, Terry reveals: “It was always going to be me. Jose asked us early on in his Chelsea days, ‘If anything ever happens to both of my goalkeepers and we don’t have any subs, who will step up?’
“I told him I’d do it. That tells you so much about Jose because, from then on, I would go in goal at the end of training sessions, to prepare for that day if it ever came. I even had my own pair of gloves brought to every match by the kit man, just in case I needed them. Jose left nothing to chance.”
Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur - Capital One Cup Final
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Mourinho had a larger-than-life persona during his time at Stamford Bridge, and retains it to this day.
Every manager likely has an idea who would step in on the rarest chance that situation unfolds. But it’s the consistency; making Terry train, bringing the gloves, all to gain the slightest advantage in the most unlikely of situations.
Given Chelsea’s recent injuries and discipline issues, it might be no harm for Enzo Maresca to take a leaf from his predecessor’s book and form a contingency plan.