Business of Sport Petr Cech: “Not One Manager Was Fired Because They Weren’t Good Enough”; Chelsea’s Win At All Costs Mentality (Ep103)
Elite athletes who have achieved everything in their sport while building a career alongside; it’s the ambition many sports stars have today. But how do you do it effectively? Petr Cech is a footballing legend, and I don’t use that term lightly. Four Premier League titles, a Champions League, record for the most Premier League clean sheets, and hugely respected as one of the most dedicated and attentive professionals the game has seen. He also has an MBA, is studying for a PhD, runs multiple businesses, and I need two hands to count the number of languages he speaks.
The philosophy that has driven this? Win, that’s what it’s all about. If not then what’s the point. As you’ve just heard this is a theme that runs throughout. It also poses the question we wrestle most with on the show which is how to do that consistently and run a great business. I’ll get the apology in early, yes this was very exciting for me (and Harry too). Sitting across the table from someone who has given you some of your greatest memories as a fan is pretty cool, not many other ways I can say it. Just breeze through it.
But what I can say is we’ve met few people are impressive or generous with their time who leave you genuinely in awe of but their successes and the processes they’ve adopted to achieve it. I promise you don’t just need to be a Chelsea fan to enjoy this. We’re delighted to welcome Petr to the Business of Sport.
On today’s show we discuss:
Elite Mentality, Preparation & Winning:
- Why preparation beats talent under pressure and how Petr approached the biggest moments of his career.
- What truly separates elite performers when everything is on the line.
- Why winning is a mindset before it’s a tactic.
Leadership, Standards & Team Culture:
- How winning environments are built and sustained over time.
- The role of managers, players and dressing-room standards in elite teams.
- Why culture collapses when accountability disappears.
Setbacks, Injury & Perspective:
- How a life-threatening head injury changed the way Petr approached football and life.
- Why fear never disappeared, but how he learned to perform alongside it.
- The difference between confidence and control at the highest level.
From Pitch to Boardroom:
- Transitioning from player to executive and seeing football from the inside.
- Why football performance must always come before commercial priorities.
- How decision-making, incentives and governance shape success off the pitch.
A huge thank you to our amazing partners on the show:
Gemini Sports
We empower the most confident sports organisations on Earth https://geminisports.ai/
Slate
The complete content creation platform for social teams https://slateteams.com/
EMW
A pleasure to work with leading sports & entertainment agency EMW on this show