Highlights

• May 19, 2012, was the day Chelsea became European champions for the first time, with heroic performances from Petr Cech and Didier Drogba.
• Cech spent hours studying Bayern Munich's penalty takers before the final, watching hours of footage and taking notes.
• Cech's penalty saves in the shootout, along with Drogba's winning kick, led Chelsea to lift the Champions League trophy.

It's been over a decade since the greatest night in Chelsea’s history. May 19, 2012, was the day that Chelsea became European champions for the first time, defying the odds to beat Bayern Munich in their own backyard. Petr Cech and Didier Drogba cemented themselves in the legacy of the club with heroic performances on the night.

The Blues, managed by interim boss Roberto Di Matteo, were without several key players, including Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and their talismanic captain John Terry. And when Thomas Muller scored for Bayern in the 83rd minute, it appeared to be game over for the English outfit.

However, Drogba further enhanced his status as a Chelsea legend by scoring a dramatic header to equalise five minutes later to send the final to extra-time. The German side had been well on top for the majority of the 90 minutes, but one special moment handed Di Matteo's Blues a lifeline. The scoreline remained at 1-1 after the extra 30 minutes and a hero was required for the west London club.

How Cech guessed correctly for every penalty

Hours of work were put in ahead of the game

Speaking to Copa90 in 2019, Cech revealed that his research ahead of the Champions League final entailed watching eight hours and nine minutes of footage showing every penalty every one of Bayern’s players had taken over the previous five years.

Per The Daily Mail, he told Copa90: “The video of Bayern penalties lasted two hours and 43 minutes. Every possible player shooting a penalty. The game was played in 2012, and we had every penalty of every player in the squad since 2007."

Football fans probbaly wouldn't even consider the preparation that goes into a situation that may never happen. Imagine the game was won by either side inside the 90 minutes - all that time would have been in vain. Nevertheless, Cech and Chelsea reaped the rewards of the meticulous planning for the biggest game in their history to that point.

The Czech Republic shot-stopper continued: “We did it as a goalkeeper group. It was me, Hilario, Ross Turnbull and even Jamal Blackman. Each of us had the video so each of us went through it on our own and put marks, notes and things we thought about each of the shooters.

“Then when the game was approaching, we had a meeting where we all sat together, everybody with their notes, and we compared what we had on the paper and then we watched it again."

Cech watched the video multiple times to ensure he remembered each player’s preferred method of taking a penalty on the night of the final. He added: “I saw it three times, so it was probably more (like) seven hours. Then obviously it helped. It might have been a coincidence but having watched all these videos, I wouldn't say it's a coincidence.”

Drogba is rightly given a lot of credit for the success, but it’s no exaggeration to suggest that Chelsea may not have lifted the Champions League trophy that night if it wasn’t for their world-class goalkeeper’s thorough pre-match preparations.

Cech's penalty heroics led Chelsea to glory

He even faced a spot-kick during the game

Cech had already produced a vital penalty save from Arjen Robben in the first half of extra-time before the final was decided via a penalty shootout. Many football fans maintain that penalties are a lottery, but Cech put in hours of research before the final, and it paid off spectacularly.

As well as saving Robben’s penalty, the legendary Chelsea goalkeeper guessed the right way for all five of Bayern’s spot-kicks in the shootout. Even diving the right way doesn't guarantee that a goalkeeper will stop the ball from hitting the back of the net, such is the difficult nature of facing a shot from 12 yards out.

He wasn’t able to stop Bayern’s first three penalties from Philipp Lahm, Mario Gomez and Manuel Neuer, but he saved the final two from Ivica Olic and Bastian Schweinsteiger. Cech’s back-to-back penalty saves then presented Drogba with the opportunity to win it with Chelsea’s fifth spot-kick - and the Ivorian took the chance with both hands to win the European Cup for the Blues. Watch the shoot-out below…