Čech leads Czech Republic's charm offensive
Thursday, June 9, 2016
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Tours has welcomed the Czechs with open arms and, led by Petr Čech, the players are sharing the love, addressing the crowds in perfect French and coming to the aid of a stricken child.
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"Thank you for your welcome here in Tours. We are going to make every effort to stay here with you as long as possible," goalkeeper Petr Čech told more than 3,000 fans who turned up for the Czech Republic's first open training session since arriving.
The Arsenal man's French remains fluent some 12 years after ending his two-season stint with Rennes, and he admits he could not wait to get back to France. "The gap between the end of the season and the tournament is too long for me," he said. "I'm always eager to get to a place, to the venues, and to be in the country where you can smell the tournament in the air.
"We have very nice facilities, everything we need. We have had a nice welcome from everybody and a full stadium for training. You can feel that everybody is looking forward to the start of the tournament."
For the Czechs, the big kick-off comes on Monday when they face holders Spain in Toulouse. "We are obviously not favourites," Čech noted. "Hopefully we can play to our full potential and get something out of it."
At the end of training, Čech signed a lot of autographs as usual, but also something beyond the norm. "One of the boys was trying to catch the promotional balls we were kicking to fans and hurt his hand," he explained. "I gave him my gloves so he will have a better memory of the first Czech training session – and maybe a better chance of catching the ball next time."
The Czech Republic charm offensive is well under way.