Chelsea coach Carlo Cudicini has spoken of his rivalry with Petr Cech.

Now with Arsenal, Cech announced his retirement this week for the end of the season.

"We were fighting for one place and we always gave 120 per cent because we knew if we weren't able to do our job somebody else would have stepped in," Cudicini told Chelsea TV.

"I tried to push Petr very hard when he was playing, trying to make sure his concentration was always top, and I'm sure that he thought to do the same when I was playing in cups and other games.

"It's easy to get along well with Petr because he's such a smart guy, an intelligent guy. He has so many hobbies so we developed a friendship which is still there, still strong and hopefully it will carry on to be like that."