Chelsea's goalkeeper Cech glad to see the back of his annus horribilis

Devastated Petr Cech claims next season cannot come quickly enough after he ended a nightmare 12 months with one of the worst howlers of his career.

The Chelsea keeper is still coming to terms with the horrible blunder on Sunday night which cost the Czech Republic a place in the Euro 2008 quarter finals, sending Turkey through instead.

Goalkeeper Petr Cech removes his head protection after the defeat to Turkey which put the Czechs out of Euro 2008

It was just the latest in a string of misfortunes for Cech, who has suffered injuries, facial disfigurement and missed out on three trophies with his club last season.

The 26-year-old said: 'The only positive thing about this season is that it's over. The season was unbelievable, just bad luck after bad luck.

'Whenever I happened to recover, I was hit again by a disappointment from another injury, a disappointment from the defeat in the Champions League Final.

'This is even worse because it was me who made a mistake. When you make a mistake, you have to admit it. It was my mistake that decided we have to go home.

'That game really sums up my season, especially after losing out on three trophies for Chelsea in the final games. We came so close but blew it in the end.

'I hope my bad luck is over. I'm looking forward to the next season with thousands of new challenges.'

Cech has not been his usual commanding self for club or country in recent months and his mistake in rainy Geneva, which lead to Nihat's equaliser with three minutes to go, was his most high-profile error.

Nihat scored the winner two minutes later and Cech said: 'My mistake was such a shock for everyone. Suddenly they equalised and my opinion the third goal is just a consequence of the second one. It was such a blow for everyone.

'I knew I was alone and I wanted to take the ball, not punch it. But I know now I should have punched it. It's hard to believe what happened.'