The national football goalkeeper has had a rich career at the age of 34. Now he's moving to America with his wife and daughters, and he's also taking a new recovery helper overseas - molecular hydrogen products from H2 Global Group, with whom he's arranged a partnership. "I'm curious myself what hydrogen therapy can do!"

You have already had an engagement at Huddersfield in England, which was the fourth foreign club in your career. Now you're about to embark on a new stage in your rich career - America. What preceded it?
It's been a long summer. We knew from the beginning of May that we would have to find a new club in the summer, so it was a long summer with a lot of phone calls, negotiations, persuasion... It was a lot, so we're glad it turned out this way.

How did the decision to go to the big pond come about?
In the end, we liked it with everything. I liked the high probability that I would be catching right away, from the moment I joined the team, which was very important for me. And America was going to be very interesting from a family point of view as well. We're going to live close to Boston, so the opportunities around - Boston has all four major competitions, all four clubs play in those competitions, so that played a part in it as well.

The New England Revolution are currently the third best team in the entire league and second in their conference. Have you been following the American Soccer League for any length of time?
Yes, I do. I know more of the guys I played with went there. For example, one of my teammates is now with LA Galaxy and the big names have been going there continuously since MLS was founded and now the biggest transfer - Leo Messi - has brought all the attention of the world on him.

Is the American league any different to the European league?
The overall format of the competition is different. It's just American (laughs). It's a closed competition, there's no relegation, there are salary caps that clubs have to fit their entire roster into, it's played from February or March to November, which is also different to Europe. There are two cups, play-offs... So the whole system is completely different from what we are used to in the Czech Republic or Europe.

You come from Ostrava, where young football enthusiasts decide between Baník and Vítkovice. You started in Vítkovice, who chose the club for you?
Vítkovice chose me. I started in Frýdek-Místek and Jindřich Kušnír, who was the coach at the time, dragged me to Vítkovice and thanks to him and the team he had around him at the time, I ended up in Vítkovice.

In 2010 you had the opportunity to move from Vítkovice to Baník, but you chose the second league Viktoria Žižkov. Why?
I had more opportunity to catch. In Baník, when there was talk of me moving there, they got Michal Daňek, who was one of the best goalkeepers in the Czech Republic at that time, and we would be coming in the same transfer period, so I felt there was little opportunity to catch there, so we decided to go with Žižkov based on my agent's recommendation, and it turned out to be a good choice.

You have played in Switzerland, Spain, Greece and England. Which of these engagements is your favourite football memory?
Spain. La Liga is a great league in itself and Sevilla are in the top five clubs in Spain and currently in Europe. It has 7 Europa League titles, that speaks for itself.

And where was the best place to live?
There too. Spain probably got under our skin the most and we remember it the most. But I have to say that as a family, we've been lucky in the destinations we've been to in my career. But if we had to choose where to stay one day, it would probably be Spain. Also because one of my daughters was born there.

What does your native Ostrava mean to you?
Very much. My parents are from Ostrava, Marti's (my wife's) parents are from Ostrava, both of our families live there, my biggest friends are still there. So we always like to come back and we have roots there.

How often do you go back?
Now we were there for two weeks, but usually we get to Prague, maybe for the national team, so the family comes to visit us here. But when we have some extended time off, we always try to at least turn around and come there for a few days.

As any professional athlete, health is a daily issue for you. What does your care for your body and mind look like, because mental well-being certainly contributes to quality performance... What does "being healthy" mean to you?
For me, health is being able to function with the girls. Just the last injury I had was my shoulder, and I couldn't function with the girls at all, it was more the girls taking care of me, so mainly to be able to function at home, to be available to the girls. And when I'm healthy, I can do my profession - play football, and that's still extremely important for all of us too.

How do you take care of your health?
I mainly try to regenerate a lot - sleep well, because if I don't sleep, I can tell. Then I have a routine where I put myself in cold water after every training session, which I've learnt throughout my career that helps me the most.

You had the opportunity to try molecular hydrogen inhalation at the AJNA dental clinic. What do you think about it?
It made me feel good! (laughs) I wonder how it would work if I did it regularly.

You have now arranged to work with H2 Global Group, a leader in hydrogen for health, beauty and sport. Was the aforementioned positive experience with hydrogen the impetus to continue with hydrogen and experience its full power?
Yes, I believe that if I have the opportunity to experience the full effect of hydrogen, it will have an even greater effect and I am curious myself to see what hydrogen therapy can do! I'm looking forward to it!

Thank you for the interview and wishing you and your family to enjoy, thrive and be happy with hydrogen and its effects in America!