Life as a back-up goalkeeper can be a thankless task.

Often sitting in the shadows of a squad, it can be a long wait for playing opportunities that are few and far between.  

An added bizarreness of the role is that while you’re out of the XI, your primary objective is to help your teammate and rival, the one keeping you rooted to the bench, flourish - supporting them throughout the week in training and helping them to prepare on a matchday.  

It's one of football's many oddities and a challenging scenario for any goalkeeper to find themselves in, especially one used to being first-choice for club and country.  

Jan Mucha can vouch for such an experience. 

After signing a pre-contract in January of 2010 following an approach by then-manager David Moyes, he officially joined Everton as a free agent later that summer.  

Mucha previously enjoyed five trophy-laden years with Polish side Legia Warsaw, notably as their No.1 goalkeeper winning the league, the nation's equivalent of the FA Cup and domestic Super Cup, all while regularly competing in European competitions. 

At international level, Mucha was Slovakia’s first-choice and had just played all four of his nation’s games at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa where they exited the tournament at the last-16 stage. 

It was the same round of the competition in which the USA, and Mucha's new Blues teammate, Tim Howard, was also eliminated. The two new positional rivals both reported to Finch Farm for pre-season at similar times. 

"Tim was a great guy and we got on well from the day we met,” Mucha told the Official Matchday Programme. "He'd already been at the Club for so many years and was a top professional. As he had been there for a long time, I expected he was going to be No.1.

"But, believe me, I was always trying to win that position from him. My position was the second goalkeeper, but I was always trying to be the first-choice."

Mucha made his competitive Everton debut in a 5-1 League Cup win over Huddersfield Town in August 2010, going on to save a penalty which ultimately proved futile in the next round as the Blues lost out in a shootout against Brentford following a 1-1 draw.

In total, Mucha made just 10 appearances across his three years with Everton, and seven of those came in the early rounds of cup competitions.  

"Tim was at his peak back then," he admitted. "He was one of the league's best at the time. Not only that but he hardly ever got injured. He never gave me a window in which to get in the team and play." 

Mucha’s not exaggerating. Howard, then in his early 30s, was in the form of his career and very much Everton's Mr Dependable.  

As a consequence, Mucha failed to make a single Premier League appearance in his first two seasons at Everton. He's also reminded of the number of successive matches in which he was an unused league substitute at the Club before finally getting his chance - 103.  

"Yes, I can't deny that it was tough at times", said the former shot-stopper. "You want to play, of course. I was trying to work hard, and if the chance came, my plan was always that I wanted to be ready. I always tried to be 100-per-cent fit and ready for the games because you never knew what was going to happen." 

That approach served Mucha well as in March 2013, 984 days after he arrived at the Club, the Slovakia international was finally called into Premier League action.  

After landing awkwardly late on in Everton's fifth-round FA Cup replay victory over Oldham, Howard suffered two broken bones in his back and was set for a spell on the sidelines.

Mucha came in to replace him for Reading’s Premier League visit to Goodison Park one week later. 

"It was special to make my first league start," he explains. "There were a few nerves, too. It's never easy coming into a game after not playing for so long. But we won 3-1, so I was pleased."  

That satisfaction was short-lived. One week later Mucha lined up in between the sticks again at Goodison as the Blues welcomed Wigan Athletic in the quarter-final of the FA Cup.  

Everton were heavily fancied for the tie against the then-Premier League strugglers, but a disastrous four-minute first-half spell saw Everton concede three times en route to a shock 3-0 defeat.  

Wigan, led by Everton manager-to-be Roberto Martinez, went on to lift the trophy but also suffered relegation to the Championship that same season.  

"It was humiliating," admitted Mucha on the defeat. "Although there wasn’t much I could have done about the goals, it felt terrible. We were obviously all so disappointed. We knew it was a big opportunity missed. But that's football sometimes, it can be a crazy game.

"By the next day, I was already looking forward. We had another game to put it right and I knew there was a chance I'd still be in the side for it.”

Howard was slowly starting to recover from his back injury and had an outside shot of returning to the starting XI for the next fixture against reigning Premier League champions, Manchester City.  

"Preparations weren't as simple for that one," he revealed. "Tim was trying to get back for the game. So, I didn't know if I was going to stay in the side or not. He wanted to be fit and tried a warm-up on the field to see if he could play. But he said he couldn't and I remember David Moyes said, 'Jan, you will play'.  

“I thought, 'Right, okay' and switched my focus fast - I was fully concentrated on the game." 

Despite the daunting task ahead of them and given the unfortunate outcome of the game against Wigan, Everton produced one of their finest performances of that season, with Mucha key to their success.  

 “I’m sure it has been difficult for Jan, but he hasn’t shown that today, he's done really well and he kept us in the game," explained teammate Leighton Baines after the Blues sealed a standout 2-0 victory.

Leon Osman opened the scoring in the first half before Nikica Jelavic sealed the points late on, but the victory was made all the more impressive by the fact they ground it out with just 10 men after Steven Pienaar was sent off on the hour mark.

Former left-back Baines also added: "At 1-0 Jan made some great saves and on another day they could have equalised. He did well coming out, punching balls clear and taking a bit of the pressure off us.”

With a smile on his face, Mucha reveals: "That game is one of my best memories. I'd waited so long for these chances, so to then take on the best team in England at the time, beat them and secure a clean sheet... that was special." 

Mucha, who made an impressive eight saves in the contest, continued: "For me, that game and the World Cup was a massive part of my life. I will always remember this game because there were many opportunities for Manchester City. 

"Two times they were one-v-one and I made two really good saves. I remember the photo in my head after the game with Sylvain [Distin] celebrating with me like we'd won the FA Cup or something! It was massive for me, a really nice game for the Everton fans, too." 

It proved to be Mucha's final Everton appearance, although, he admitted he had hoped he'd done enough in the eyes of Moyes to have earned more.  

"I was thinking that Moyes would give me a chance from there for the next game but instead he simply thanked me for my performance before confirming Tim was fit again and would start the next game," he remembered.  

"Obviously, that hurt at the time. But I can reflect with less emotion now.  

"Goalkeeper is such a difficult position, it's part of life in that role. I was mature enough not to let it impact me and I played many more matches elsewhere in my career.   

"Besides, being at Everton helped my career so much. Both on a personal level and allowed me to maintain my No.1 spot with the Slovakia national team. 

"I don’t know any goalkeepers who like to be No.2, but the Premier League is such a top-level competition. You ply your trade there and you never know what can happen. 

"You play a few good games and you make a name for yourself. At this level, someone is always watching, so I have no regrets because it allowed me to have a good and long career and helped me to make lifetime friendships and contacts. 

"Transfers from the Eastern part of Europe to Premier League clubs were definitely not frequent back then. People who know me best know that I do not shy away from any challenge and to have a chance to compete and constantly push myself to the limit and compare myself with the best was the only way for me to become better at what I was doing. 

"Everton were a top side, competing at the top end of the Premier League. Moyes was the manager, the Club had great fans and a top training facility, I saw the move as a tremendous opportunity for me and the decision to sign was a no-brainer. I don't regret it one bit." 

Is it fair to say, then, that Everton still holds a special place in Mucha's heart? 

"Absolutely," he states unequivocally. "I spent some of the best years of my career with Everton, and naturally still have many friends there. My kids live in Liverpool, and I have visited some games after I finished my career. Everton is a massive club. I really love the Club." 

Now a goalkeeper coach at Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava, having spent three years in the same role at former club Legia Warsaw, Mucha adds: "You never know, maybe one time I will work in Everton. That would be special."