Peter Boleslaw Schmeichel was born in Gladsaxe in Denmark in 1963, and although he is now retired, he remains a certified British footballing treasure. This fact was crystallised in 2003, when he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his profound impact on the sport. Schmeichel is instantly recognisable by his mop of straw hair and the hulking 6.3 foot frame that made his such an organic fit for the goal. Schmeichel stands alone as a goalkeeper in his skill and successful track record, even having scored 11 goals during his career, including one for the national team. Schmeichel is currently available as an after dinner speaker and guest speaker at award ceremonies, providing insight into the skill and determination that allowed him to reach such dizzying heights of success on the pitch.
Schmeichel began his footballing career as most do, playing for a local team in the adjacent suburb of his Danish hometown of Buddinge, Høje-Gladsaxe, premiering on the pitch at the tender age of 8. His talent was soon spotted by Hero, a team with a renowned youth football program, after an unbeaten streak of over two years and he was soon graduating to their senior squad, Gladsaxe-Hero. Schmeichel would not begin his professional career with his debut for the Danish national team in the spring of 1987, under Sepp Piontek, following this he was chosen for the 1998 UEFA Euro, becoming his country’s starting goalkeeper. Schmeichel continued to impress on the international stage, and in 1991 Schmeichel was a standout player on the team, who made it as far as the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup competition before being knocked out by AS Roma. His performance in the tournament made such an impact that he was voted 10th place in “The World’s Best Goalkeeper 1991” in a poll conducted by the IFFHS.
Schmeichel strong and impressive performance caught the attending of Manchester United, who wasted no time in signing him on the 6th of August 1991 for a sum of just over half a million pounds. Alex Ferguson, later reflecting on the deal in 2000, would describe it as the “bargain of the century”. However, Schmeichel’s relatively unknown status outside of his native Denmark was about to experience a transformation during his 8 year tenure with the top tier English football club. Schmeichel continued to dazzle in the Danish national team too. He would go on to become their most capped player, with a total of 129 games between 1987 and 2001. Schmeichel was also their starting goalkeeper at the 1992 UEFA Euro, a tournament in which his team claimed victory against a powerful German side. His outstanding performance played a crucial role in his being named the “The World’s Best Goalkeeper 1992”. He would also receive the accolade the following year, presumably for his incredible 22 clean sheets for Manchester United that no doubt aided them in their triumphant attainment of the Premier League title after a long 26 years. This would be one of many wins that Schmeichel would share in while playing for Manchester United. These victories included five FA Premier League titles, three FA Cups, one League Cup and, last but not least, the UEFA Champions League. Schmeichel would end his career with the team at a dizzying height- winning three trophies in a single season, the Treble, made up on the FA Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the FA Premier Title.
Schmeichel went on to spend two years with Aston Villa and in 2002 moved to Manchester City, maintaining his record in the Manchester Derby of never playing on the losing side. In 2003, Schmeichel announced his retirement from football. Available for corporate events…Schmeichel began working as a pundit for the BBC after his retirement and being a regular on the quintessential football analysis show Match of the Day until 2005. As of today, he still makes the occasional appearance.
Click to enquire about Peter Schmeichel via MN2S Talent Agency.