- Born
- Birth namePeter Boleslaw Schmeichel
- Nickname
- The Great Dane
- Height6′ 4″ (1.93 m)
- Denmark's Peter Schmeichel is arguably the best goalkeeper in the history of the Premier League. He had a glittering career that lasted from 1981 until 2003 and is best remembered for his hugely successful time in the Premier League with Manchester United - with whom he won countless trophies - and for helping Denmark to win the European Championships in 1992. Schmeichel was born in Gladsaxe, a town on the outskirts of Copenhagen, and played for several local football teams before playing for Brøndby. It was Schmeichel's impressive performances with Brøndby that led to him being snapped up by Sir Alex Ferguson for Manchester United, the team Schmeichel supported as a boy. When he joined Manchester United in 1991, he was fairly unknown to the other players but left eight years later as a prominent club 'Great' with Ferguson having described his £505,000 signing as the "bargain of the century". Schmeichel's 6ft 3in height and imposing physique, prompting his 'Great Dane' nickname, were beneficial when conceiving the innovative 'star-jump save'. Although now a widely used move in goalkeeping, Schmeichel was reportedly the first to take on this technique with regularity, adopting skills from playing handball in Denmark. Generally considered one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, Peter's success earned him 24 major trophies and he has been featured amongst the '125 Greatest Living Footballers' at the FIFA 100 celebrations and within the Football League 100 Legends. In 2001 Schmeichel was awarded an honorary MBE for his services to football. Following his retirement from football, Schmeichel has remained in the public eye, in both sport and television. Peter presented the Champions League coverage in Denmark for 8 years, hosted the World Cup show for Russia TV in 2018, has presented a variety of entertainment shows for TV2, TV3 Denmark and Discovery international and regularly appears as an analyst on the Premier League channel and for the BBC on 'Match of the Day'. His son, Kasper Schmeichel, followed in his father's footsteps and is also a professional goalkeeper, playing for Leicester City and Denmark.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Amazon Studios
- Peter Schmeichel is a Danish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper, and was voted the World's Best Goalkeeper in 1992 and 1993.
He is best remembered for his most successful years at English club Manchester United F.C., whom he captained to victory in the 1999 UEFA Champions League (1992) Final to complete the Treble, and for winning 1992 UEFA European Football Championship (1992) with Denmark.
Schmeichel was famous for his intimidating physique at 1.91 m tall and weighing close to 100 kg during his playing days and wore specially made XXXL size football shirts. He was known for his loud, unstinting criticism of perceived mistakes by his defenders. Unusually for a goalkeeper, Schmeichel scored 10 goals during his career, including one for the national team. He is also the most capped player for the Denmark National Football Team, with 129 games between 1987 and 2001. In addition to 1992 UEFA European Football Championship (1992), he played for his country at the 1998 FIFA World Cup France (1998) and three additional European Championship tournaments. He captained the national team in 30 matches. He also represented Gladsaxe Hero, Hvidovre, Brøndby I.F., Sporting C.P., Aston Villa F.C. and Manchester City F.C. in a career that lasted from 1981 until 2003 and yielded 24 trophies.
In 2003, Schmeichel was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact on the English game.- IMDb Mini Biography By: Tango Papa
- SpousesBente Schmeichel (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- Kicking both posts before kick off
- Played for Gladsaxe Hero, Hvidovre IF, Brøndby IF, Manchester United FC, Sporting Lisbon, Aston Villa FC and Manchester City FC.
- Since he is a Danish citizen, he was awarded an honorary MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2001 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Association Football.
- Played 129 international matches as a goalkeeper for Denmark from 1987 to 2001 and is the most capped Danish soccer player.
- Father was a Polish immigrant.
- Played for Denmark in the 1998 FIFA World Cup of soccer.
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