33 Facts About Peter Schmeichel

1.

Peter Schmeichel won the UEFA Euro 1992 with his country Denmark.

2.

Peter Schmeichel is the most capped player for the Denmark national team, with 129 games between 1987 and 2001.

3.

In 2003, Peter Schmeichel was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact on the English game.

4.

Peter Schmeichel's son, Kasper, is a professional goalkeeper, currently playing for Ligue 1 side OGC Nice and the Denmark national team.

5.

Peter Schmeichel held Polish citizenship until November 1971 when he, his father, and his three sisters became Danish citizens.

6.

BK Hero merged with Gladsaxe BK in 1979 to form Gladsaxe-Hero BK, and Peter Schmeichel was presented with the opportunity to play for the Zealand FA's junior representative team.

7.

Peter Schmeichel then spent 12 months as a cleaner at an old people's home, before taking up an office job with the World Wildlife Fund.

8.

Peter Schmeichel originally worked in the organisation's shops, but three weeks after he joined, the store manager left and Schmeichel was promoted to the position of sales manager.

9.

Nevertheless, the delicate organisational situation that arose between the WWF, the Danish defence department and Hvidovre prompted Peter Schmeichel to give up working for the WWF.

10.

Peter Schmeichel admits that he had received an offer to play for B 1903's youth team, but he turned it down as the club "seemed a bit boring".

11.

Peter Schmeichel was voted 10th in "The World's Best Goalkeeper 1991" poll by the IFFHS.

12.

Peter Schmeichel was named "The World's Best Goalkeeper" in 1993.

13.

Peter Schmeichel and United repeated the Premier League championship win at the end of the season, capturing the FA Cup.

14.

Peter Schmeichel ended his Manchester United career on a high note, when the club won the Treble.

15.

In that year's FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, Peter Schmeichel saved a penalty kick by Dennis Bergkamp in the last minutes of the game, to send the game into extra time.

16.

Peter Schmeichel ran into the attack attempting to cause confusion, and Teddy Sheringham scored the equalising goal.

17.

Peter Schmeichel stated his wish to activate a contract option of a further year at Sporting in January 2001, but eventually decided to leave the club when his contract expired in June 2001.

18.

Peter Schmeichel returned to England with Aston Villa in July 2001, signing a one-year contract with the option to extend it by a further year.

19.

In 2002, Peter Schmeichel moved to Manchester City on a free transfer.

20.

Peter Schmeichel played for Denmark at Euro 96, hosted by England.

21.

Under national manager Bo Johansson, Peter Schmeichel was a part of the Danish squad at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, during which he overtook Morten Olsen as the most-capped player for Denmark.

22.

Peter Schmeichel represented Denmark at Euro 2000, where the team was eliminated in the group stage.

23.

Peter Schmeichel is widely regarded by pundits, as well as both former and current goalkeeping colleagues, as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, and as Denmark's greatest goalkeeper ever, and has been described as a modern, talented, world-class, and complete goalkeeper, who stood out for the longevity of his career.

24.

Peter Schmeichel was highly regarded for his goalkeeping technique, shot-stopping ability, and positioning between the posts, as well as his command of his area, handling, and ability to rush off his line both in one on one situations or when coming out to claim crosses.

25.

In December 1999, Peter Schmeichel became the owner of his childhood club Hvidovre IF, but withdrew from the club in June 2002.

26.

Peter Schmeichel worked as a pundit for the BBC after retiring, being a regular analyst on Match of the Day until 2005.

27.

Peter Schmeichel was a contestant on the 2006 series of the BBC's popular Saturday night TV programme Strictly Come Dancing, but was voted out by the public on his 43rd birthday.

28.

Peter Schmeichel appeared on The Weakest Link in the UK, but he was voted off as the weakest link in the first round.

29.

Peter Schmeichel was divorced from his wife Bente Peter Schmeichel in 2013.

30.

Peter Schmeichel remarried again in 2019 to Playboy model Laura Von Lindholm.

31.

Peter Schmeichel plays the piano as a hobby and joined Robbie Williams onstage during his 2006 Close Encounters Tour at Copenhagen's Parken Stadium to play the keyboards during Feel.

32.

In 2018, Peter Schmeichel hosted a series of programmes produced by the state-owned Russian television station RT.

33.

Peter Schmeichel has been criticised for participating in sportswashing, by receiving money to promote Vladimir Putin's Russia and the desert state of Qatar.