| DENMARK | |
| 1981-2003 | |
| Gladsaxe-Hero (1981-1984) Hvidovre IF (1984-1987) Brøndby (1987-1991) Manchester United (1991-1999) Sporting Portugal (1999-2001) Aston Villa (2001-2002) Manchester City (2002-2003) | |
There has never been a better goalkeeper in the history of the Premiership than “The Great Dane.” Schmeichel had a pretty good career outside the Premiership, too, but it was his time at Manchester United where he became a legend. Schmeichel went to Old Trafford for the relatively paltry sum of £530,000, a price which Sir Alex Ferguson later teemed “The Bargain of the Century.” During his time in the Premiership, he kept clean sheets in 42% of his starts, the greatest ratio in league history. Schmeichel won 5 Premiership titles, 3 F.A. Cups, 1 League Cup, and, most notably, the 1998-1999 UEFA Champions League, where he served as skipper in place of suspended Roy Keane during the Finals and got to hold the trophy over his head on his last night as a United player. Schmeichel was voted UEFA Goalkeeper of the Year and World Goalkeeper of the Year in 1992 and 1993. He was recently voted “Greatest Goalkeeper of All-Time” in a Reuters poll, defeating the likes of Yashin and Banks.
Schmeichel had a successful international career as well. He remains the most-capped Danish player of all time with 129 appearances to his credit. He helped lead Denmark to the European Championship in 1992, and was the number one keeper for his country in the 1998 World Cup, where they fell to Brazil in the Quarterfinals.
Schmeichel wasn’t the nicest guy on the pitch. Indeed, the fiery keeper was accused of racism by Arsenal’s Ian Wright, and he was known for chewing out his own teammates for mistakes or errors. He was one of the few players to have survived a row with Sir Alex Ferguson, though. Evidently, the gaffer recognized his keeper’s worth and chose not to drive him away like he did with Keane, David Beckham, Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Jaap Stam, and others.
In any case, his shadow at Old Trafford remains so large that many quality goalkeepers have tried to replace him, and all have failed to measure up. Even Edwin Van der Sar, who has done well at United and has a chance to surpass the Great Dane in terms of trophies won, is always described as “the best goalkeeper since Schmeichel.” That’s a legend.
