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Fullname: Kasper Peter Schmeichel
aka: Kasper Schmeichel
Born: 5 November 1986
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Signed: 18 July 2024 (free)
Left: –
Position: Goalkeeper
Debut: Celtic 4-0 Kilmarnock, SP, 2024-08-04
Squad No.: 1
Internationals: Denmark
International Caps: [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: [TBC at end of career]
Biog
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Quotes
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Playing Career
[Table to indicate clubs played for, including dates, transfers and fees where known [e.g. soccerbase table]]
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2024-25 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| 2025-26 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| 2026-27 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| 2027-28 | |||||
| Goals | |||||
| Total | |||||
| Goals |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours are marked below in which the player has played in at least one of the matches in the campaign.)
Scottish League
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Scottish Cup
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Scottish League Cup
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Pictures
Forums
Articles
Links
Notes
Articles
‘Powerful, hard-working, winner – my friend Kasper’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/clmmjmxd0ylo
Joe Hart’s BBC Sport column
Published
20 June 2024
I have not heard Kasper Schmeichel speak before Denmark’s Euro 2024 game against England on Thursday, but I know exactly what he will be feeling.
He is going to feel like he is the best goalkeeper he can be – that he is still at the peak of his powers and that he can still make a difference for his country – he would not be here otherwise.
Kasper and I go way back, all the way to when we faced each other for the first time in February 2006, when I was playing for Shrewsbury and he was on loan at Bury from Manchester City.
Back then, we were just two teenagers playing our first few professional games in League Two, so it is pretty cool how things evolved for both of us over the course of our careers.
Denmark goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel since his senior international debut in 2013Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Schmeichel, who now plays his club football in Belgium with Anderlecht, has won 102 caps for Denmark since his senior international debut in 2013
At 37, he is the same age as me. Well, in fact, he is five months older, and I love the fact he is still playing on the biggest stage.
In England, people may well have lost track of him since he left Leicester in 2022 – I have found out myself that our English mindset when you are not in the Premier League can be that if you are out of sight, you are out of mind.
But there will be many more watching the game on Thursday who, like me, will appreciate Kasper for everything he is, as a person and a player.
His strengths as a goalkeeper are his physique and his power. He turned himself into an incredible athlete at a young age, and that has never changed. He is aggressive and assertive, and he can do things that a lot of other keepers can’t.
But as well as his physical attributes, I know how his mentality has played a huge part in what he has done in his career, and how he achieved it.
You don’t stay at the top for so long, like he has, without having an incredible passion for the game.
From League Two to title winner
Kasper Schmeichel celebrates Leicester’s Premier League title win in 2016Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Schmeichel celebrates Leicester’s Premier League title win in 2016
We met as opponents, but Kasper and I soon became team-mates at City when I joined them a few months after that game at Gay Meadow, and we clicked straightaway. Right from the start, we were never rivals, always good friends.
Kasper was the first person to welcome me at City on my first day at the training ground. He was actually waiting for me, to take me into the building. I’ll never forget that, because it meant a lot.
For me at the time, it was especially huge because of his name. I’d love to just talk about Kasper here but you cannot ignore the fact that his dad was Peter Schmeichel, a goalkeeping legend who I really looked up to.
That got Kasper through a few doors, and got him into conversations, but the rest? He had to do it all himself.
In fact, you could say he had it tougher because he knew people were judging him before he stepped into goal because of who he was.
His response was to work harder than everyone, forge his own path and write his own place in the Premier League history books, and win more than 100 caps for Denmark.
That attitude has always been part of his make-up and has helped to make him an incredible goalkeeper – hard-working and strong, but also opinionated and willing to stand by his word.
All of this was part of his journey down to League Two and back to become a title winner with Leicester, via the loan moves he made at every level, or when he was willing to take risks and drop down divisions in order to play first-team football.
He has built his career the way he has, because he has never stopped wanting to do more. We were the same in that regard because that kind of drive shaped my career too.
Where we were different was how we identified our goals when we were young goalkeepers.
We would talk about where we hoped our journey would take us. Kasper always said he had set out to try to win the Premier League, and was very open and honest about that, while my approach was that I decided I would go for it every day, no matter where my career took me.
I kind of lived my career like that, even when I started winning things with City. There were no limits and I was not afraid to go lower or higher. My outlook was that whether I was playing first-team football for Shrewsbury Town in League Two or England at a World Cup finals, I was up for it.
Every game is an education
Kasper Schmeichel (l) and Joe Hart in 2015Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Schmeichel and Hart met in the 2015-16 season, when Leicester side won the Premier League title
Another thing Kasper and I had in common from those early days together at City was our work ethic.
Whatever happened to me in football, good or bad, I never let my work-rate dip, or allowed my attitude to be questioned and Kasper never gave anyone a chance to do that either.
That’s probably one of the reasons we both got to the age of 37 at the top level, but I never thought I was doing anything special and I am sure if you asked Kasper he would say the same.
It never felt like an effort for me to push myself, because football was never a sacrifice to me. Instead it was my life, and it meant everything.
Trying to be at my best was something that I enjoyed doing, right from when Kasper and I were kids together at City, until the very end of my last season with Celtic, a few weeks ago.
Once you get to a certain age as a goalkeeper, it is not so much the miles in your legs that you can feel as the impact of the dives you have made on your body.
You can’t continue for any reason other than it is just what you do, and because you want to keep doing it.
I am retired now, but I am so pleased Kasper is still out there, and is not finished yet. He treats every game as an education, and even now he wants to learn some more.
Joe Hart was speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan in Berlin.
[….]
PaulJohnDykes (ACSOM)
As Kasper Schmeichel is set to become Celtic’s first signing of the summer, our entire recruitment strategy will be judged, fairly or otherwise, on this initial arrival.
It’s understandable, given that we’ve had plenty of time to find a replacement for Joe Hart, that some fans feel underwhelmed that the one we have identified is a 37-year-old free agent.
Anxiety and frustration has grown with the passing days and weeks of transfer inaction, with many wondering if the club has become complacent again with just 66 days until the opening Champions League Group Stage matches kick off.
This signing will naturally raise legitimate questions around our entire recruitment process.
Have we identified the best available talent globally by using recruitment data and scouting?
Or has Brendan simply hand-picked a goalie he has worked with before?
I get the concern, particularly when we have been unable to get any other deals done, but what are the positives of bringing Schmeichel to Celtic Park?
-We’re signing a Danish #1, who has a wealth of international experience, and who has known success at the very top level of club football;
-He’s not someone who is coming in from the cold, unlike Joe Hart who had played 10 games the season before we bought him;
– Rodgers knows the mentality of the player and has judged that he has the attributes to take over from such an influential figure as Joe Hart;
– He is undoubtedly Brendan Rodgers’ signing and an indication that the gaffer is in charge of who comes in this time round.
This move shows that our recruitment process is still in a state of flux, which is unacceptable for a club this size.
But it also indicates that Rodgers (along with Nicholson and Lefevre) are responsible for recruitment during this window.
Schmeichel will work for a season or two, but his arrival speaks volumes for the fact that we actually don’t have a properly functioning recruitment department.
[….]
“Celtic is a massive club but it’s small as a family inside,” Brendan Rodgers
By Editor 21 July, 2024 No Comments
[“Celtic is a massive club but it’s small as a family inside,” Brendan Rodgers]
https://thecelticstar.com/celtic-is-a-massive-club-but-its-small-as-a-family-inside-brendan-rodgers/Brendan Rodgers was clearly delighted with his side’s 4-0 victory over DC United – a reverse of the scoreline from the last time the tow clubs met in the American capital when Gordon Strachan was the Celtic manager.
Here’s Brendan speaking to Gerry McCulloch from Celtic TV, talking about the brilliant Celtic support at the match, having no excuses about the state of the pitch, the intensity of the performance, the hard work that had been down throughout the week in the heat and the impact that his first
Brendan confirmed that new signing was at the game and will have now seen for himself the size of his new club as the Celtic fans filled the stadium after greeting the players outside of the team’s hotel. Even as the players went through their post -match routines on the pitch, the Celtic support was still in the stadium cheering them on.
Here’s what Brendan had to say about the Denmark international goalkeeper’s arrival in the USA to join up with his new teammates at Celtic.
“Celtic is a massive club but it’s small as a family inside it and he’ll find that the Celtic family is like no other. He sees the hallmarks of a big club. He was brought up with his father at a huge club so the support outside of the hotel, all these symbols, a notion of a big club. Celtic supporters are everywhere and he’ll feel that during his time here. I know he’s really excited and I am excited for him also,” Brendan said.
“I was there. Finally got to see my favorite club play in person. Please come back to the states next year.”
“What an amazing game it was a blessing watching you at this game, the crowd was outstanding.”
“Me and my brother were there to see the match between two of our favorite clubs against each other. I really so high for O’Riley goals. Been the standout player. Really will miss Birnbaum. Been a pleasure watching him on the field for 10 years.”
“It was a great game to watch from the stands, great game Celtic.”
“What a game! Let’s go Celtic!”
“Nice workout for the Bhoys with Kuhn catching the eye in particular.”
“Top pressing lads.”
“I thought it was gonna be a close game? Celtic destroyed DC!! Looking forward to seeing if Man City and Chelsea can do something against Celtic, If Brendan gives the kids a chance in those games it should be close…”
How Celtic star first ended up in Scottish football – £800 in pocket, dressing-room negotiation and Joe Hart
Mark Atkinson
By Mark Atkinson
Sports Editor
Comments
Published 20th Sep 2024, 12:00 BST
The story behind Schmeichel’s move to Falkirk 17 years ago
Joe Hart played a huge part in current Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel’s first stint in Scottish football, one of the Dane’s former managers has revealed.
Veteran stopper Schmeichel joined Celtic this summer on a free transfer, 17 years on from playing as a youngster on loan at Falkirk for a season. Now 37 years old, Schmeichel will come up against the Bairns when the two teams meet at Celtic Park on Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals.
John Hughes was the man who brought Schmeichel to the Falkirk Stadium back in 2007, with the then Man City player coming in on loan. He played 15 times for the club and make a strong impression. However, one of the chief players in the loan deal at the time was Hart – who was Celtic’s No 1 before retiring last summer – and Hughes recalled how the deal came about.
Kasper Schmeichel played for Falkirk back in 2007.
Kasper Schmeichel played for Falkirk back in 2007. | SNS Group 0141 221 3602
“When we were at Falkirk we were never away from Manchester, mostly Manchester United watching all their young players,” said Hughes. “That was part and parcel of the job we’d learned from Jim Jeffries and Billy Brown when we were players at Falkirk. Every Tuesday after training they’d be in the car down south looking at players.
“We were looking for a goalkeeper, we had buttons – about £800 in our pocket and we went down to Manchester City. We’re in among all the scouts and I recognised four or five guys in Manchester City tracksuits. I went over to ask them about the goalkeeper [Kasper] Schmeichel. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was Joe Hart! Joe Hart gave him a glowing reference.
“[Kasper] was a different class, watching the game you could see he was just full of himself. Great confidence. After the game, people are leaving but I saw the manager was Stuart Pearce and Brian Rice [John’s assistant at Falkirk] had played with Stuart at Nottingham Forest. I said to Rice, “you’re going in that dressing room, we’re doing it tonight”. Rice got flung in the dressing room. He said we’ve not got much money , we’re down for the goalkeeper. Stuart Pearce said he needs that, that would suit him. As long as he plays, I’ll put it to him. The next day Kasper was up in Scotland.”
On the impact Schmeichel made in Falkirk, Hughes added in an interview on The Warm Up: “The minute he came in, you could tell he was something different. He had a real belief in himself. He mixed right in but he had a real focus on where he was going. A mad trainer, he loved to roll about covered in mud and even when training was finished he’d be taking free kicks and hitting penalties.”
Kasper Schmeichel: “The beauty and the challenge of playing at a club like Celtic”
Kasper Schmeichel: “The beauty and the challenge of playing at a club like Celtic”
By Editor 8 November, 2024 No Comments
Kasper at Hampden last weekend
Celtic v Aberdeen, Premier Sports Cup semi-final. Photo Vagelis Georgariou
Kasper Schmeichel spoke to the media, including The Celtic Star, at Lennoxtown this afternoon ahead of the Scottish Premiership match at Rugby Park on Sunday against Kilmarnock…
Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel
Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. Celtic v RB Leipzig, UEFA Champions League, Group Stage, Celtic Park on – 5th November 2024. Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock
We soon discovered that it’s a risky business to tell the Great Dane that he had nothing much to do in a game Celtic won 6-0 and he didn’t have a save to make! Here’s everything that was said…
Q: How do you reflect on Tuesday night, the atmosphere, the result, the performance? When you look back at it now, what are your thoughts and emotions?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I think it was a very good performance. Yeah, very complete in many ways. We started the game really well, went behind and then we needed to show the character and the belief, the determination and the composure to get back into the game. We worked our way back in and I thought it was a performance that had everything.”
Brendan Rodgers and Calum McGregor
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers talks with Callum McGregor of Celtic during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on November 05, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: Callum McGregor felt the squad were playing as if they had a point to prove in the competition. Do you feel that point was proved after adopting a bit of criticism after Dortmund? Do you feel as if you have blown that out of the water with that result and performance?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t really view it like that. With the greatest respect to you guys, I don’t read what you guys write because it can be quite ruthless sometimes and it needs to sell. For me, I looked at the Dortmund game, it was a one-off. I knew that wasn’t indicative of the team that we were or where we were. They hit their best day, we hit our worst day. When those two collide at the level of the Champions League, then that can happen. But we showed against Atalanta and we showed against Leipzig exactly the type of team that we are. We showed in pre-season when we played both Man City and Chelsea that we do have the ability when we move the ball fast to go and cause a lot of trouble for every team. We certainly did that against Leipzig.”
Auston Trusty in action
Auston Trusty heads the ball away from Benjamin Sesko. Celtic v RB Leipzig, UEFA Champions League, Group Stage, Football, Celtic Park, 5 November 2024 Phot Stuart Wallace Shutterstock (Imago – The Celtic Star)
Q: In terms of the outlook of the competition, fans quite rightly are dreaming of an automatic one to eight positions rather than just a play-off spot. For you guys, how do you view the outlook after the first half of this competition?
Kasper Schmeichel: “We are looking at the next game, no more than that. I think that’s probably the biggest mistake we can make is to get carried away. This is a ruthless competition. If we are performing at the level that we were against Atalanta defensively and particularly the entire performance against Leipzig, then we have a good opportunity to progress. It’s about staying humble, it’s about staying grounded now and not getting too carried away. I think that would be a mistake on our part.”
Q: A fairly different challenge comes now, away to Kilmarnock, and all the challenges it brings with the pitch and everything else. Your thoughts on that game?
Kasper Schmeichel: “They’ve shown against (the)Rangers just how dangerous they can be at Rugby Park. I suppose this is one that you’re going to have to be very much on your game at. In modern football, you have to be on your game in every single game. There are no easy games and we are in no way expecting an easy game on Sunday. I think that’s the beauty and the challenge of playing at a club like Celtic. You have to be able to adapt to all the different competitions you’re in.”
Celtic team photo
Celtic players pose for a team photo on the pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on November 05, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: You play a semi-final one day, then you play in the Champions League, and then you play in the league. Do you have to be able to cope with that demand, the physical demand, the mental demand?
Kasper Schmeichel: “We’ve shown all the way through the season up to now that we’ve been able to do that. Now it’s a new challenge. Like I said, Tuesday is gone. We’re not thinking of that anymore. That was a great night, a fantastic night for all of us. Midnight, we park that and we move on to the next one. The next one is Kilmarnock. That’s going to pose a lot of challenges in their own right. You mentioned their result against Rangers. We’re not taking anything for granted. I think that’s a big strength in this squad, that we don’t get carried away with ourselves. We don’t take things for granted. We have to work hard. We know that going into any single game in any competition, you have to outwork the opposition. If you don’t, then you’re going to have a difficult evening.”
Q: You talk about not getting carried away, and staying humble. Is there more to come from this side? It’s still fairly early in the season. You’ve delivered so many good performances so far.
Kasper Schmeichel: “Time will tell. I think it’s one of those things that will obviously be discussed in the media and discussed amongst fans. As a football fan myself, you always look forward and dream. Our job is not to look more forward than the next game. The next game deserves our full attention. If we start thinking or dividing our attention to other areas, other aspects, then we’re not paying the respect that we need to pay to the opponent that we’re up against. We’re not about to do that. So, the full focus is on Kilmarnock. Whatever happens in the future happens. You have to take each game as it comes. You can’t go thinking of two games ahead. That just never works.”
Celtic Glasgow RB Leipzig Champions League Glasgow, 05 11 2024, Celtic Park, Football, UEFA Champions League, Matchday 4 , Celtic Glasgow 3 RB Leipzig 1 RB Leipzig Christoph Baumgartner 14, RB Leipzig scores with his head to 0 1 Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel 1, Celtic is disappointed. Photo Imago (The Celtic Star)
Q: You say you take each game as it comes, and can’t look too far into the future. I take it that you, as a senior player and the squad in general, you’re not putting limits on yourselves. You’re not saying, this is what we can do or this is what we can achieve. It can be anything this season, can’t it?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I’ve been in football long enough to know that you can lay every single plan and have every single dream you want. It can happen and it can’t happen. So, like I say, it is one game at a time. It’s really boring and it’s probably not what anybody wants to hear. It’s not going to generate any headlines. It is as simple as that’s our job. Our job is to be professional and our job is to look at the next game, no further.”
Q: Instead of looking forward then, looking back at your time since you’ve been here, how would you assess it so far? Has it been what you expected? Did you expect to have won so many games already this season?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I’m not one to look back either in that sense. It is honestly, modern football now, there are so many games, if you’re not in the now, if you’re not in the present, then you lose focus. You can’t lose focus in this game. It’s honestly, in my experience, the most important thing is to stay focused on the here and the now. It’s been a really good start, but that’s it. It’s a start. It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish. Every single step along the way deserves attention because that’s what’s ultimately going to make you achieve your goals.”
Q: Are you happy with where you are at the moment as a team?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Yes, I think we’re in a good place. The squad’s good, playing well, playing good football. We’ve just got to keep going.”
Christoph Baumgartner of RB Leipzig scores
Christoph Baumgartner of RB Leipzig scores his team’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on November 05, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: What do you enjoy most personally about being at Celtic, your work at Celtic?
Kasper Schmeichel: “The whole package really. The day-to-day life is good. Playing in a full stadium at Celtic Park doesn’t get much better than that. The support when I walk around town and speak to people. It’s a massive club, travel around the world with your national team. You realise that Celtic’s everywhere. It’s been really enjoyable.”
Q: You came up here in similar circumstances to Joe Hart. How have you learned from him?
Kasper Schmeichel: “He always mentioned about how he was always learning. It was a new experience for him, almost a new lease of life.”
Q: Is that the type of feeling that it can give you, coming here to a different place and experiencing this?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I wouldn’t say it was a new lease of life. I think life, and particularly football, is about progression, is about learning. I think the second you do that, you stand still. And when you stand still, I think in modern football, then you’re done. Every day is a challenge. It poses new challenges. This week we were in three different competitions in the last seven days. They all pose their own challenge, and that’s great to be a part of.”
Q: You talk about being in the moment. How do you make sure that that is what you do all the time yourself?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I don’t know, it’s quite easy. I just do it. There’s no kind of strategy to it. I think it’s just experience. The experience of going through different types of leagues, different types of seasons where you’re winning, different types of seasons when you’re losing. You learn that you don’t get too high, you don’t get too low. You just move on, and get on to the next one. We’re in a period now, probably somewhere around March, where we’ve got a game every three or four days. The best thing you can do is, like I say, you feel whatever you need to feel until midnight, and then you move on.”
Q: On top of Kilmarnock’s plastic pitch, we hear from outfield players a lot about how it affects their game and the bounce of the ball. For you as a keeper, are there any major differences you see in terms of that?
Kasper Schmeichel: “A plastic pitch is a plastic pitch. We just have to take it as it comes. We’ll be playing on a plastic pitch, that’s a different discussion. We’re not focused on that. That’s not in our minds. I think particularly modern football now, the amount of different pitches around the world. You play the Euros and the pitches are terrible. You come to different places all the time where pitches can be great, they can be bad. You’ve just got to get on with it, you’ve got to learn. A lot of players have grown up playing on plastic pitches. It’s not an excuse, it’s just part of football. I think the next year or the year after, they’re not going to be used anymore. So that’s probably a positive.”
Auston Trusty celebrates
Auston Trusty celebrates at full time during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park on November 05, 2024 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
The Celtic Star: Can I ask you about the atmosphere at Celtic Park on Wednesday night? How does that rank in terms of the experiences you’ve had in your career?
Kasper Schmeichel: “It’s right up there, for sure. It was really loud, let’s put it that way. I have a lot of friends from my young days who travel around and watch me play. They were at the game the other night and they said that was special. So it’s right up there.”
The Celtic Star: When Reo scored the third goal, did you maybe reflect on that brilliant save you made two minutes earlier?
Kasper Schmeichel: “No, definitely not. There’s still a long way to go in the game. If you lose focus on the now, as I’ve said before then you risk losing. I’ve been in games, I think Tottenham at home were 2-1 up with 10 seconds to go but ended up losing 3-2. At this level, anyone can hurt you at any time. So my focus was fully on the next 15 or 18 minutes or whatever it was that was left.”
The Celtic Star: It was a pretty good save, right enough, wasn’t it?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Yeah, that’s what I’m here to do. That’s my job. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t.
The Celtic Star: In the game against Aberdeen at Hampden, you didn’t really have much to do that day, but the team were absolutely sensational. I think that’s the best I’ve ever seen Celtic at Hampden. What did you think?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I think your assessment of my game is very much how people used to view goalkeeping and you don’t have much to do when it comes to saves. That’s not goalkeeping anymore. I had two saves against Leipzig, but I touched the ball probably 60 times. So that’s just not goalkeeping anymore. That’s not part of it. It’s a small part of it, sorry. You have to be able to play with your feet all the time. You’re always involved. I was involved a lot against Aberdeen. So, the team played fantastically and goalkeeping has moved on. We play a different game now than when I started playing this game. So, it’s enjoyable and it’s great to see the team playing the way we did, the fluidity that we had. We brought that into the game on Tuesday and we’ve got to do the same on Sunday.”