Kasper Schmeichel breaks Celtic cover on bitter Denmark media row and his international future

Daily Record

21-05-2025

The 38-year-old keeper has been the subject of some vile abuse by leading publications in his homeland
Being a goalkeeper is a lonely job. There's nowhere to hide if you make a mistake.
One blunder can be a real test of resilience. Even more so if you're the captain of your country.
‌
Luckily for Kasper Schmeichel, experience has taught him how to deal with intense scrutiny.
‌
The Denmark captain is on course to end an outstanding debut year for Celtic as a Treble-winner after picking up the huge gloves left behind by close pal Joe Hart.
Yet while he has hardly put a foot wrong at Parkhead, the former Premier League champion has been hung out to dry back in his homeland.
Schmeichel found himself at the centre of a storm after being lambasted for the goals conceded in March's Nations League playoff defeat in Portugal.
Some of the stick crossed a line, with one pundit comparing his performance to a "child with polio" - prompting the Danish Players Union to get involved.
Famous father and Manchester United legend Peter made his thoughts clear on the controversy last week by boycotting leading Danish publication Ekstra Bladet.
‌
But his son - who suffered a shoulder injury while playing in the game - insists it's been easy for him to block out the noise.
The Celtic No1 said: "Do you know what? I was born in the 80s and I grew up in the 90s and I genuinely believe it is the best era to have been a child.
"Because we had technology, but we didn't have internet. We didn't have phones, and we weren't attached to all this stuff. And I learned very early in my career just not to read about myself.
‌
"In all honesty, I haven't read a single word about it. Obviously, I've been made aware from different people, but I haven't read it. It is what it is. I play football, and football is the most popular sport in the world.
"Everyone's going to have opinions. And do you know what? That's great. It's great, because football is a game of opinions. There's no right, there's no wrong. People are going to have opinions that are positive about you.
‌
"They're going to have negative opinions about you. I think I take advice and I take praise and criticism from the people who are closest to me. The people that I would go to advice for are the ones whose opinions I would ask.
"So, for me, I live in this beautiful world where I don't have to read things about myself, and I don't. It actually makes life a lot easier.
"The only people's opinions you should care about are your coaches, your teammates, your family, your friends, the people around you that know you, know your character, know the standards that you have.
‌
"If you're falling below those standards, and the people around you that you respect and listen to are telling you that, that's the opinions that you should really care about.
"Because, like I say, people are entitled to their opinions, and it's part of football, it's part of the game. That's why football is the most popular sport in the world, it's because people talk about it.
"It's talked about everywhere. And I'm part of this game, and I love this game, and I have opinions about football as well, doesn't mean they're right.
‌
"But I can choose what I do. I can choose whether I want to take all the information in, or I can also choose not to. I grew up in an era where that didn't exist, and I'm so thankful for that."
Capped 113 times, Schmeichel has no plans to hang up the gloves for Denmark. For as long as he's playing, the 38-year-old will always be available for his country.
He said: "I love playing for them. When I was growing up, that was the dream. When I was a kid and I was visualising in the garden, I was visualising the stadium, the shirt I was wearing was the Denmark shirt.
"So, to play for your country, to have played as many games as I have, to have captained my country, that, for me, is the ultimate."It's the absolute ultimate dream, it's the ultimate thing that you can do as a footballer. So, to still have the opportunity, still have the ability, the drive, the love to do it, I wouldn't give that up. Definitely not."
After a frustrating six-week injury layoff, Schmeichel is relieved to be back between the goalposts again - just as the trophies are being handed out.
He said: "It's very nice to be back. It's been a weird one because obviously I've been out on the pitch and I've been training for a long time.
"But with any fracture, there's not much you can do to speed it up. So we just had to give it time, be patient and just wait for the all clear from the doctors to go back and start diving around again.
"Before you get the final diagnosis of what happened, then you're always worried that that could have been the season. For me, it was always a matter of maintaining a positive mindset and once it was confirmed that it was a fracture, then there's time for it to heal.
"Now I've just got to make sure I'm doing all the other stuff, getting all the strength and flexibility back in it. The medical staff were great. They worked me very hard and it feels great now."