Peter Boleslaw Schmeichel (born November 18, 1963 in Gladsaxe, Denmark) was a Danish footballer, playing as a goalkeeper. He retired from playing football in April 2003.

Schmeichel is Denmark's most capped player, with 129, retiring from international football in April 2001. At his peak he was arguably the world's best goalkeeper. A charismatic keeper with presence and excellent shot-stopping skills, Schmeichel was one of the key members of the Danish national team which won the Euro 92 championship. He also played for his country at Euro 96, the 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000.

Schmeichel's first professional team was Hvidovre IF. He then went to Brøndby IF. Manchester United bought him in 1991 for £550,000 and he played for them for the bulk of his career, eight years in total, enjoying great success. With United Schmeichel won 5 Premier League titles, 3 FA Cups, the Champions League, and a League Cup.

The finest moment came in 1999, when Schmeichel won the Treble (the Premier League title, FA Cup and Champions League), captaining the team in the Champions League final on May 26, 1999 against Bayern Munich, his last game for the club. Schmeichel later moved to Sporting Lisbon, where he won the Portuguese league title in 1999/2000, then returned to the Premiership to Aston Villa in 2001/2. His last season was for Manchester City during the 2002/3 season.

He has a son, Kasper Schmeichel , who plays as goalkeeper for Manchester City, and who was in August 2003 called up for the Danish U-19 squad. Today Peter has a career working as a pundit for the BBC.

External links

• Schmeichel.one - The Peter Schmeichel Site