Kasper Schmeichel
Goalkeeper · Leicester City · Denmark
About Kasper Schmeichel
Kasper Schmeichel forged a career that stood on its own, from the lower leagues to Leicester City's impossible Premier League title, Wembley glory and 120 appearances for Denmark. A commanding goalkeeper and natural leader, he finished with two successful seasons at Celtic before a severe shoulder injury forced him to retire just months before his 40th birthday.
Kasper Schmeichel's story
Born Into Goalkeeping
Born in Copenhagen in 1986, Schmeichel grew up with an unavoidable surname in goalkeeping. Denmark coach Lars Høgh became far more than a technical influence: Schmeichel later described him as his goalkeeping coach, life coach, inspiration and friend. Rather than follow his father Peter into Manchester United, he joined Manchester City as a teenager. Loans across England and Scotland, followed by permanent moves to Notts County and Leeds United, gave him the senior football he needed.
Leicester Became Home
Leicester City signed him from Leeds in 2011. Over the next eleven years he grew from an ambitious Championship goalkeeper into one of the defining figures of the club's modern history. His intensity, distribution and refusal to accept lowered standards made him a dressing-room leader long before he formally wore the captain's armband.
The Impossible Season
In 2015-16, Schmeichel was ever-present as Leicester produced one of football's greatest upsets and became champions of England. The achievement gave the Schmeichel family a remarkable symmetry: Peter had won five English league titles, but Kasper's came with a club that had begun the season as 5,000-1 outsiders.
Leadership Through Triumph and Tragedy
Schmeichel's Leicester story was about more than trophies. He was one of the senior figures who helped hold the club together after chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in the 2018 helicopter crash outside King Power Stadium. Three years later, Schmeichel captained Leicester at Wembley as the club won the FA Cup for the first time.
Denmark, Celtic and the Final Chapter
For Denmark, Schmeichel became the long-term successor to a position his father had once made famous, producing one of the outstanding goalkeeping performances of the 2018 World Cup against Croatia. After leaving Leicester he played for Nice and Anderlecht before reuniting with Brendan Rodgers at Celtic. His final seasons brought more silverware before medical advice ended his playing career.
Did you know?
- 🍳 Schmeichel loves cooking and has said that, without football, he might have tried to work in one of Denmark's best restaurant kitchens.
- ⏱️ Since the age of 15, his pre-match routine has included returning to the dressing room about 30 minutes before kick-off, changing into dry clothes and talking about anything except football.
- 👨👩👧👦 He married Stine Gyldenbrand in June 2015, and the couple have three children.
- 🦊 He finished his Leicester City career with 479 appearances and 144 clean sheets.
- 🏆 His first senior league title came with Notts County, who won League Two in 2009-10 before he moved to Leeds United.
- 🧤 At the 2018 World Cup he saved three penalties against Croatia, including one from Luka Modrić in extra time, and posted a 91.3 per cent save rate across the tournament.
- 🇩🇰 He retired from international football with 120 senior Denmark caps.
- 🍀 His two seasons at Celtic brought two Scottish Premiership titles, the 2024-25 League Cup and the 2025-26 Scottish Cup.
- 🩺 The shoulder damage that ended his career included a torn bicep, torn rotator cuff, dislocation and torn labrum, requiring two operations.
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