KASPER SCHMEICHEL
With Leicester City He might be a Premier League winner when Kasper now, but TOM GEORGE remembers of the Football League Schmeichel shone at the other end
When he shook up the Shakers
FOR all of the deserved plaudits directed towards Leicester City’s trio of Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy and N’Golo Kante this season, one man that has slid under the radar somewhat is goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel.
The 29-year old featured in every single minute of Leicester’s games this season, keeping 15 clean sheets along the way.
However, it has been an unorthodox rise to the top for the man who was, until this season, better known in footballing circles as the son of Manchester United legend, Peter Schmeichel.
The shot-stopper, like most of the titlewinning Leicester side, reached the summit the long way round.
After joining the Foxes from Leeds United in 2011 for an undisclosed fee, Schmeichel has been on something of a rollercoaster ride with the club, culminating in this season’s crowning glory.
However, ten years ago things were very different for the Dane, as he attempted to make his mark on the footballing world with a loan spell at then-League Two side Bury.
It was February 2006. Chris Casper’s Bury side found themselves languish-ing in 22nd position in League Two, after an insipid 0-0 home draw against fellow strugglers Barnet left them without a win in six games, and in serious danger of dropping out of the Football League for the first time in the club’s 121-year existence.
To make matters worse, the Shakers’ goalkeeper that day, Craig Dootson, had suffered a broken arm in the dying minutes of the game, leaving Casper with the inexperienced Aaron Grundy as his only option between the sticks heading into the most pivotal three months in the club’s history.With Bury’s first choice keeper, Neil Edwards, already sidelined with a long-term injury, this left Casper with no other option but to dip his toes into the loan market.
With most teams having a settled number one by this point in the season, and therefore unwilling to let them move on, Casper’s mission to find a quality reinforcement was not going to be a straightforward one.
It was at this point that the former Manchester United youngster took a big gamble, albeit a calculated one in his eyes, bringing in a 19year-old Dane on loan from Manchester City, the man who would be tasked with inspiring Bury to safety.
Big things were expected of Schmeichel from the off. This, however, was nothing new to the man who had grown up with the burden of expectation that inevitably comes with being the son of possibly the finest goalkeeper of his generation.
Casper and Schmeichel Sr. had been teammates in their days at Old Trafford. Whilst the man nicknamed ‘The Great Dane’ went on to win a count-less number of trophies and leave an indelible mark on English football, Casper’s time at the club came to an end in 1998 after making just two appearances.
Now Bury manager, after a double leg fracture during a two-year spell at Reading cut short his playing career at the tender age of 24, Casper was desperately hoping that the comparisons between Schmeichel Jr. and Sr. would prove to be accurate. Schmeichel’s impact proved to be immediate, with Bury ending their dismal run of form with a crucial 10 win away at Shrewsbury Town in the youngster’s first game. With none other than future Manchester City teammate, Joe Hart, in the opposition goal at Gay Meadow, Schmeichel made a string of inspired saves to leave the Shakers’ away following purring over the display of their new loanee. However, things didn’t go quite as well for Schmeichel in his second game, a local derby away at Rochdale. On a frozen pitch at Spotland, Bury led 1-0 until Rochdale’s Iyseden Christie was brought down by Schmeichel as he raced through on goal, and the resulting penalty was duly dispatched by future England forward Rickie Lambert, to leave Casper’s side ruing two massive points dropped. Despite this late blunder, Schmeichel had made a brilliant double save early in the first half to keep the Shakers in the game. Bury suffered another disappointment in their next game as they yet again dropped points at the hands of local rivals, this time in the form of Stockport, who took three points home from Gigg Lane after a late goal gave them a 1-0 victory. Schmeichel, yet again, pulled off some truly outstanding saves for his side, without being able to inspire them to victory. With his capacity for pulling off extraordinary saves and his displays of passion and commitment, something often absent in young loanees from bigger clubs, Schmeichel was firmly on his way to endearing himself to the Bury faithful. Another clean sheet followed for Schmeichel away at Wrexham, but yet again Bury’s strikers displayed a desperate lack of cutting edge as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw.