PETER
SCHMEICHELThere, Schmeichel saved from Marco van
Basten in the penalty shootout as Denmark
beat defending champions the Netherlands.
In the Gothenburg showpiece, he superbly
denied Jurgen Klinsmann with a diving stop,
and the underdogs overcame Germany 2-0.
It remains one of the most remarkable feats
in the history of international football.
“Without Peter’s gloves, we wouldn’t have
won that tournament,” insists Larsen, who
shared the Golden Boot with Tomas Brolin,
Karl-Heinz Riedle and Dennis Bergkamp after
netting three goals. “He saved us big time in
the final and stopped Van Basten’s penalty
against the Dutch, among many great saves.
If he hadn’t performed at the top level during
those games, we would have lost. We could
have been 3-0 down to the Germans after 20
minutes – he kept us alive.”
Schmeichel made a record 129 outings for
Denmark – but understandably, the highlight
will always be that success over Germany onJune 26, 1992. “We met up this summer on
the day, and it’s something that really means
a lot to every single one of us – we like to be
together and celebrate the victory,” he says,
of a reunion that has long since become an
annual tradition. “It’s a mixed bag, because
the background of our participation at that
tournament was tragic, and that’s part of
the story, too. But you win a competition like
that – bloody hell, what I can say? As Sir Alex
said, ‘Football, bloody hell’.”WIKI GEEKS
When Schmeichel returned to England after
Euro 92, he would soon have more success
to celebrate. The Dane kept 18 clean sheets
in 1992-93, as Manchester United ended their
long wait for the league crown.
They were confirmed as champions when
Aston Villa lost 1-0 to Oldham – Schmeichel
had taken an afternoon nap, discovering the
score when he woke with only five minutes
remaining, then relieving the tension of the
closing stages by playing the piano. When the
final whistle blew at Villa Park, he dashed out
into the street and celebrated with neighbour
and team-mate, Steve Bruce.
“It was a special moment,” he says. “We’d
been there or thereabouts the season before,
and just needed a little bit extra – the signing
of Eric Cantona did the trick. I don’t think it
was a big surprise to many people, ourselves
included, as the team had been moulded –
the whole mentality and culture of the club
had been worked on to win the league again
at some point. We had such a strong team,Schmeichel arrived at a club that had just
finished sixth, and hadn’t lifted the league
title since 1966-67. The 27-year-old wanted
to change that.
“I left Denmark with four titles in five years,
so winning was my main energy source,” he
says. “I wanted to win every game, I wanted
to win every competition that I was playing
in. My team-mates at Brondby were similar,
and once you’ve got that mentality, it never
changes. Then I came into an environment
led by Alex Ferguson, where the requirements
and obligations were pretty much the same
to what I’d left at Brondby.”
In his maiden campaign at Old Trafford,
Schmeichel came so close to helping United
end their title drought. They led the league
for much of the season, only to lose three of
their last four matches and finish second to
rivals Leeds. “We let the title slip away in the
last two weeks of the season, and that was
really disappointing,” he says. “I remember
going back home during the break, not even
wanting to think about football for a while.
The European Championship in Sweden was
that summer, but Denmark weren’t involved
- it was terrible.”
Or at least he thought Denmark weren’t
involved, having missed out on qualification
six months earlier. Then everything changed.
On May 31, just 10 days before the start of
the tournament, Yugoslavia were kicked out
of the Euros, following UN sanctions imposed
after the outbreak of the Bosnian War. As
runners-up in Yugoslavia’s qualifying group,
Denmark were summoned as replacements.
Even then, they took just one point from
their first two group matches – drawing 0-0
with England before losing 1-0 to the hosts.
Schmeichel was convinced their involvement
in the competition would be short, but a 2-1
victory over Michel Platini’s France squeezed
them into the semi-finals.
Below His first
of three FA Cup
triumphs came
two years after
Euro 92 success
with Denmark