Leicester City In 100 Players: Kasper Schmeichel
In his 11 years at Leicester City, between 2011 and 2022, goalkeeper Schmeichel won more silverware than any other player in the Club’s history, winning the Championship title, the Premier League title, the FA Cup and the FA Community Shield.
Only two other players in City’s entire history have surpassed Schmeichel’s total of 479 games for the Club, during which he kept 144 clean sheets. On the international front, having represented Denmark at Under-19s, Under-20s and Under-21s levels before signing for Leicester, Kasper went on to win the first 84 of his current total of 99 senior caps for his country while on Filbert Way, thereby setting a Club record.
He played in the 2018 FIFA World Cup and reached the Semi-Finals at UEFA EURO 2020, staged a year later than planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also Denmark’s Player of the Year on four occasions.
He started his club career at Manchester City in 2002, going out on loan spells to Darlington, Bury, Falkirk, Cardiff and Coventry. He also spent a year each – on permanent deals – at Notts County and Leeds United before joining Leicester City in June 2011. In his first season at Leicester, he won the Player of the Year and the Players’ Player of the Year awards.
He won his first Denmark senior cap and was in the PFA Championship Team of the Year in 2012/13 and again in 2013/14 when Leicester City won promotion to the Premier League as Championship title holders. He became a key member of the teams which managed the Great Escape in 2015, won the Premier League in 2016 and reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League in 2017, after saving penalties in both legs in the Round of 16 against Sevilla.
That season, he also scooped the Leicester City Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards again. In both 2019/20 and 2020/21, meanwhile, he helped Leicester City qualify for the UEFA Europa League.
He was Leicester City’s captain when they won the FA Cup in 2021, the Community Shield 12 weeks later and then reached the UEFA Europa Conference League Semi-Final against AS Roma in 2022. Since leaving Leicester City in August 2022, as one of the Club’s all-time greats, Kasper now plays for Anderlecht, after spending a year at Nice.