Schmeichel & Morgan’s Tributes To Khun Vichai
Schmeichel and Morgan are two of the Club’s longest-serving players, having joined the Foxes during the early stages of the Srivaddhanaprabha family’s ownership in 2011 and 2012 respectively.
The Club marked the one-year anniversary on an emotional afternoon at King Power Stadium during the visit of Burnley, in which City had to show fight, as Khun Vichai would have wanted, to come from behind and record a 2-1 Premier League win.
“It’s a bit of a strange week,” Schmeichel said in the lead up to Sunday’s one-year anniversary of Khun Vichai’s death. “I can’t really believe it’s been a year.
“It’s still a very strange feeling, the whole thing. It still doesn’t seem real. It’s hard to describe. You have to get on with your life, you have to get on with your job, and time just flies all of a sudden.
“Here we are, a year later, and like I said, it still doesn’t seem real.”
According to Morgan, Khun Vichai’s fighting spirit is omnipresent, and acts as a source of inspiration as the Foxes continue their late Chairman’s legacy under the guidance of his son, Khun Top.
Morgan & Schmeichel: Honouring Khun Vichai's Legacy
Captain Wes Morgan and goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, two of Leicester City's longest-serving players, discuss their memories of Khun Vichai and the importance of our late Chairman's legacy.
“The wounds are still there, definitely,” reflected Morgan. “It’s been a year, but The Boss is constantly on our minds still, and every time we go onto field, we think about him.
“We want to make him proud with our actions. We know what he’s all about, we know what he wants from the Club and from the players and that is success. We want to make him proud and every time we go out there, we’ll try and win.”
Permanent tributes to ‘The Boss’ have been placed throughout King Power Stadium, including the first team dressing room, where Schmeichel says the Club’s stars are reminded of the origin of their success, which he attributes to Khun Vichai and the Srivaddhanaprabha family.
“At King Power Stadium, our dressing room is a constant reminder of the memories that we’ve had of him,” said Schmeichel. “There are mementos, there’s things we’ve had put up on the wall and things like that that remind us of him.
“All he ever asked from us was to fight, that was the only thing he ever said – keep fighting right until the end, whatever the result will be, it will be. The only thing he was asking for us was to keep fighting until the end and as long as we do that, he’d be happy.
“I think that’s a really good mentality to have, and it’s a good thing for us to be reminded of all the time. The reason we’re here, I think it’s safe to say that without him, none of us would be here – the history, the memories we’ve made together as a club and as a family, probably wouldn’t have happened.
“For myself, personally, he’s given stability in my life. I’ve been at our club for so long now and it’s been an amazing journey. I think for his family, the best thing we can do to help them through this period is make sure that they don’t have to think about the footballing side – that there’s no issues on the footballing side.
“As long as we take care of our jobs, they can have a little bit of joy from the fact that we’re doing well.”
The pride that Morgan, Schmeichel and their team-mates place in their performances came from a willingness to work hard for Khun Vichai, who would often wish them luck, with a distinctive smile, prior to their games.
Morgan said: “I think this club is unique in the sense where the owner spent lot of time around the boys. He used to come down when he was at the home games, even away games when he used to attend the away games, he used to come down and he would see the boys and have a joke and laugh with us.
“We had a close relationship with him, so from the outside looking in, people might think ‘why are they so sad?’, but in-house, we were very close with The Boss and the family. We spent a lot of time together.
“Obviously, everyone, the players, the staff and everyone involved with Leicester, took it very hard when he passed away. Obviously, like Kasper said, you walk around King Power Stadium and the training ground and you’re always reminded of things he did and the man he was.
“It’s a good thing, we want to go out there and we want to know what we’re fighting for. Obviously, we’re fighting for Leicester, we’re fighting for The Boss, and we’re fighting for ourselves, and it’s good to have those reminders each and every time we’re on the field to spur us on.”
It is not only Khun Vichai’s legacy that Schmeichel and his team-mates have vowed to carry on, but also the values of kindness and generosity that he instilled during nearly 10 years of chairmanship at the Football Club.
“He had plans in place and it’s up to us to honour them,” said Schmeichel. “I think what we’ll carry on and what we’ve talked a lot about is obviously his legacy, but his values. He was a very humble person, a very nice person to be around – someone who was very infectious.
“He made people laugh and had a really, really good presence. He set an example for everyone. In a football club, there are so many different types of people that work there, and he embraced absolutely everybody, and that’s an example to everybody in the Football Club.
“I think his values, they live on, and they set the example, they set the standard of this football club, and they set the standards for us on a daily basis where we have them in our dressing room and we’re reminded of them every day, that this is what it means to be a Leicester City player.”
On Sunday, the Vichai Srivaddhanapraba Memorial Garden will open at 2pm and during daylight hours thereafter to provide a permanent place of remembrance for Khun Vichai and reflection for the Club’s supporters.
Over the space of three weeks, the site where he and four others died in a helicopter accident has been transformed into an area of serenity.
“I think it will bring hopefully some closure to many people to actually be on the site and to see where it happened,” said Schmeichel. “I think that’s going to be a good thing for the entire Leicester City family.
“It’s nice for supporters of other football clubs that have heard about his legacy, character and personality, to go and pay tribute there.”
After Khun Vichai’s passing, Khun Top was named Leicester City Chairman in August 2019, and described his appointment as a great privilege, as he pursues his father’s dream of leading the Football Club into the next chapter of what has been an extraordinary story.
When asked about the work of Khun Top, Morgan said: “I think he’s been great. He knew what his father was all about. I think he’s just trying to follow in his footsteps and follow his example.
“He was there constantly with his dad at all the games and he knew how his father liked to work and go about his business. I feel like he’s more or less been prepped for the role, so to speak, so in terms of all the operations of the Club and everything that goes along with that, it’s pretty much the same.
“Top will come down to the games just like his father did and he’ll have a joke and a laugh with the boys. That’s exactly what The Boss did, and he’s just following in his footsteps and trying to continue to good work his dad did. He’s doing a great job.”
Echoing the captain’s thoughts, Schmeichel says Khun Top has showed his humble nature since his confirmation as Leicester City Chairman, and knows he has learned a great deal from working closely with his father, Khun Vichai.
“He was with his father all the time,” added Schmeichel. “I don’t think it’s anything new to him. He hasn’t actually had to take a new role on. I think his title might have changed, but he’s still himself and he has handled this situation impeccably.
“I don’t think you could imagine to lose a parent that way, being on the other side of the world, being that dignified and in control of your emotions.
“Obviously, behind closed doors, he must have been in a terrible way, but to be able to lead the Club when you’re feeling like that is a testament to someone. For someone so young, as well, it’s quite amazing.”