Kasper Schmeichel met the Celtic fan media, including The Celtic Star, at Celtic Park on Thursday afternoon, here’s exactly what happened…
— The Celtic Star News Feed (@CelticStarMag) August 3, 2024
Q: You spoke about your days playing under Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City being some of your happiest. What are the stand-out qualities that make him such a good coach to work for?
Kasper Schmeichel: “There are many. For me, the most important skill that any manager should have is man management. If you then, on top of that, have a very clear and set identity of how you want to play then I think you’re well on your way. But for me, it’s mostly his man-management skills that really help me personally. His understanding of players and the clarity he gives. Particularly for a goalkeeper, when you have the ball at your feet, the ideas he has and the things that he wants you to do aren’t overly complicated. So that clarity is really important.”
Q: When did you first hear of interest from Celtic?
Kasper Schmeichel: “It was probably three or four days after we [Denmark] went out of the Euros to Germany. That was probably the first time.”
Q: Easy decision to make?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Very. There were a few other bits of interest but as soon as I spoke to Brendan, there wasn’t really a question of what I wanted to do.”
The Celtic Star: How did you decide that this would be the next step in your career?
Kasper Schmeichel: “A Facetime call with Brendan. That was pretty much it. It didn’t take long. I was out of contract so it was quite an easy deal to make. The only issue that we had was that I was in Sardinia with my family and we needed to get a medical done and because of the timings of everything, they didn’t want me to miss too many days because it was only a two-week holiday. So that was the only thing that made things take a little bit longer but it was a really easy decision.”
The Celtic Star: How big of a moment will it be to play in your first Glasgow Derby in September?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Very big. I snuck myself into an Old Firm derby when I was a player at Falkirk so I saw it from the stands and I’m looking forward to experiencing it as a player.”
Q: Are there any tactical differences from working under Brendan at Leicester to now at Celtic?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Not really. I think he has a clear philosophy of how he wants football to be played. He’s one of those coaches who is clever enough and astute enough to know and adapt small things to whatever personnel he has available to him. I think any manager has to also be able to not be too stringent with how they want to do things. They have to be able to see if the players available to you are able to do those things. In my eyes, he’s a top manager.”
Q: How has it been taking Viljami Sinisalo under your wing and helping him to develop?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Vil’s been top drawer. The games he’s played, the times he’s got on the pitch and the time on the training pitch has been really good, really impressive. Trained really well today, made a couple of great saves. Yeah, I’ve been really impressed by him. He’s a very nice guy, very humble. For me, the most important thing for any young goalkeeper is their willingness to learn and he certainly has that.”
Q: Do you think he can reach the top level?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Definitely.”
Q: Joe Hart retiring left a gap in the leadership of the squad. What’s that like for you trying to take that leadership on?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Listen, I’ve been Premier League captain, I’ve been national team captain, so it’s not something that’s unfamiliar to me. For me, it’s about not trying to be something you’re not. I’m not Joe, I’m myself, I’ll lead in the same way I’ve always done. I’ll try and lead by example, try and make sure that I’m available and open to anyone who needs any advice. If I see something glaring then I’ll obviously say it myself but I think the most important thing for any leader is that you’re there to serve, you’re there to help the team, you’re there to do whatever you need to do to get the team to where we want it to go, and to be available, and yeah, I’m available.”
Q: You said on a Ben Foster podcast episode that you worked with a former military general to learn more about psychology and leadership. Was there anything that you learned from that experience that you still use today?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Yeah, loads. I still use him to this day. I still speak to him a lot. I think leadership is something that can be transferred into most professions. There are obviously certain variables and certain things you have to adapt but in terms of leadership, like I said, availability is a massive thing. Openness, being available to help and support. Being able to communicate and share your experiences. But yeah, there are lots and lots of things. I recommend his book called Follow Me. I recommend that to anybody, it’s a really good read and something that I learned a lot from.”
Q: How can you see the importance of your ability on the ball transferring over to the Champions League where Celtic may play on the back foot a bit more than domestically?
Kasper Schmeichel:: “European football is a different animal. You come up against so many different types of football that I think it’s really important to be able to adapt. If you’re playing against certain types of teams, then you need to be able to try and impose your style, your will on them. If that’s not possible, then you have to be able to adapt, you have to be able to survive. If that’s staying in a lower block and using counter-attacks, I mean, we won a Premier League title doing that at Leicester.
“There’s no set way that’s right or wrong of playing but European games do tend to be more ruthless because you don’t get many chances to score, so when you do get those chances, you have to take them. But in terms of myself and my role, it doesn’t really change. I’m available, I’m there to use if needed. The idea isn’t to use the keeper all the time, the idea is to pass forward, but sometimes it’s not possible. Sometimes you have to restart. And I think the best example of that in the world is Manchester City. They are patient.
“What they do is that they wear teams down. I’ve played against them a few times. I’ve beat them and I’ve been on the end of a few bad results to them but what they do is that they tire you out. Physically and mentally, you’re running after the ball and they counter-press so well and that’s the level that we have to get to. We have to be able to keep and maintain the ball and when we lose it, we have to keep that intensity and I think that, if anything, the pre-season we’ve had, I think we’ve done really well and that now needs to transfer not just to the league but also to Europe.”
Q: How do you balance the challenges of the Champions League compared to the dominance of domestic football?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Those are the best games. The role of the goalkeeper is to be as invisible as possible. The best games are the ones you have nothing to do in people’s eyes, but those are the ones where you have communicated, you have shifted, you have worked with the defence, with the midfield, with the attack, and everything is in-sync and you don’t see the goalkeeper making saves, you don’t see the goalkeeper doing anything eye-catching. Those, for me, are the best performances because those are when we’re clicking as a team when we’re working at our absolute best. That’s part of football. That’s part of being at a club the size of Celtic. I mentioned Manchester City before, there are big periods where their goalkeeper is out of the game and that can be sometimes what it’s like, particularly in the Scottish league, but you have to adapt and if games change, momentum changes, red cards, European games, whatever, then you have to be able to adapt.”
Q: You worked under Sven-Göran Eriksson at a couple of different clubs. How was he to work under? Did he really benefit your development and getting to where you wanted to be?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Definitely. I worked with Sven at three different clubs. Sven, when you look at his career, is remarkable. When you look at the clubs he’s managed and the things he’s done. The first time I met him as a Man City player on the way out the door, he convinced me to stay. He was the first person to call me world-class, in terms of my speed on the line and things like that. As a young goalkeeper then, for someone of his stature to say those words, that made me feel a million dollars. That gave me so much confidence and it meant a lot to me, particularly coming from him. That provided me with a stepping stone to take that step into being a senior goalkeeper and into being a reliable goalkeeper. I worked with him at Notts County and then he brought me to Leicester which I’ll always be thankful for because it gave me 11 incredible years at that club. Sven will always be a special guy for me.”
Q: How was it after leaving Leicester and going to France? What were the main differences you saw after being in England pretty much your whole career?
Kasper Schmeichel: “What you learn, looking back on it now, is that it’s probably done me a lot of good in the sense of when you are somewhere for 11 years, you have your routines, you have your ways of doing things and I kind of just thought that football was the same everywhere, but what I’ve learned is that it isn’t. So for me to go and experience that, a different culture, a different style of play, has been really beneficial. In terms of personal life, I loved my time living in the south of France, it was an incredible time and I’ll probably move back there one day when my kids are grown up but yeah, it is just different. I can’t really put my finger on what is different but obviously, the Premier League is the Premier League. It is the pinnacle of football, in my opinion. And I think that anywhere I went after that would never be able to compare to the Premier League because that’s what I had grown up with as a kid watching. That was the dream when I was a youngster training to be a goalkeeper, to play in the Premier League, and I did that for many years and I loved every single minute of it. You learn when you leave how special it really is, so that’s probably the main difference. Sorry, I can’t really name a main difference. Other than the weather!”
Q: Was there any specific piece of advice that Joe Hart gave you before you came here?
Kasper Schmeichel: “No. All he said was ‘enjoy it’. He said, ‘enjoy it’ and ‘you’re going to love it’. I know Joe and he knows me very well so he knows my personality, he knows the things that I buzz off so he just said to me, ‘you’re going to love it here’.”
Q: How do you think the new Champions League format will benefit Celtic?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I have no idea. I’m still trying to work the new format out! I’m really interested to see how it’s going to work. Hopefully it will benefit us but I’m still trying to figure out exactly how it’s going to impact everybody.”
Q: Any particular team you want to face?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I love playing against the best, so anybody. I’d love anybody.”
Q: Can you speak about your time under John Hughes?
Kasper Schmeichel: “Very inspirational. A lot of learning. It was an introduction to top-level football. For a manager of his stature to put his trust in someone my age. I mean goalkeeper is the position of ultimate responsibility, you can’t make mistakes, and if you make mistakes you cost your team. Usually, managers, they are sacked quite quickly if they lose, so for someone to put their trust in someone my age at that time in such a big position on the pitch, it’s not as if I’m an outfielder who can be subbed on and off, that’s a big responsibility to have. So for him to give me that responsibility, that was something that taught me a lot.”
Q: What attributes of your game do you think Celtic fans should be most excited for?
Kasper Schmeichel: “I’m not the type of guy who is going to be proclaiming to be this that or the other. Like I said, the best games are going to be the ones that you won’t notice me in. Those are my favourites, that’s when as a team we’re at our best and the only thing that ultimately counts in football is winning. That’s what you’re measured on and when I look back at my career now, I only remember the wins.”
Q: Something that has changed over the years is the development of stats in football. Are advanced stats something that you use to judge your own performance?
Kasper Schmeichel: “No. I don’t believe that there is a way to judge goalkeepers with stats. Goalkeeping is such a strange profession because a lot of it is about feeling. So, do you feel safe having this person in your goal? If you do that, then it’s successful. I don’t think you can measure that in any way. I also don’t believe that any stat can measure how good you are or how bad you are. Again, it all comes down to feeling because there’s no-one who can tell me you can have a shot and say ‘I couldn’t save it’ or ‘I can save it’. There are so many variables involved that I don’t believe that you can use stats for too much when it comes to goalkeeping.”
