Peter Schmeichel, footballer

Desert Island Discs

BBC

Society & Culture, Music Commentary, Music, Personal Journals

4.4 • 13.7K Ratings

🗓️ 31 October 2021

⏱️ 37 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Peter Schmeichel is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the modern game. In 1999, he captained Manchester United in one of the most astonishing comebacks in football, as United won the Champions League with two goals in added time, completing a much-coveted Treble, along with the Premiership and the FA Cup. As well as winning numerous trophies during his years at Manchester United, he has played a record 129 times for Denmark, his national team. He was part of the Danish side who were surprise winners of the European Championships in 1992: Denmark were underdogs and only joined the tournament at the last minute, when Yugoslavia were forced to withdraw. During the 1990s, he was arguably the most recognised Dane in the world. He began his football career in Denmark before fulfilling his childhood dream and signing for Manchester United in 1991. His father was a professional musician, who insisted on piano and guitar lessons for the young Peter. Goalkeeping was not his choice: as young boy, he was told to play in goal by a teacher who was thought he might be too wild for the other youngsters on the pitch. Since retiring from the competitive game, Peter lives in Denmark but spends time travelling to see Manchester United play and he also follows his son, Kasper, who plays for Leicester City and Denmark. DISC ONE: We Are The Champions by Queen DISC TWO: Hymn To Freedom by Oscar Peterson DISC THREE: Rosanna by Toto DISC FOUR: Sultans Of Swing by Dire Straits DISC FIVE: Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder DISC SIX: Angels by Robbie Williams DISC SEVEN: In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins DISC EIGHT: The Girl Is Mine by Michael Jackson With Paul McCartney BOOK CHOICE: The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling) LUXURY ITEM: Peter’s guitar CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: The Girl Is Mine by Michael Jackson With Paul McCartney Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.4	Hello, I'm Lauren LeVern and this is the Deser Island Disks Podcast.
0:09.2	Every week I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book and luxury they'd want to take
0:13.6	with them if they were cast away to a desert island.
0:16.6	For right reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast.
0:20.7	I hope you enjoy listening.
0:42.6	My cast away this week is the former footballer Peter Schmeichel.
0:46.4	He was a gladiator in goal with a winning streak that followed him wherever he went.
0:50.6	As a schoolboy growing up just outside Copenhagen, he dreamed of playing for his beloved Manchester
0:56.4	United.
0:57.4	Years later, in 1999, he capped in the side in one of the most astonishing comebacks in football
1:04.3	as United won the Champions League with two goals in extra time, completing a much-coverted
1:10.0	treble along with a premiership and the FA Cup.
1:14.0	At six foot four, he was an indomitable presence in his penalty area and kept a clean sheet
1:19.0	for an exceptional 42% of his money-on-nighter appearances.
1:23.2	He's also the most capped Danish footballer ever, playing for his home nation a record
1:28.2	129 times.
1:30.4	He was the scourge of strikers and sometimes of his teammates too.
1:34.7	He says,
1:35.7	I took everything about my job extremely seriously.
1:38.8	I shouted throughout the games, I never compromised, never back down, I looked back and frankly,
1:44.0	I can see this guy who could be incredibly annoying to be around.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.