Schmeichel father and son.
Genes are a magical thing.
Caspar Schmeichel stood in front of the goal, he did not have the command of his father, did not have his father's stormy roar, but the moment he saved, the faces of the father and son seemed to twist with time and space.
In extra time, Schmeichel Jr. renewed his life for Denmark.
Saved three penalties from Croatia in one night, breaking the record held by his father not to concede... Although the Danish team is out, Schmeichel, the great surname, is passed down at the World Cup.
As Wenger once said, hopefully, in the future, we will never again meet Schmeichel's grandson.
Caspar Schmeichel as a child with his father.
Genes don't lie
This is the fifth time in the history of the Danish team to participate in the World Cup, reaching the round of 16 for the third time. Up front, they have Core Eriksen, and at the back, they have Caspar Schmeichel.
Fast forward to the 1990s, when his father, Peter Schmeichel, was an impenetrable wall in front of the Danish team.
Many Chinese fans remember that the 1992 European Championship, originally a Danish team that replaced Yugoslavia, finally passed the hurdles, crowned the final champion, and created the "Danish fairy tale" that has been passed down in football to this day.
In that glorious moment, Peter Schmeichel was one of the witnesses and founders.
As the son of Peter Schmeichel, Caspar Schmeichel was naturally known as the "Little Schmeichel". Under the influence of his father, he chose the same position as his father - a goalkeeper.
"When he trained with a team, I didn't think he was the son of Peter [Schmeichel Sr.]... When he played the first team, we all knew he was Peter's son. This is sun Jihai's words when he was at Manchester City, mentioning the younger Schmeichel.
It turns out that the Schmeichel family does have an excellent goalkeeper "gene".
In the first round of the group stage of the World Cup in Russia, Denmark played against Peru and won 1-0. Schmeichel Jr. made as many as 6 saves throughout the game and even "scared" his opponent into a penalty.
After the match, Denmark's consecutive record of not conceding goals (470 minutes) was set a new. Coincidentally, the original historical record was created by Peter Schmeichel.
In the second round of the group stage, with Australia scoring a penalty, the record was fixed at 571 minutes.
Schmeichel Jr. said, "I talked to my father about this record after the game and we didn't realize it before. ”
I'm the Dad of the Premier League champions
On the football field, having a famous father is both an advantage and a disadvantage.
For a long time, Casper did not want people to compare him to his father, and any teenager would have a period of rebellion.
"Maybe a lot of people think that with a father who has won so many championships, my career will be easier than others, but it's not."
'When I was eight years old, someone would point at me behind the goal and say, 'Look, he's Peter Schmeichel's son.'"
Although the father stood at the peak of his life at Manchester United, his son's football road began at Manchester City.
As early as 2002, the 16-year-old Schmeichel Jr. came to Manchester City, but he was not reused, and after being constantly loaned, he resolutely chose to leave in order to play time.
Subsequently, he moved to lower clubs such as Notts County and Leeds United, and with his loan experience, he "wandered" to play for as many as 8 teams in the five years from 2006 to 2011.
"I just want to play the game. If you just sit on the bench and get paid, you won't learn anything. As it turns out, he really didn't let his time slip up.
In 2011, he was "abandoned" by Leeds United to join Leicester City, who was still in the Championship at the time.
Schmeichel Jr. saved in the match.
It was here that he finally found the glory of his life. In the 2013-2014 season, he and the team rushed to overtake six rounds ahead of schedule. In the 2015-2016 season, Leicester claimed to have miraculously won the Premier League title, with Schmeichel Jr. playing all 38 league rounds and conceding no goals in 15 league games.
In this way, as Danish players, Schmeichel and his father have completed the great achievement of winning the Championship in the Premier League. Coincidentally, both times it was may 2.
"I won the Premier League title, which is a great achievement for me, no matter who my father is, I have done it in my own strength."
After winning the championship, the elder Schmeichel sent a tweet: I am the father of the Premier League champion!
Schmeichel Jr. saved Modric's penalty.
Introverted and calm leader
Although he inherited his father's surname, Schmeichel Jr. and his father were not of the same type. In stature, he is slightly shorter than his father, so he pays more attention to protecting the goal by prejudging and moving ahead.
In terms of personality, he and the hot-tempered old Schmeichel are also clearly different, danish football star Laudrup described it this way, "Caspar is more calm, and Peter always shouts, almost driving people crazy." ”
Indeed, he is calmer and more restrained than his father, and does not curse his teammates endlessly every game like his father did. He is also the leader of the team, but he is a leader who feels more close.
Seeing his son save the penalty, the elder Schmeichel was very excited.
In life, Schmeichel Jr. prefers to stay at home and watch Federer's tennis matches more – Casper has mentioned many times that he has improved the efficiency of his movements in the penalty area by studying Federer's tennis movement footwork.
As he himself said, "When I was a kid, I saw those legendary Players of Manchester United every day. People only saw Beckham play beautiful free kicks, but they didn't see the hundreds of free kick practices he practiced in training. ”
Caspar Schmeichel lifted the Premier League trophy with his father.
Previously, Denmark's best result in the World Cup was to reach the quarterfinals at the 1998 World Cup in France. That history was created with the help of Peter Schmeichel.
But unfortunately, this time, Schmeichel Jr. ultimately failed to replicate his father's achievements and sent the team to the quarterfinals.
But four years later, at the age of 36, he may still follow the team and launch an impact on the new history of Danish football.
And this great surname still symbolizes Danish football. As Wenger put it: "I just hope not to meet Schmeichel's grandson again in the future." ”