Peter Schmeichel

A larger than life figure, one of the world's greatest-ever keepers mastered his art with his immense frame effectively reducing the goal size whilst his verbal presence demanded the best from his defenders. Peter's career began at Hvidovre. The 'Great Dane' moved on to Brondby where he won the Danish championship in 1987, 1988 and 1989, their FA Cup in 1989 and was named Denmark's Player of the Year in 1990. A bigger stage awaited and it was suitably found in 1991 at Manchester United. His time between the Old Trafford sticks coincided with United's unprecedented success. In eight seasons, the Premiership title was secured on five occasions (1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1999), along with three FA Cup wins (1994, 1996, 1999), one League Cup (1992) and a European Super Cup. It came to a perfect finale in 1999 when United completed their epic treble with Peter captaining the Reds as they won the European Champions' League Final against Bayern Munich. His next stop was Sporting Lisbon where his first season culminated in the Portuguese title coming to the Estadio Jose Alvalade in 2000 for the first time in 18 years. Peter returned to the Premiership in 2001 when he joined Aston Villa before his final season (2002-03) at Manchester City.

The highlight of his international career was undoubtedly Denmark's remarkable success in the 1992 European Championships. The last of his record 129 caps was against Slovenia in April 2001. His influence on English football was recognised in 2000 when he was awarded an honorary MBE.