The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Chapter 182 Schmeichel's Child Demon Dream

"Schmeichel absolutely loves Manchester United. He is the first player from outside England to claim that he is the goalkeeper of Manchester United's dream before joining the team. This makes Ferguson and the Manchester United board very happy, and the Manchester United fans are even happier."

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In the summer of 1991, the Red Devils opened up a new situation with the signings.

Because of the dazzling halo of the Cup Winners' Cup, the Red Devils are now the real European champions. With the cards, they are naturally confident, and more attractive to star chasers. Thanks to the successful listing, the Red Devils' board of directors suddenly became more generous, and the demand for Ferguson became very open, and they dared to make some big offers to the outside world.

The Red Devils received many letters of recommendation from agents of players from continental Europe, and many European players began to be willing to join them, giving Ferguson a wider range of choices and greater freedom.

Ferguson certainly would not give up such a good opportunity. The Red Devils had a flawed squad last season and needed to strengthen multiple positions. The most difficult problem was the goalkeeper position. At the end of last season, the main goalkeeper Healy suffered a serious knee injury and his level of performance dropped significantly. The Red Devils had to buy a goalkeeper as soon as possible. Ferguson originally wanted to choose a goalkeeper from England or the Scottish league, but at first glance, there was really no one who was very suitable, and the second goalkeepers of several competitors were not very suitable either.

Ferguson learned the lesson that it was very difficult to recruit local English superstars and strong players, so he directly set his sights on recruiting players from the European continent.

The goalkeeper position is so important that before the start of the season, the Red Devils' main goalkeeper Healy and former main goalkeeper Leighton were both cleared out, and the third goalkeeper Bosnich was too young and his performance was difficult to satisfy people. Therefore, Ferguson's recruitment was very decisive and fast, and the Red Devils quickly signed the target player - Schmeichel.

For Ferguson's Red Devils and Danish goalkeeper Schmeichel, this signing is a risk.

Ferguson's adventure soon reaped a surprise. Schmeichel only cost the Red Devils 50 pounds at the time. The 27-year-old Danish goalkeeper became the mainstay of the Red Devils' goal, contributing an irreplaceable role to the Red Devils' rise and the miracle of the Treble. He is the biggest confidence of the Red Devils to dominate the Premier League and one of the most outstanding goalkeepers in the history of the Red Devils.

For goalkeeper Schmeichel, who is still playing for Brondby, this signing is also very successful. He has realized a dream he had since childhood: to play for the great club of the Red Devils.

Schmeichel is a Red Devils fan since childhood. This "childhood dream" was once unexpected at first, but the Danish goalkeeper does have such a goal and ambition.

It was because of this special fate that Schmeichel, who was already the goalkeeper of the Danish national team at the time, joined the Red Devils so smoothly. Ferguson and the Red Devils defeated the offers of multiple club rivals in the English League One and were once at a disadvantage in terms of salary, but in the end they still had the last laugh in this talent war.

Among them, the most rare and the most crucial one is Schmeichel's "Children's Demon Dream". His own wish is to join the Red Devils!

Schmeichel was already famous at the time. He played for Brondby, a well-known strong team in Denmark, and was the goalkeeper of the Nordic powerhouse Denmark. At the age of 27, Schmeichel was just at the best age for a goalkeeper. Although Schmeichel had not won the European Cup at the time and was not yet a truly top-notch goalkeeper in Europe, in the eyes of Ferguson and his team, this brave Dane was the most suitable goalkeeper for the Red Devils.

Schmeichel was born on November 1963, 11 in the municipality of Gladsaxe, Denmark, and holds dual Danish and Polish citizenship. When Schmeichel was a teenager, he studied at the youth training camp of the Gladsaxe Hero Football Club in Denmark, and showed his football talent since he was 18 years old. Although he had no worries about food and clothing, Peter was a very self-reliant person. In addition to training and playing football in the team, he also worked in local textile factories, flooring companies, nursing homes, World Wildlife Fund and other companies and organizations. Not only that, Peter also has a very high emotional intelligence. In this club, he chased the daughter of head coach Hansen and became Hansen's son-in-law.

In 1984, Schmeichel was promoted to the first team of Gladsachs Heroes and began his professional career. Later, he played for Hvidovre and Brondby. Due to the income and expenditure level of the Danish league, Schmeichel's salary when he joined Hvidovre was not high, but in order to make up for his income, the club owner Mr. Madsen arranged a job for him in his advertising company. Schmeichel has excellent talent and has grown rapidly in the professional league. In the spring of 1987, he joined the Danish giant Brondby. When playing for Brondby, Schmeichel was 191cm tall, his wingspan exceeded 200cm, and his weight reached 85kg. He was a goalkeeper who met the perfect physical standards of a goalkeeper. Born in Northern Europe, Schmeichel not only has an excellent body, but also an extremely strong physique, as strong as a giant. His personality also has the characteristics of Nordic people, mixed with calmness and enthusiasm, simple, direct, and confident. Schmeichel has a nickname in Denmark called "Great Dane" - he likes this nickname very much and thinks it fits his bravery and calmness.

In his first season with Brondby, Schmeichel entered a highlight state: he performed well, reacted quickly, attacked bravely, and made heroic saves. He saved countless dangerous balls, turned the tide many times, and helped the team quickly improve its defensive level.

This season, Brondby was even more powerful after getting Schmeichel, and the whole team shined as a result. Schmeichel improved the team's defense by himself, reducing the number of goals conceded to half of the level of the previous season. The team's offense continued to be strong, and the team eventually won the league title with an impressive record of a 9-point lead.

Starting from 1987, Schmeichel has maintained a high output in the four years he played here, helping the team win the league championship three times and become the overlord of the Danish league. In the 1990-91 season, Brondby participated in the UEFA Cup. Schmeichel created a record of 7 clean sheets in games against five teams including Frankfurt, Ferencvaros (Hungary), Leverkusen, Torpedo Moscow and Roma, and became the hero in the penalty shootout against Torpedo Moscow. Although Brondby lost to Roma in the semi-finals, Schmeichel was still one of the best players in the team. Thanks to his excellent performance in the European arena, Schmeichel was selected into the best team of the UEFA Cup that year.

Schmeichel quickly gained the favor of the national team and chose to play for Denmark. In the key matches of the Danish national team in the European arena, Schmeichel had an extremely outstanding performance.

In the summer of 1991, no one had linked the Red Devils with Schmeichel. No one knew when Ferguson sent scouts to investigate the Danish goalkeeper, when Ferguson became interested in Schmeichel, or why he made the deal so quickly.

Schmeichel was very busy in the 90-91 season. In addition to playing in the domestic league, he also had to play in the UEFA Cup and the national team. In 1990, Schmeichel did not take the initiative to say that he wanted to join the Red Devils in an interview, but when Ferguson sent someone to deliver the news in early 1991, Schmeichel suddenly suffered from insomnia.

The Red Devils hope to negotiate with Brondby Club to introduce Schmeichel. Ferguson hopes that Schmeichel will serve as the number one goalkeeper after joining. This mature and steady big guy immediately became very proactive.

The Red Devils made an offer to Brondby, and Schmeichel also received an invitation from Ferguson. This was hard for Schmeichel, who had always hoped to make a career, to refuse. Schmeichel suppressed his inner excitement, issued a statement saying that he wanted to join the Red Devils, and directly applied for a transfer to the club. While this transfer event was still quietly operating, on May 1991, 5, the Danish national team played a warm-up match with the England team at Wembley Stadium. Although Schmeichel was scored a goal in the warm-up match and Denmark lost to the opponent 15-0, Schmeichel performed very well. He took the ball high and low, took the initiative to attack, and blocked many shots from England. This highlight performance aroused the interest of more English teams to buy him. Liverpool, QPR, West Ham United and Newcastle United all sent invitations. Many media are speculating which team Schmeichel will play for, and some clubs are reported to offer much higher prices than the Red Devils.

At the critical moment, Ferguson personally called Schmeichel's agent, hoping to sign the contract and finalize the transfer as soon as possible.

The agent's reply on the phone was so comfortable that I almost flew. "It is a definite choice for Schmeichel to join the Manchester United because he has loved the Manchester United team since he was a child. Joining the Manchester United is his dream."

The contract was quickly finalized, and Ferguson got Schmeichel. Although many fans did not understand why Schmeichel chose Manchester United instead of other clubs, many Manchester United fans were still excited when he said that he was the dream of Manchester United.

Yes, Schmeichel is the real "child demon dream", and this firm signing can prove it.

Schmeichel's love for the Red Devils made him determined. He always maintained a positive attitude towards joining the Red Devils, and even used the power of reporters to promote the team's negotiations. When the team faced various choices, he took the initiative to express his attitude, which finally made him get his wish. On June 1991, 6, he officially joined the Red Devils and became the first Danish star in the Red Devils.

When Schmeichel officially met Ferguson, he was extremely excited and nervous, unable to speak. He just held Ferguson's hand tightly, unwilling to let go even though it hurt. Ferguson's face changed color due to the pain.

Schmeichel also met the team legend Bobby Charlton for the first time in the team. He was so excited that he spoke incoherently. Schmeichel said, "I admire Charlton and Best very much. I think joining the Red Devils is of great significance. My childhood dream has finally come true."

Many years later, Ferguson said: "Signing a goalkeeper in the summer of 1991 was our most urgent matter. Hilly could no longer play due to a serious knee injury, and Leighton could no longer be relied on. In 1990, I had already asked the football world to pay attention to goalkeepers in various leagues. One day Norris told me that there was a player in Brondby, Denmark who might be a good fit for us. Although his goal line skills might be a little worse, he was very strong inside, strong in body, quick to react, and a big game player. He has a trait in the goalkeeper position, that is, the more excited he is, the better his performance will be."

Ferguson was overjoyed. He immediately arrived in Denmark with Norris, watched Schmeichel's game live, and also watched the UEFA Cup match between Brondby and Roma. After returning, he immediately finalized the goal.

Ferguson said: "We did not wait until the end of the season to start negotiations. In fact, we sent a message to Brondby very early and made an offer. 50 pounds is not a big sum in the English transfer market, but it is already amazing in Denmark."

Ferguson thought Schmeichel was unimaginably good, and that he was the best choice for the Red Devils in terms of both goalkeeping skills and personality traits. When introducing Schmeichel, he told all the players in the Red Devils dressing room: "This big guy is from Denmark. He is a guy who pursues victory, has extraordinary passion and a character that never admits defeat."

In addition to Schmeichel, Ferguson made a sudden move earlier and signed Kanchelskis from Donetsk in Ukraine for £65, a right-wing attacker who is said to be fast enough to fly; and spent another £130 million to sign Paul Parker, a steady English right-back, from Queens Park Rangers.

There were many star players on the transfer market at that time, and a new generation of English talent represented by Gascoigne and Alan Shearer had already shone, but none of them ended up wearing the Red Devils jersey. These star players were too expensive, and none of them were truly "childhood devils".

Many players left the Red Devils. Vivi Anderson went to Sheffield Wednesday as early as the winter transfer window in January 1991, and Les Healy, the meritorious goalkeeper who helped the Red Devils win the FA Cup in 1, went to Aston Villa.

Ferguson also gave up on Bosnich, Ralph Miner, David Wilson, Dennis Graham and many others, most of whom had never played a game. Bosnich would later return to play for the Red Devils, but surprisingly, he never cherished the opportunity to join the Red Devils twice, wasting his time and leaving behind a bunch of jokes in his career.