Kasper Schmeichel is a very good goalkeeper currently enjoying a fine spell of form for high-flying Leicester City, but it seems as though any time his name is brought up, so is that of his legendary father, and that seriously pisses off the both of them.
In a recent interview with Oliver Holt for Mail On Sunday, Kasper told of an interaction with a fan that is far too frequent for his liking. Denmark's #1 revealed that while some fans bring up his father as sort of an intro to a discussion, he isn't a fan of that at all and instantly seeks to get away from the situation:
'The guy said, "You're doing well, you'll never be as good as your dad, though",' says Schmeichel.
I said, "Thank you, mate, cheers".
"Oh, come on, I'm only having a laugh."
I said, "Well, have you had your laugh? Are you fine? Good. Can I go now?"
"It's not meant like that", the guy said.
I said, "Well, explain to me, what is it then?"
"I was just having a laugh".
I said, "Mate, you don't think I've heard that before? I've heard that for, what, the last 15 years. Well, you've had your laugh. So can I leave please?"It turns out like that a lot. People, I don't know why, they can't just come over and talk to you, they have to try and have a laugh.
"Great save the other day. I think your dad would have caught it, though".
"Brilliant. Cheers, mate", I say.
Sounds like a sensitive issue, doesn't it? That's because it is, for both Kasper and Peter.
The Leicester keeper explained how since a young age he has been known as Peter's son, all throughout his youth career, and even now at the age of 29 he claims that people still see him as a child.
But his Dad hates it even more:
I have always let it slide, let it slide, let it slide but I have reached the point in my life where I am 29-years-old, I'm a father. I think, "No, I'm not going to let it slide any more".
My dad hates it, too. And he's ruthless. We were out for dinner a couple of weeks ago and some guy came over and shook his hand and said, "You're a legend, mate. Your son's doing well but he'll never be as good as you". My dad looked at him and said, "Just go. You're going to come here and insult my son and think you're going to get away with it?" It's got to a point now where if you're going to talk to me, talk to me. Don't come and try and have a laugh and try and half-insult me. I'm happy to talk to anybody but do it in the right manner. I'm not going to buy into it any more.
So there you have it, if you ever bump into Kasper or Peter Schmeichel, for the love of God don't mention the other one.
In all seriousness, Kasper's comments are honest, and something we typically don't hear from footballers. Many will point to the amount of money he earns per week and claim that he should have a thicker skin, but at 29 years old he's clearly had enough of it.
You can read the extremely interesting interview in full over on DailyMail.co.uk.
