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Peter Schmeichel shares what ‘still sits badly’ with him about his time at Aston Villa
Back in 2001, Aston Villa shocked the football world when they announced the signing of Peter Schmeichel on a free transfer.
At the time, Schmeichel had just completed a two-year spell with Sporting Lisbon and, two years earlier, had won the Treble with Mꦉanchester United.
Meanwhile, Aston Villa just finished e✤ighth in the Premier League table and had qualified for the Intertoto Cup, which 𓄧gave them the opportunity to quality for the UEFA Cup.
Sc🍃hmeichel penned a one-year contract with Villa, along with a year’s option, but the club opted not to take this up the following summer.
The Denmark l🐲egend has 💃now spoken about his time at Villa Park and revealed what “still sits badly” with him about his spell at B6.
Peter Schmeichel says he loved Aston Villa but didn’t like how he learned he had no future at B6
Schmeichel, speaking on The Rest is Football podcast, described his move to Villa as “perfect” and said he loved the ꦯstadium, the fans and manager John Gregory.
However, he fell out of favour under Graham Taylor, who succeeded Gregory at🍸 Villa Park, and it wasn’t long before he l꧟earned he wouldn’t be staying past the summer of 2002.
✤“My perfect move back to the Premier League was Aston Villa,” began Schmeichel.
“And it still sits badౠly wit🅠h me that I have to leave Aston Villa because I absolutely loved being there.
“I loved working with John Gregory, I loved th🦂e fans, I loved theꦚ stadium, I had so much history in that Stadium.
“But Graham Taylor, who took over a🍬fter John Gregory, he just didn’t want players like me as a sꦑimple fact.”
Schmeichel ﷽then explained a convers💖ation he had with Taylor in his office that the goalkeeper said was a particularly bitter pill to swallow.
“It was probably my darkest moment in my footballing life,” continued Schmeichel. “That he called me into his office – with a long time of the season still to go – to tell me that they were not going 🍸to take the option they had on me for the next season.
“I 🌺said that was fine because I didn’t like being there with him, and he said ‘and you’re not playing anymore’ – and that, I mean, thaꦉt was humiliating for me.
“He said෴ that he didn’t want to be ‘the manager who saw me go downhill’ – that was his words. He said I had a fine career, I don’t want to be the man…
“I know the background for that and but that, still to this 🧔day, sits really badly with me.
“If I had had the opportunity to stay at Aston Villa I probably would have played on for for a bit more than what ☂I did.”
Peter Schmeichel’s history-making moment for Aston Villa
Although Schmeichel only madeꦕ 29 appearan⭕ces for Aston Villa, he still managed to make Premier League history while at the club.
On 20 October 2001, Schmeichel became the first goalkeeper to ꦦscore a Premier League goal, in a 3–2 defeat away to Evert𒈔on.
Only five goalkeepers have repeated the feat in 𒀰the Premier League since Schmeichel🅺.
They were Blackburn Rovers’ Brad Friedel on in 2004, Tottenham’s Paul Robinson in 2007; Everton’s Tim Howard in 2012; Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic in ♋2013; and Liverpool’s Alisson Becker in 2021.