KASPER SCHMEICHEL insists he lives in a “beautiful world” as he prepares to bring down the curtain on his debut campaign at Celtic with a third winner’s medal.
The 38-year-old legendary Danish keeper has made only two appearances – Hibs (3-1) and St Mirren (1-1) – since sustaining a shoulder injury on international duty against Portugal on March 23.
But Schmeichel is poised to face Aberdeen on Saturday in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden, the same venue where he swooped to his left to deny Rangers’ Ridvan Yilmaz in the champions’ dramatic 5-4 penalty-kick shoot-out success following a see-sawing 3-3 stalemate in the Premier Sports League Cup showpiece in mid-December.
Once again, the netminder’s timing is perfect as he prepares for a return to the national stadium and he said: “It’s very nice to be back.
HAMPDEN HEROES…Kasper Schmeichel and Daizen Maeda celebrate the Premier Sports League Cup Final shoot-out triumph with Adam Idah and Cameron Carter-Vickers about to join in.
“It’s been a weird one because obviously I’ve been out on the pitch and I’ve been training for a long time.
“But with any fracture, there’s not much you can do to speed it up. So, we just had to give it time, be patient and just wait for the all-clear from the doctors to go back and start diving around again.
“For me, it was always a matter of maintaining a positive mindset and once it was confirmed that it was a fracture, then there’s time for it to heal.
“Now I’ve just got to make sure I’m doing all the other stuff, getting all the strength and flexibility back in it. The medical staff were great. They worked me very hard and it feels great now.”
Schmeichel also shrugged off the over-the-top criticism that came his way in his last Danish game, a 5-2 extra-time loss to Portugal in Lisbon in the UEFA Nations League play-off.
The country’s captain picked up his 113th cap on the occasion and also saved a spot-kick from Cristiano Ronaldo, but it didn’t prevent some savage comments from his national press.
SMILE, PLEASE…Kasper Schmeichel, Alistair Johnston, Greg Taylor and Viljami Sinisalo celebrate sealing the Premiership title with a 5-0 win at Tannadice last month.
The 6ft-plus shotstopper, speaking to the Daily Record, confirmed: “In all honesty, I haven’t read a single word about it.
“Obviously, I’ve been made aware from different people, but I haven’t read it. It is what it is. I play football – and football is the most popular sport in the world.
“Everyone’s going to have opinions. And do you know what? That’s great. It’s great, because football is a game of opinions. There’s no right, there’s no wrong.
“People are going to have opinions that are positive about you. They’re going to have negative opinions about you.
“I think I take advice and I take praise and criticism from the people who are closest to me. The people I would go to for advice are the ones whose opinions I would ask.
“So, for me, I live in this beautiful world where I don’t have to read things about myself. And I don’t. It actually makes life a lot easier.”
Schmeichel, who has another year to run on his Hoops contract, continued: “The only people’s opinions you should care about are your coaches, your team-mates, your family, your friends, the people around you who know you, know your character, know the standards that you have.
“If you’re falling below those standards, and the people around you whom you respect and listen to are telling you that, then that’s the opinions that you should really care about.
“I love this game and I have opinions about football, as well, but it doesn’t mean they’re right.”
PAIN GAME…Kasper Schmeichel writhes in agony after sustaining his shoulder injury in Lisbon.
Schmeichel revealed he had no plans to turn his back on his country.
He added: “I love playing for them. When I was growing up, that was the dream. When I was a kid and I was visualising in the garden, I was visualising the stadium, the shirt I was wearing was the Denmark shirt.
“So, to play for your country, to have played as many games as I have, to have captained my country, that, for me, is the ultimate.
“It’s the absolute ultimate dream, it’s the ultimate thing that you can do as a footballer. So, to still have the opportunity, still have the ability, the drive, the love to do it, I wouldn’t give that up.
“Definitely not.”
