The most ferocious goalkeeper to terrorise Premiership forwards is this week catching, cleaning and smoking eels in Holland for a new TV adventure. It would take a brave fish to dare to pass the outstretched reach of the great Peter Schmeichel. You can imagine the trademark scowling look of fury.
Memories of Schmeichel in his prime would be enough to have any striker wishing for the injury list. A seriously magnificent performer during eight years with Manchester United, a goalkeeper who revolutionised his art with that familiar sprawling style of strong hands and telescopic extended legs. Scoring against him always seemed to be taken like a personal insult. These days he can be found filming around the world for a Discovery Channel programme Dirty Jobs which has seen him cleaning deep inside oil tankers in Russia, washing out Paris sewers and climbing 850 metres down a Polish coal mine. None of which caused him quite as much anxiety as an afternoon in East London, as another Schmeichel arrived in the big time. Kasper Schmeichel has followed his father into the family business of keeping clean sheets. Two Premier League games, two shut-outs. Now all he has to do to emulate dad is to play 129 games for his country, win five titles and a European Cup. Oh, and score 11 goals at the other end.
Schmeichel junior, with the familiar shock of blond hair, and a not dissimilar build to his heavyweight dad, made his Premier League debut at West Ham on Saturday. Manchester City won 2-0, with Mr and Mrs Schmeichel proudly watching their only son from the stand. "I knew he was ready when I saw him playing for Darlington against Lincoln, where he was on loan. Twenty seconds into the game and an inswinging ball came high into the box," his father recalls. "Lincoln were a huge team and so it was like entering into the land of the giants. Fifteen men, all over six foot, friend and foe, competing for one ball. And Kasper came through the bodies and fisted it clear. I knew then that he was ready to be a league goalkeeper."
Testing loan spells at Darlington, Bury and Falkirk prepared him for his chance behind Sven Goran Eriksson's eclectic mix of new talent. So what was the ultimate verdict on the display? "He did really well. Yes, I was very proud." Such is Schmeichel's desire to protect Kasper the Keeper that this is his first interview about his son.
"That was a very difficult match to watch," he says. "I know everything he was going through, from waking up, preparing for the game, eating lunch, on the coach to the ground, then warming up and approaching kick off . . . and there was nothing I could do to help. "He's still a little boy, my little boy. Yes, I know he is 20 and 6ft-plus, but you know what I mean. He is very mature, he's not flash, doesn't show off or try to be clever."
There will be mistakes, all goalkeepers make mistakes. Even the great ones. Even Schmeichel senior. "Yes, you have to make allowances for that. If you are 20, or if you are 40 and you're a goalkeeper, there will be mistakes. You cannot go into matches fearing mistakes, you can't use up so much energy with worry. "Make a mistake, deal with it and then forget it. A goalkeeper should be judged over a season, not over one game. Good goalkeepers will win you games but they can lose you games, too."
Kasper will discover if a second clean sheet will be enough to earn his place against Manchester United on Sunday, though his father accepts he may need to move away once a more experienced reinforcement arrives. "Say City sign a goalkeeper who is 24 then it would mean Kasper moving down the rankings. Not just for now but for a few years. He may have to move on, but I'm pretty relaxed about that. "I carry no ambition on his behalf, I just want him to be happy. It wouldn't be fair for me to add pressure. It's difficult enough for him to carry the name. He's doing what he wants to do and that makes me and his mum very happy."
Kasper has come a long way from evenings after school when he would rush out to play in the street with Alex Bruce, son of Schmeichel's former captain, Steve. "Suddenly, he became very interested in goalkeeping and it probably started during those nights when we had to drag them in for their dinner," says his father. He is still learning his trade and I suggest he seems to have the temperament and talent to become a good goalkeeper. His father's response is swift: "OK, let me ask, what makes a good goalkeeper? I get angry when I watch football and listen to commentators. Being a good keeper is not all about making flamboyant saves. "It's about being a safe last man for defenders who trust you and who are happy to give you the ball. If they are not comfortable, they will take risks and that means pressure for the team.
"It's about communication, anticipation, concentration, trust. If you can prevent the need to make a save by anticipating a cross and communicating with your defenders, that's a good goalkeeper. It is far more important than making saves." Who are the best in the game Schmeichel once commanded? "Petr Cech, Pepe Reina, Edwin van der Saar . . . they are setting the standards. We are all looking at what £9million will get you with Craig Gordon, and Ben Foster has what it takes, too.
"What David James has done, particularly last year, has silenced his critics. He is immensely talented and such an athlete. Mind you, the standard in the Premier League is a bit of a mixed bag. I don't think all Premier League teams have Premier League goalkeepers . . ."
Peter Schmeichel has asked Sportsmail to make a donation to the Eve Appeal, which funds pioneering research into gynaecological cancer.
