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 Schmeichel's career ends in glory
Posted: Monday May 31, 1999 02:22 PM
BARCELONA (CNN/SI) -- He may have saved his best for last, but Man United's Peter Schmeichel certainly was not a happy man for much of the Champions League final. Playing his final game for the Red Devils in goal, Schmeichel was a picture of abject misery after Bayern took the lead in the sixth minute with a direct free kick from Mario Basler. But after a nervous start in which his kicking was inaccurate and in which he had some lapses of concentration, Schmeichel made several important saves to keep his side in the match. Then, almost at the final whistle, he came up for the corner which led to Teddy Sheringham's 90th minute equalizer. However, he stayed back 90 seconds later when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored United's incredible winner to deprive Bayern of the chance to redeem itself in extra time. "Not even Hans Christian Andersson could have written a fairytale like that," said the Danish keeper who is leaving United after eight years and 398 appearances at Old Trafford. "Of course you believe you have a chance until the final whistle goes and I never stopped believing we had a chance -- although I admit, not much of one. "But the late goals exemplified our team spirit. One thing I have learnt throughout my time at United is that we never give up and we proved that tonight." Schmeichel announced in November that he was quitting United at the end of the season and at the time it seemed like a sensible decision. He had made a poor start to the campaign by his own imperious standards and it seemed that perhaps the time to move on had arrived. But he has been back to his best since Christmas, a vital part of the team that has ended the season unbeaten in 33 matches. After making a nervy start on Wednesday, he played better and better and made an outstanding save from Stefan Effenberg in the 72nd minute to deny Bayern a certain goal. Manager Alex Ferguson said afterwards: "It is sad that he is leaving us but he could not go out in a better way. We wish him well -- he's the greatest goalkeeper Manchester United have ever had." Schmeichel's final act as a United player was to lift the European Cup and he said afterwards: "This is absolutely fantastic for me and I just feel on top of the world. "When I announced I was leaving at the end of the season I vowed to myself I would do all I could to help the club finish at the top -- and you cannot get higher than this." Schmeichel has not said what his future plans are or where, if anywhere, he would be playing next year. "I do not want to talk about other clubs now," he said. "Tonight is the night for Manchester United -- Manchester United and champagne."
Reuters contributed to this report. | |||||||||||||||||
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