'Powerful, hard-working, winner - my friend Kasper'

I person not heard Kasper Schmeichel speak earlier Denmark’s Euro 2024 crippled against England connected Thursday, but I cognize precisely what he will beryllium feeling.

He is going to consciousness for illustration he is nan champion goalkeeper he tin beryllium - that he is still astatine nan highest of his powers and that he tin still make a quality for his state - he would not beryllium present otherwise.

Kasper and I spell measurement back, each nan measurement to erstwhile we faced each different for nan first clip successful February 2006, erstwhile I was playing for Shrewsbury and he was connected indebtedness astatine Bury from Manchester City.

Back then, we were conscionable 2 teenagers playing our first fewer master games successful League Two, truthful it is beautiful cool really things evolved for some of america complete nan people of our careers.

At 37, he is nan aforesaid property arsenic me. Well, successful fact, he is 5 months older. He is nan oldest keeper to person played astatine these Euros truthful far, and I emotion nan truth he is still playing connected nan biggest stage.

In England, group whitethorn good person mislaid way of him since he near Leicester successful 2022 - I person recovered retired myself that our English mindset erstwhile you are not successful nan Premier League tin beryllium that if you are retired of sight, you are retired of mind.

But location will beryllium galore much watching nan crippled connected Thursday who, for illustration me, will admit Kasper for everything he is, arsenic a personification and a player.

His strengths arsenic a goalkeeper are his physique and his power. He turned himself into an unthinkable jock astatine a young age, and that has ne'er changed. He is fierce and assertive, and he tin do things that a batch of different keepers can't.

But arsenic good arsenic his beingness attributes, I cognize really his mentality has played a immense portion successful what he has done successful his career, and really he achieved it.

You don't enactment astatine nan apical for truthful long, for illustration he has, without having an unthinkable passion for nan game.

We met arsenic opponents, but Kasper and I soon became team-mates astatine City erstwhile I joined them a fewer months aft that crippled astatine Gay Meadow, and we clicked straightaway. Right from nan start, we were ne'er rivals, ever bully friends.

Kasper was nan first personification to invited maine astatine City connected my first time astatine nan training ground. He was really waiting for me, to return maine into nan building. I'll ne'er hide that, because it meant a lot.

For maine astatine nan time, it was particularly immense because of his name. I'd emotion to conscionable talk astir Kasper present but you cannot disregard nan truth that his dada was Peter Schmeichel, a goalkeeping fable who I really looked up to.

That sewage Kasper done a fewer doors, and sewage him into conversations, but nan rest? He had to do it each himself.

In fact, you could opportunity he had it tougher because he knew group were judging him earlier he stepped into extremity because of who he was.

His consequence was to activity harder than everyone, forge his ain way and constitute his ain spot successful nan Premier League history books, and triumph much than 100 caps for Denmark.

That cognition has ever been portion of his make-up and has helped to make him an unthinkable goalkeeper - hard-working and strong, but besides opinionated and consenting to guidelines by his word.

All of this was portion of his travel down to League Two and backmost to go a title victor pinch Leicester, via nan indebtedness moves he made astatine each level, aliases erstwhile he was consenting to return risks and driblet down divisions successful bid to play first-team football.

He has built his profession nan measurement he has, because he has ne'er stopped wanting to do more. We were nan aforesaid successful that respect because that benignant of thrust shaped my profession too.

Where we were different was really we identified our goals erstwhile we were young goalkeepers.

We would talk astir wherever we hoped our travel would return us. Kasper ever said he had group retired to effort to triumph nan Premier League, and was very unfastened and honorable astir that, while my attack was that I decided I would spell for it each day, nary matter wherever my profession took me.

I benignant of lived my profession for illustration that, moreover erstwhile I started winning things pinch City. There were nary limits and I was not acrophobic to spell little aliases higher. My outlook was that whether I was playing first-team shot for Shrewsbury Town successful League Two aliases England astatine a World Cup finals, I was up for it.

Another point Kasper and I had successful communal from those early days together astatine City was our activity ethic.

Whatever happened to maine successful football, bully aliases bad, I ne'er fto my work-rate dip, aliases allowed my cognition to beryllium questioned and Kasper ne'er gave anyone a chance to do that either.

That’s astir apt 1 of nan reasons we some sewage to nan property of 37 astatine nan apical level, but I ne'er thought I was doing thing typical and I americium judge if you asked Kasper he would opportunity nan same.

It ne'er felt for illustration an effort for maine to push myself, because shot was ne'er a sacrifice to me. Instead it was my life, and it meant everything.

Trying to beryllium astatine my champion was thing that I enjoyed doing, correct from erstwhile Kasper and I were kids together astatine City, until nan very extremity of my past play pinch Celtic, a fewer weeks ago.

Once you get to a definite property arsenic a goalkeeper, it is not truthful overmuch nan miles successful your legs that you tin consciousness arsenic nan effect of nan dives you person made connected your body.

You can't proceed for immoderate logic different than it is conscionable what you do, and because you want to support doing it.

I americium retired now, but I americium truthful pleased Kasper is still retired there, and is not vanished yet. He treats each crippled arsenic an education, and moreover now he wants to study immoderate more.

Joe Hart was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan successful Berlin.