There is nothing much Kasper Schmeichel could have done as Celtic were narrowly beaten by Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Celtic couldn’t make most of home advantage and now the return leg in Munich is going to be a huge test for all involved.
Nicolas Kuhn’s opening-minute strike – which was ruled out for offside – wasn’t a sign of things to come, as goals from Michael Olise and Harry Kane punished a slow-starting Celtic team.
Yes, Daizen Maeda’s goal has provided the Scottish champions with life going into the second leg, but it’s an uphill task and elimination is on the cards.
After the game, something else was on Kasper Schmeichel’s mind, as he was involved in an interesting conversation with Micah Richards post-match.
Schmeichel replaced Joe Hart at Celtic in the summer – after the latter retired – and the goalkeeping duo, alongside defender-turned-pundit, Richards, have a rather interesting past.
Why Micah Richards apologised to Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel
Kasper’s dad, Peter Schmeichel, was at Celtic Park to cover the game for American broadcaster CBS and he was interviewing his son post-match.
But before they could talk about the game, the legendary Manchester United player brought up a confession Richards had made months earlier.
The former England defender shared that, when he was coming through at Manchester City with a fresh-faced Schmeichel during the mid-to-late noughties, he was asked by then-manager Sven Goran-Eriksson, who he preferred between a highly-rated Kasper and an upcoming Joe Hart.
Richards embarrassingly admitted that he put forward Hart’s name – the latter would go on to have a trophy-laden career at the Etihad – whilst Kasper departed the scene without any success, before finding joy at Leicester City years later.
As you can imagine, Schmeichel senior was keen to bring that topic up when he was talking back to the CBS studios from Glasgow after the match.
Richards, albeit he tried to change the story a little, ended up apologising live on TV to Celtic’s number one, as he told CBS Sports on Paramount+ (12/02/25 at 10:35 pm).
“Before we talk about the game, we, the Schmeichel family, we have a bone to pick with Micah,” said Peter Schmeichel.
“So, Micah, can you just repeat what it is that you said before, just so we know what we are talking about.”
Richards responded: “Kapser knows. Peter, sorry, you only found out a couple of months ago. Basically, Sven (Goran-Eriksson) brought me and Richard Dunne to his room.
In the background, Kasper says ‘I didn’t know this mate’, before Richards continued: “I said, ‘I don’t want to pick’. But Richard Dunne and I said, ‘shall we just go with Joe (Hart)’. It was nothing against you.
“Look at the career you had, if it wasn’t for me, you wouldn’t have had the career you had now, anyway, so you should be thanking me. But I apologise anyway, Kasper.”
Kasper then reminded Micah to everybody else’s laughter: “I think it was four or five clean sheets out of seven (at Manchester City), but Micah must have carried a lot of weight it seems.”
Micah then finished off: “Kasper, absolute legend, mate. I am sorry. I apologise. Please accept my apologies. You know I love you. You have been absolutely sensational for Celtic.”
Schmeichel’s record at Manchester City
With his legendary father’s name over his head, Kasper would spend several years at Manchester City, just before the money was starting to come in and play very little.
In total, he spent three years at the club – from 2006-09 – and made a total of ten appearances.
| Games | Goals conceded | Clean Sheets |
| 10 | 12 | 4 |
But whilst he didn’t explode into life straight away, he would later be part of one of the greatest stories in English football when Leicester City won the Premier League title in 2016, including the FA Cup years later under Brendan Rodgers.
And now, Kapser is racking up the trophies in Celtic colours.
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