One: My Autobiography

It’s comforting to know that one of the football heroes of my formative years is every bit the role model that I always thought him to be * On Magazine *
One … is way beyond the glorified sporting diaries that crowd the shelves at this time of year … splendidly rendered * Irish Independent *
Peter Schmeichel charts his exceptionally successful goalkeeping career alongside the remarkable story of his family * Irish Times’ Best Sport books of the year *
The best autobiographies are always the ones written when the passing of time allows events to be considered and evaluated in proper perspective … Genuine candour runs through the story … A quite riveting story * Backpass Magazine *
This is much more than the usual footballer’s life story … It’s warm, frank and conversational in tone … Terrific * Daily Mail, 2021’s best books for sports fans *
The story of one of the undisputed greats * Sun, Best Books for Christmas *
A rollercoaster ride through the life of the Danish and Manchester United goalkeeper * Evening Standard, Memoirs of the Year *
Engaging, honest and unsentimental … riveting * David Walsh, The Sunday Times *

Peter Schmeichel won ten league titles, three FA Cups and nine other major trophies in a club career spanning 19 years, 748 games and - because he was no ordinary goalkeeper - ten goals. Its crowning moment came in 1999 when he captained Manchester United to victory in an unforgettable Champions League final. He was a key figure in United’s successes during the 1990s, starting with their first domestic league title in more than a quarter of a century. Sir Alex Ferguson, having paid just 505,000 to sign him in 1991, hailed him as ‘the bargain of the century’.

On the international stage, he was voted both world and European goalkeeper of the year while helping Denmark to a miraculous triumph at Euro 92 and won a record 129 caps for his country. Named by Pele, on behalf of FIFA, as one of the 100 greatest living footballers and by Match of the Day as the Premier League’s best ever No 1, perhaps only Gordon Banks and Lev Yashin are his rivals to the status of greatest goalkeeper of all time.

Jonathan Northcroft, who collaborated with Peter Schmeichel on the writing of One: My Autobiography, is Football Correspondent of the Sunday Times and author of three books, including Fearless: The Amazing Underdog Story of Leicester City, which was shortlisted at the Cross Sports Book Awards in 2017. A regular guest on Sky Sports and Premier League Productions television programmes, and on The Game and BT Sport Football Writers podcasts, he won the inaugural Jim Rodger Memorial Award for young sports writers in Scotland and has been shortlisted for Football Writer of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year at the Sports Journalists’ Association awards.