The 5-minute Interview: Peter Schmeichel, Former footballer

'You have to believe that you can win'

Peter Schmeichel, 44, was voted best goalkeeper ever in a poll by Reuters in 2001. During his time at Manchester United, they won five Premiership titles and three FA Cups. He retired in 2003 and has since been conducting research into the game, with Wrigley Extra

A common misperception of me is...

That I'm a big, loud, violent brute which I'm not. That's why I'm glad I did Strictly Come Dancing because people saw me for who I really am. It was an amazing experience.

I wish people would take more notice of...

The environment.

The most surprising thing that happened to me was...

As a footballer you have to be confident you can win all the time so it does not come as a surprise. Winning the treble with Manchester United and saving Bergkamp's penalty against Arsenal in the FA Cup semi-final was not a surprise. You have to believe you can win.

I'm not politician but...

I would focus on the debate about the environment. I think in Denmark we are quite good whenit comes to the environment. We are quite a few years ahead of the UK but you are on your way. Denmark is only a small country and we need the whole world to recognise the problem and start doing something about it.

I'm good at...

My work. I have worked hard at it. I'm also good at being a family man. I'm quite good at golf. I'm not amazing but I play a lot.

I'm very bad at...

Cricket.

The ideal night out is...

Nice food, nice wine and nice company. I'm really not into clubs any more.

In moments of weakness I...

I try to think about the problem and resolve it.

In another life I would have been...

A pianist. My dad was a pianist. Now I just play for recreation.

The best age to be is...

It is always now for me.

In a nutshell, my philosophy is ...

To wake up every morning, be happy that you are here and achieve as much as you can every day.

Ben Naylor