Kasper Schmeichel has hailed his late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.
According to the goalkeeper, Vichai was not only a generous and kind-hearted man but also a believer in the good and the ability of people.
‘When I broke my foot I had to go down to London and we were playing against Manchester City in our first season back in the Premier League,’ he said. ‘He came to the hospital, picked me up and flew me back in his helicopter to Leicester to watch the game with him. He didn’t have to do that, but he did. If you look back at my career, I’ve had to constantly prove myself and be compared to others,’ Schmeichel added.
‘Constantly having to prove I am good enough. Then came a guy who said he believed in me from the first minute. ‘He said he’d seen me play and just gave me the platform. I’ve been here nearly eight years now and that says a lot about the stability here and the belief he had in me. Having gone from nine clubs to just being at one club, I was searching for someone who believed in me – he and his family did.
‘It’s very easy to be caught up in this world of money, fame and fortune. He is a guy who has done all that and doesn’t care about it. He only cares about helping people. It just speaks to the man that he was. He didn’t need to buy a football club. That’s never a good business investment. He wasn’t in it to make money, he wanted to give. He had a passion for the club, for Leicester, all that he did for the city – the donations to the hospital and such. It was ownership done properly. If you’re a fan of any club, that’s the type of owner you want, the type of owner you dream of having.’
It was cruel for not only Leicester but the whole world to lose a man who had done so much for us; unfortunately the past cannot be changed but we can strive on to follow and emulate men like Vichai for a better tomorrow.
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