Schmeichel Hopes 'Amazing Journey' Continues In Europa League
- Leicester City will face SC Braga, AEK Athens and FC Zorya Luhansk in the UEFA Europa League
- Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has discussed City's 'new adventure' in European football
- The 33-year-old shot-stopper hopes to create new memories for the Blue Army to savour
- Schmeichel also discusses the importance of the fans, whether they watch from home or in stadia
The Foxes will face SC Braga, AEK Athens and FC Zorya Luhansk in Group G over the coming three months - starting with a home curtain-raiser against Luhansk on 22 October (8pm BST kick-off).
For Schmeichel - who has won both the Premier League and Championship titles at King Power Stadium, as well as starring in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League - excitement is building.
"It’s been an amazing journey," the three-time Danish Footballer of the Year said recently. "I joined here nearly 10 years ago now and we’ve experienced a bit of everything.
"I felt welcome from the first day I was here and it feels like a family, and, like family, you go through ups and downs together, and it’s been amazing.
"Now, we’re on a new adventure and we’re looking forward to that. Obviously when I joined, we were in the Championship and the goal was to reach the [UEFA] Champions League.
"We’ve achieved that goal once and we’re looking again to achieve the same kind of things. This year, it’s European football again for us and we’re looking forward to that.
"It’s a shame we can’t share it with our fans at the moment but let’s hope, let’s cross our fingers, that we get to a stage where we can do that again."
Returning to the European stage for the fifth time in the Club's history will present new challenges for Brendan Rodgers' squad - who head into the international break sitting third in the Premier League.
Europa League group stage fixtures will be competed on Thursday evenings over the next three months, alongside Leicester's participation in England's top flight.
Schmeichel says the Foxes are ready for the tests, football-wise and logistical, which await Leicester.
"We approach the campaign like we do every campaign with old clichés of ‘one game at a time’ but they’re clichés because they’re true," City's No.1 continued.
"We take one game at a time and we’ve had a very good start up to now in the Premier League, looking to build again on that.
"I think it’ll be different this year because, obviously, there’s no fans, so, at the end of the day, you’re in the bubble, where you travel, you get to the hotel, you stay there, you play the game, and you leave again.
"You don’t really have any interaction with the city, you don’t have any interaction with the fans or the place where you are.
"I think it’ll be a different experience this year but let’s hope we get to a stage soon in society where we can start getting back to sharing those kinds of moments and having fans back.
"They support us from home, we feel that, but it’s such a shame for the fans, particularly, not to be able to experience that again.
"We gave them one great experience in the Champions League a few years ago and, obviously, the goal is always to get back into European football so we can have those memories together.
"This time it’s going to be slightly different but we’ve just got to make the most of it."
That bond with supporters - from a distance or otherwise - is a central pillar in the Club's strategy, Schmeichel says, and is something which Leicester City will continue to dedicate themselves to this term.
"I think that’s the basis of the Club," he added. "It’s a club that looks after its fans. I haven’t been at any clubs that look after their fans and value their fans probably as highly as this club does.
"Stuff like the work that’s done in the community, the example that’s set by the owners; how much work and how much dedication they have to the city of Leicester and everything that happens in the city of Leicester.
"Again, it’s been tough during this time because we haven’t really been able to interact with any people at all, so it’s easy to feel a disconnection in that sense.
"But I think via the Club’s social media channels and all those kinds of things, we’ve been able to stay in contact, stay in touch, and we look forward to again being able to go back out and help in the community."