Schmeichel Eager For More European Memories
- Leicester City are back in UEFA Europa League action on Thursday, facing AEK Athens (5:55pm kick-off)
- Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel has been speaking in a pre-match press conference in Greece
- Schmeichel says the current Foxes squad harbour ambitions of reaching the knockout stages
- City want to replicate the success of previous runs in European competition, the Denmark 'keeper adds
Speaking in a pre-match press conference on Wednesday afternoon, the Foxes goalkeeper spoke about how special European nights are to play in and why he is hungry for a repeat of previous success.
After experiencing European competition as part of the Leicester squad that reached the UEFA Champions League Quarter-Finals in 2016/17, Schmeichel is itching for more of the same on the continental stage.
“It’s where we want to be, it’s been a while since our last European excursion and we’ve missed it," City's No.1 told the media via Zoom in the Greek capital ahead of Thursday's Group G fixture.
"These are the kind of nights we’ve been working towards. It's obviously a shame that there are no fans here, that would be the icing on the cake, but such are the circumstances.
“For those of us who play international football, this is the norm when you go away with your national team, so it doesn’t feel greatly different."
Schmeichel admitted it has been a long awaited return to play in Europe again, following three seasons away from the competitions, but also regrets that fans will miss out on this first trip abroad.
The 33-year-old continued: "It’s been a long road back to European football, obviously we were hoping for the Champions League, but you don't always get what you want.
"We’re here in another amazing competition, these nights are different and are exactly what you work for.
"Like I said, you hope one day soon we can get the fans back, because that's the reason you do it, to have our fans able to travel to a place like Athens and experience nights like this.
"But we're just going to have to focus on the pitch and make sure we do it for everyone at home."
All times GMT.