Preston North End have had mixed success with goalkeepers over the last few years. Jordan Pickford was the clear stand out and now has 42 England caps to his name.
Daniel Iversen is a huge part of the current Preston team and should go on to pick up a few Denmark caps in his career. One former Preston goalkeeper who has represented Denmark is Anders Lindegaard.
The former Manchester United goalkeeper joined North End initially on loan in 2016. It was the club’s first season back in the Championship and Pickford had just been called back by Sunderland. Lindegaard started well and finished the season with 14 appearances, with his passionate performances endearing him to the North End fans.
It was therefore no surprise that he joined the club in the summer on a permanent deal. Chris Maxwell also joined that transfer window and despite Lindegaard starting as number one, Maxwell would eventually displace him.
The Dane joined Burnley the next season. In an open and honest interview with The Guardian Lindegaard has shed some light on his time in England and some circumstances which made it difficult during his time at Preston. He split from his wife in 2016 and his son became his focus at that point.
“I had chaos in my personal life, too, which was probably more significant. If that’s not working out you’re in trouble. When I joined Preston I spent up to a year trying to figure out my life. Then, at Burnley, two years dedicated to my son, who had been born in December 2012. I brought a child into the world and that’s your most important job. I wish I could have focused 100% on football without having to worry about what’s going on when I got home. But I’m not looking for people’s pity.”
Of course, off the field issues would be tough for any player to deal with.
The last few years he spent in England clearly weren’t enjoyable for him as he went on to say “I turned into this bitter human being who was sick of England. It became obvious that it’s a capitalistic society where the rich have fooled the poor to leave Europe.”
Lindegaard seems more settled now as he nears the end of his career. Living in Copenhagen, the 37 year-old travels across the border to Sweden to play for second division side Helsingborgs.
He managed five caps for Denmark in an era that has been dominated by Kasper Schmeichel. Iversen will hope once Schmeichel’s career comes to an end he’ll be next in line.