Source: Northern_Echo
New Black Cats keeper aiming to pass Premier League test
THE final days before completing a £2m move to the Premier League are bound to be a testing time for any 22-yearold, but for Sunderland goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, the phrase was particularly apt.[LNB] The test in question was a university examination on the history of Belgian politics, and he sat it in the three-day hiatus between agreeing to leave his hometown club Sint- Truidense and signing a fiveyear deal on Wearside.[LNB] While most footballers would have been out celebrating the biggest move of their career, Mignolet, a diligent, thoughtful shotstopper who is already being hailed as the future of Belgian goalkeeping, was completing his latest round of studies.[LNB] If things do not go to plan at the Stadium of Light this season, perhaps the University of Sunderland will find itself hosting a famous face at some of its social science lectures.[LNB] Before I signed my contract with Sunderland, I was combining my football career in Belgium with studying at university, said Mignolet. I actually had to do some exams before I made the move.[LNB] My course was in social sciences and the exams I did this summer were in politics.[LNB] The history of Belgian politics it was actually more interesting than it sounds.[LNB] I'd like to continue my studies while I'm here, but I need to ask the university (in Sunderland) what's possible.[LNB] I obviously can't go to any lessons and I can't do my exams while the other students are doing theirs, but it would be nice to try to finish what I've started instead of giving it all up.[LNB] With one form of education temporarily shelved, Mignolet has spent the last few weeks undergoing a crash course in the art of goalkeeping in the Premier League.[LNB] While he finished last season as a regular in the Belgian Under-21 side, his only domestic experience came in the lower reaches of Belgium's Jupiler League, a competition that is hardly comparable to the English top-flight.[LNB] The physicality of the English game has come as something of a surprise, but as he prepares to make his debut against Birmingham tomorrow, he insists he is capable of handling anything that is thrown at him.[LNB] The style of football in Belgium is very different to every team in England, said Mignolet. In Belgium, teams try to play on the ground and the football is very technical.[LNB] It's quite strange because when you see the big teams in Belgium, it's really nothing like playing English football. When we played in Portugal in pre-season, I was more used to playing against Benfica than I was to playing against Hull City. The style against Benfica felt much more familiar.[LNB] That will change over time, and now I have played a few more games, I feel as though I am getting more used to English football. It takes time of course, but every week of training has been getting better and better.[LNB] While Belgium is hardly a common breeding ground for Premier League players, the country appears to be reawakening after more than a decade of footballing famine.[LNB] In 1986, Belgium reached the semi-finals of the World Cup, losing to eventual winners Argentina, but after failing to progress beyond the second round in the next four tournaments, they failed to even reach the last two finals.[LNB] There are signs that things could be changing, with Mignolet having joined a Belgian Premier League contingent that includes Arsenal centre-half Thomas Vermaelen, Manchester City midfielder Vincent Kompany and Everton playmaker Marouane Fellaini.[LNB] I think this could be a really bright period for Belgian football, said Mignolet. There are a lot of good players in the new generation people who play in the Premier League.[LNB] With the generation that is coming through, I think we can make a new team. We have a new Belgian coach (George Leekens) as well now and I think he will help put us on the right track.[LNB] I don't want to look too far into the future, but having played for the Under-21s, I would obviously love to play for the first team.[LNB] I hope moving to Sunderland will help me with that, but the most important thing is that I start the season well in the Premier League. I still have so much to learn that I cannot afford to look beyond that.[LNB] So much to learn; so much that is still to be tested. The first examination takes place at the Stadium of Light tomorrow.[LNB]
