| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simon Mignolet | ||
| Date of birth | 6 August 1988 | ||
| Place of birth | Sint-Truiden, Belgium | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) [1] | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Sunderland | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2005 | Sint-Truiden | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2005–2010 | Sint-Truiden | 104 | (1) |
| 2010– | Sunderland | 34 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007– | Belgium U-21 | 8 | (0) |
| 2011– | Belgium | 8 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 01 Jan 2012. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Simon Mignolet (born 6 August 1988, in Sint-Truiden) is a Belgian football goalkeeper, who currently plays for Sunderland in the Barclays Premier League, and the Belgian national team.
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Simon appeared 104 times in five years for his home town club Sint-Truiden, aiding them superbly on their road to success both in the Belgian top flight and the second tier, scoring one goal, after the supporters and his teammates insisted on him taking a penalty when leading 3–0. Even though he missed the initial shot, he scored the rebound.
After a training ground tour,[2] Mignolet signed a five-year contract at Sunderland on 17 June 2010.[3] The deal was undisclosed[4] but was widely reported to have cost Sunderland £2m.[5] It was later confirmed that Sunderland had pipped PSV Eindhoven, FC Twente and Udinese to Mignolet's signature.[6]
Mignolet made his Sunderland debut against Birmingham City on 15 August 2010, where the game finished in a 2–2 draw. He picked up the Man of the Match award for his performance. In the next home game, a 1–0 victory against Manchester City, Mignolet kept his first clean sheet for Sunderland, following an excellent reaction save to deny Yaya Toure a goal. Mignolet put in another fine performance against Arsenal, as Sunderland drew 1–1 after Darren Bent equalised in the 95th minute. He made further appearances against West Ham United in the Carling Cup, Liverpool, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers and Aston Villa, keeping four clean sheets. After Sunderland were beaten 5–1 by local rivals Newcastle United, there was speculation as to whether Mignolet would retain his place from goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Sunderland beat Stoke 2–0 to bounce back from the defeat. However, Gordon replaced Mignolet in goal in the following Tuesday's 1–1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, and remained first choice after. Mignolet did not feature again until January 8, 2011, when Sunderland suffered a loss at home to Notts County in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup. Mignolet was recalled to the Sunderland first team after a knee injury to Gordon in February, and he came into the team for the trip to Goodison Park where Sunderland were defeated 2–0 by Everton. Simon retained his place for the away trip to the Emirates Stadium to face Arsenal, a 0–0 draw in which he made a series of fine saves and won the Man of the Match award.[7] Following the draw, manager Steve Bruce hailed the young keeper's fine start to life in English football.[8] Mignolet's clean sheet on the final day of the season (a 3-0 victory at West Ham) gave him a total of 9 for the season, as Sunderland finished 10th in the league.
Mignolet was preferred to new signing Keiren Westwood in goal in the opening game of the 2011-12 season, as Sunderland drew 1-1 away to Liverpool.[9] His first clean sheet of the season came in the 4-0 win against Stoke. On 29 October, Mignolet was injured during Sunderland's 2-2 draw with Aston Villa and had to be substituted. He had suffered a broken nose, and had scans to check his jaw, cheekbones and teeth.[10]
Mignolet returned to action against Manchester City on January 1st 2012, due to an injury to Westwood. Wearing a mask to protect his injuries, Mignolet kept a clean sheet as Sunderland defeated the league leaders 1-0.
Mignolet has so far represented the Belgium under-21 national side on eight occasions. On 1 September 2010 he won his first call up to the Belgium national football team after a string of fine performances for Sunderland.[11] On 25 March 2011 he kept a clean sheet in his first start for his national side, helping them earn a 2–0 victory against Austria for a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match.
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