I had a nice chat with Liverpool’s keeper Simon Mignolet on Thursday, he was speaking at the launch of Battlefield 4, not only is he a great keeper but he is a real top lad too.
My first question to him was about the former Liverpool keepers and which one he does aspire to? Of course he mentioned the heroics of Jerzy Dudek in Istanbul and he also remembers Sander Westerveld playing for the club. He did also mention Bruce Grobbelaar and Pepe Reina.
When I asked him about how it felt to save that late penalty in his competitive debut for Liverpool, his reply was obvious that it did give him a boost of confidence but of course he was happier that Liverpool won the game.
My next question was which Liverpool player was the most instrumental in helping him settle into the club, he didn’t single out any single player however he praised the entire squad. Not only did they help him settle into the club but also into the city. He is very appreciative of the warm welcome he received and thanked all of them.
Simon didn’t start out as a goalkeeper but rather as an outfield player, he made the switch when he was fifteen years old. So when I asked him who were his footballing idols while growing up there weren’t any keepers mentioned. He remembers the World Cup of 1994 with Romario and Bebeto being his early inspirations and then of course Zidane in 1998 was another one of his childhood heros.
While on the subject of the World Cup I asked Simon about the expectation of the Belgian squad now that they have qualified for the first time in twelve years. Without a doubt this is the best Belgian squad since 1986 I asked him if there was any pressure on the squad to do as well or better than 1986. He replied that there was no pressure whatsoever and that the entire Belgian nation was very ecstatic to have qualified.
I knew what the answer to the next question I asked him will be however I couldn’t stop laughing the way he replied. Simon, as a keeper which striker do you fear the most? His reply “everyday I have to face Sturridge and Suarez at Melwood, I am glad that during a competitive game they are on my side :-)”
And finally his take on the game against Arsenal, his reply was that it is a big game and Liverpool had a big opportunity, obviously he was referring to the opportunity to push towards the top of the table if we collect all three points.
Thank you and good luck Simon.
Battlefield 4 is available NOW on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Check out what happened when The Slow Mo Guys blew up a hand-grenade here #BF4
