In the next five European Championship qualifiers, the Red Devils will have to do without Thibaut Courtois and the name of Simon Mignolet is mentioned as a possible replacement. Although the 35-year-old goalkeeper officially ended his international career in March, he left the door ajar, saying Domenico Tedesco could always contact him if he was in trouble. However, Club Brugge hopes that Mignolet will not return to the national team. Partly due to ‘half injuries’ sustained by the national team, Mignolet made several mistakes last season. Moreover, Mignolet made a well-considered decision to stop with the Red Devils, because he felt that the national team had no longer had a positive influence on his performance, both mentally and physically.
Mignolet withdrawn from international retirement?
On Thursday, Thibaut Courtois suffered a serious cruciate ligament injury to the left knee, as a result of which the Real Madrid goalkeeper will be sidelined for an estimated 5 to 6 months. This injury not only has major consequences for his club, but also casts a shadow over the prospects of the national team. During the previous international break, there was great fuss about the position of the national number one, after which technical director Frank Vercauteren traveled to Madrid earlier this week to talk to Courtois about a possible return to the national team. However, this discussion is now no longer under time pressure, because Courtois will have to miss the next five European Championship qualifiers anyway, as well as the exhibition game against Serbia.
As a potential replacement for Thibaut Courtois, Domenico Tedesco would think of Koen Casteels, but the name of Simon Mignolet has also been mentioned frequently in recent days. In March, Mignolet was the third Red Devil, after Eden Hazard and Toby Alderweireld, to end his international career after the disappointing World Cup in Qatar. That was then a well-considered decision by the goalkeeper. Mignolet had been in doubt for some time about his further career as a member of the national team, and in March he finally took the final step to stop at the Red Devils. This choice was not only in his own interest, but also in the interest of his employer Club Brugge.
Mignolet as a Red Devil costs Club Brugge points
Back in early February, Simon Mignolet mentioned on the podcast ‘Eleven Insiders’ that he was seriously considering ending his international career. “It weighs on my career,” said the 35-year-old at the time. He was referring to the fact that he had broken two fingers during the World Cup in Brazil and suffered a knee injury at the last European Championship. Mignolet has participated in the last five major tournaments with the Red Devils, but he had not received any playing minutes. “Apart from the fact that I didn’t play, that is an extra burden on the football I want to play. It will be about what is most important at what time,” Mignolet said at the time.
Just over a month later, Simon Mignolet announced that he was ending his international career. According to Het Laatste Nieuws, it was his wish to fully concentrate on his role at Club Brugge and on his family life, because he no longer wanted to continue the extra training sessions, matches, trips and tournaments with the national team. “People only see those ninety minutes, but it’s much more than sitting on the couch,” Mignolet explained in an interview with the same newspaper after announcing his retirement from the Red Devils. “As first goalkeeper you live from match to match, as second keeper that is not the case.”
At the age of 35, Simon Mignolet obviously took little pleasure in stopping another fifty to a hundred balls after training from players who want to kick at goal. Moreover, Mignolet often returned to Club Brugge after his international obligations with all kinds of minor injuries and he sometimes carried those problems with him for months. “After my knee injury at the European Championships, I spent three months fighting against myself, with the well-known story in the winter. (Mignolet made several mistakes last season, partly due to a knee problem, ed.)” Those lesser performances, which were due to those ‘half injuries’, were clearly disastrous for Club Brugge and Mignolet.
Mignolet quickly ahead at Club Brugge
Simon Mignolet’s decision to end his international career stemmed from his desire to fully focus on his career at Club Brugge. Given the physical and mental strain, Mignolet has chosen to give his club absolute priority, aiming to put himself in the best possible position to continue at club level for as long as possible. National coach Domenico Tedesco and technical director Frank Vercauteren tried to convince Mignolet to stay with the national team, he also played an important role in the dressing room, but in the end they respected his decision and accepted it.
And that decision is clearly starting to pay off for Simon Mignolet and Club Brugge. Two weeks after the end of the previous season, Mignolet had already started working with the physiotherapists to start the preparation sharply. That would not have been possible if he had still participated in an international match with the Red Devils. “That’s why I have a head start compared to other years. Also the reason why I stopped at the Red Devils. After a few training days, Deila and Efrain (Juarez, ed.) thought that I had already reached my level. I now have to continue that line,” Mignolet told Het Laatste Nieuws at the end of July.
Simon Mignolet’s decision to end his career with the Red Devils was clearly well-considered. “One to perform optimally at my club. Because that is ultimately my employer. I want to continue as a footballer for a few more years. And the national team no longer had a positive influence on my performance,” Mignolet shared with HLN. Although he largely closed the door of the Red Devils, he still left an opening by saying that Domenico Tedesco can always contact him if he is in trouble in the goalkeeping line. With the long-term injury of national number one Thibaut Courtois, this moment now seems to have arrived.
Comeback Mignolet?
Club hopes not The name of Simon Mignolet has been mentioned many times in recent days to replace Thibaut Courtois in the Red Devils, but Peter Vandenbempt is already skeptical about a possible return of the Bruges goalkeeper to the national team. “The question is: do you actually still have to do that? Will he come back as number 1 and other guys – like Casteels – feel passed over? Personally, I don’t think that’s the best idea, because we already have young goalkeepers with international class,” Vandenbempt said at Sporza. They will most likely think the same way at Club Brugge too, because the national team has not had a positive influence on the goalkeeper’s performance, both mentally and physically, for some time now.
2023-08-12 06:25:00
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