Por: Inside The World Cup
Which Belgian players have degrees, which one has a tattoo of a cathedral, which one has a company called Bonka Circus?
Nicolas Lombaerts & Simon Mignolet
While most of the players couldn’t combine studying and playing football, two Belgium players have a university degree. The goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, first choice at Liverpool but on the bench in the national team, has a degree in political and social science. Nicolas Lombaerts, a reserve centre back and one of the leading players at Zenit St Petersburg, has a degree in law. Both were still studying while they were already first-team regulars at their former Belgian teams, STVV (Mignolet) and Gent (Lombaerts). Lombaerts is also very interested in the stock exchange.
Daniel van Buyten
Last man standing. One of the only Belgians to play in the World Cup in 2002. His dad, Franz, was a famous wrestler in Europe between 1960 and 1980 and has always been his idol. Van Buyten has always been criticised, certainly in Belgium, but he refused to give up. He’s one of the only Belgians to have ever won the Champions League, with Bayern Munich in 2013. After the final he unfolded a banner with a heart and the words ‘mom and dad’ to show his respect for his parents. Besides being a very respected man in the squad, he’s also funny. At Munich Franck Ribéry and him were known as Astérix and Obelix, because of their banter. They once threw a bucket of water over an angry Oliver Kahn.
Toby Alderweireld
The Atlético Madrid defender has a tattoo of the world famous “cathedral of Our Lady” in Antwerp on his right arm, because he’s proud of the city where he grew up. “When I was 15, I moved from Antwerp to Amsterdam to join Ajax. But I’ve always loved my city, that’s why I wanted something of Antwerp close to me. The cathedral dominates the skyline of my city. Something to be proud of. I’m still impressed when I walk into the cathedral. It’s more a museum for me than a church. One of the most beautiful places in Antwerp. The tattoo did cost me three sessions of three hours. It was painful, but I’m happy with the result.”
Vincent Kompany
The squad’s leader. Some call him the ‘business man’. The Manchester City defender combines his career as a football player with his life as student, as he signed up for an MBA at the Manchester Business School. He has shares in Elite Limousine Services, a car company. He invested in BX Brussels, his own football team, to give youth a chance. He helped his best friend to found Protection Rapprochée, a security company. He’s the co-founder of Bonka Circus, a music and television production company, that made ‘Iedereen Duivel’, a docu-soap of the national team, and he has his own Sports bars in Brussels and Antwerp, called Good Kompany. He’s also involved in lots of charity projects like SOS Child Villages and ViCa.