MARCH/APRIL 2016
EVOLUTION SOCCER ACADEMY NEWS
In The Spot Light:
Name: Niall Mason
Club: Aston Villa
Country of Birth: United Kingdom
Position: Midfielder/Defender
Hi Niall, When did you first move to Qatar? I think I moved to Qatar when I was about 8 or 9 years
old, so around 2007.
Can you remember what your first session at Evo was like? I can remember it actually! It was on a
Tuesday night at Doha college in the sports hall haha
Looking back what is your fondest moment at Evo? My fondest memory was playing In those
tournaments in Bahrain and Dubai which were amazing for me. Such good memories that will
stay with me forever
EVOLUTION
SOCCER
ACADEMY
NEWSLETTER
Evolution Soccer Academy is
pleased to introduce you to
our brand new monthly
newsletter. My aim is to give
parents a more detailed
insight and inclusion to the
Academy world, together with
expressing the highlights of the
month. I hope this is a start of
something special for both
parents and players.
Who is the most skillful player you have played with/against? The most skilful player I've probably
played with is either Adam Lallana or Joe Cole. Even at his age, Joe still has some amazing tricks.
Having trained with both English and Spanish clubs, what is the difference in the way they
approach football? I think Spanish clubs like to think about the game a bit more tactically and like
to train more on the technical side and work on passing/combinations around the box. Where in
England I think we focus a bit more on getting up and down the pitch and being more aggressive
in our football. Not just running-wise but when we have the ball we like to get it forward quickly
and with pace
Is there anything from what you learnt at Evo that you still use today? I think I learnt about other
cultures and what type of people they are and what type of footballers they are too. This has
definitely helped me during my career so far
How would you describe Evo Soccer to people? I'd describe it has the closest experience you
could get to being at professional club and the coaches are very knowledgable as I found out
when I moved into the professional game
For all our young learners training at the moment, what advise would you give them on how to
make a difference in the way the train and learn the game of football? First of all I think you have
to enjoy it to get the best out of yourself, feel passionate about it. And to treat training seriously,
want to learn and improve. And also to enjoy it when you're doing well and not to get to down
when you don't do so well
Q10- You are now training at Aston Villa, before that you were with Real Madrid, Southampton,
can you tell us the journey you have been on over the past 8 years and how it has improved you
as a footballer? The journey I've personally been on has gained me great experience on how
deal with things in football and in my life In general. I also just keep enjoying myself more and
more. But believe me it is constant hard work everyday, it takes time to become a successful
footballer, some get it quicker than others but I just have to keep going
ISSUE 3