Courtesy: Liverpool Echo


Everton's Kevin Mirallas reveals the secret behind his career

Belgian speaks about his futsal origins and his love for Real Madrid

by Adam Jones

14 NOV 2016

Everton winger Kevin Mirallas has revealed how playing futsal as a youngster has helped him to hone the skills he needs to be a Premier League footballer.

The Belgian international says he played the five-a-side football variation up until he was 15, and even had to choose whether he wanted to follow his dream of being a professional footballer or take up futsal full-time.

The 29-year-old chose the former – and hasn’t looked back since. But Mirallas knows how much futsal has helped him become the player he is today.

“I played futsal for a long, long time,” Mirallas told the latest edition of the Everton magazine.

“I enjoyed it a lot, but then when I was 15 years old, I received an invitation for the national football team and the national futsal team, and I had to decide. I spoke with my father and, finally, I decided to choose football and chase my dream.

“Futsal helped me a lot you need very good close control, you need to be sharp and you need to have good technique because there is not much space.

“It was a great experience for me and helped me develop my skills in small spaces. I learned a lot playing futsal that I still use in my game now.

“Everything happens so quickly in the Premier League and you need to think and act quickly, the same can be said for futsal.”

Mirallas also revealed to the magazine that Real Madrid might have been his favourite team as a youngster – but it was a Barcelona player who really caught his eye.

The Everton man talked about how his Spanish-born father was the reason he took a liking to Los Blancos, but admits that it was, in fact, Barca star Hristo Stoichkov who quickly became his favourite player.

Mirallas said: “My favourite team as a kid was Real Madrid because my dad was a fan and he always had their games on in our house!

“It is strange though and you could say my favourite player was a strange choice.

“We went to visit my family in Spain a few times while we were growing up and they lived in Barcelona. It ended up that the first stadium I visited was the Nou Camp and the first player I really liked was Hristo Stoichkov.

“As a child, I remember being impressed by the skill and passion he showed on the pitch. He was great, but the only problem for me - and my dad - was that he played for Barcelona!”



Posted by Luca Ranocchiari --> luca.ranocchiari@futsalplanet.com