Dutch footballer Jason Noslin of SC-Braga U-23 is considered a very exciting prospect back in Portugal.

Here, Jason talks about his journey so far, the difficulties he faced along the way and how he overcame them, he also talks about how about he is finding Portuguese football among other things.

You were a striker until 3 years ago, what made you consider the switch from being a striker to centre-back and how did you adapt to your new position?

"When I was younger, I had already played at right-back and centre-back, when I was around 11/12 years old I decided that wanted to play as a forward, so I got scouted as a striker/winger for two professional clubs in Holland, after that I played as a striker for four years at Sparta Rotterdam, in my years at Sparta I always enjoyed defending and making tackles or taking the ball off my opponents, also I got a lot of pleasure and fun out of it and in the end that's what football is all about.
During the 17/18 season my love for defending came back and I suddenly wanted to play in defence again, the staff laughed at me and told me no one would take me seriously(because according to them I had no clue on how to defend), at the end of that year they sent me away and I played 2 years on a non-professional base at Alexandria 66, after 3 months, I wasn’t feeling well about playing as a striker, so I talked with some coaches of the club and told them that I used to play centre back and if there was a place to be filled they could count on me.
In one of our most important games our centre-back got sent off with a red card in the 35th minute, I was playing as a striker in that game with an assist and a penalty kick won, we were leading 2-1 and my coach back then, decided to place me on centre back to hold the lead, we won that game.
The adaption in the amateur league was really easy for me, we had a really good season and we even became champions that year.
When I started playing professional, the adaption was a bit harder at first, it took some time in Portugal, to get the hang of the playstyle and the way of defending, especially without the foreknowledge of it.”

How did your time at VV Alexandria' 66 help you grow as a player and were there any specific things or life lessons you learnt while playing for them which helped you grow as a footballer?

“Of course every year and under every coach you grow and learn something new, at every club I’ve played I learned something, but being in the situation of knowing that you have quality but not getting the recognition is a hard situation to be in, that takes a lot of dedication and hard work combined with people that believe in you, no matter what.
It sounds cliché but the biggest life lesson I've learned that has to do with football, is never give up, with hard work and the right mindset anything is possible.
It's hard when you play non-professional and you keep telling everyone that you are going to be a pro footballer, some people will laugh at you and some will say you are crazy.
Those are the kind of people you don’t need in your life if you ever want to succeed.
Because I know where I come from, I know where I will be, I will keep working hard in all aspects, in life and on the field.”

What made you consider the switch to Portugal rather than any other country?

“In Holland a lot of clubs make a mistake, they only looking at the person’s resume, the clubs in Holland only saw that I had played the last 2 years at a non-professional level and they all thought that if a player is good then why did he play 2 years at a non-professional club?
Everyone has a right on their opinion so they have the rights to say and think these kind of things, but I really think they need to reconsider their mindset, because I can tell out of my own experience that there is a lot of young talent in the amateur leagues, take for an example my own manager. He has his own football school with a lot of amateur league players and every year he placed these ‘amateur players’ in a professional club. With the combination of his contacts and the quality of the players, I will not be surprised if this year a lot of these players will make the step to a professional club again.
My manager is Portuguese and we were on a trial over there, in Portugal. We first trained with another team in Portugal, Gil Vicente, we trained with the U-19 so I was 1 year too old, at that club there was no place for me. But I trained hard and showed everyone that I was ready. 4 days later we had a training at SC Braga, I am always focused during training, but while training at Braga, my focus was on another level, the coaches liked my playstyle and aggressiveness.
After the training I was invited for a friendly game. I played the first 60 minutes of that game and we won 2-0.
Immediately after the game they called my manager, that they were offering me a contract. I think Portugal for a centre-back is one of the best places to be. So, for me to develop Portugal is one of the best countries to play!”

What do you think are the major differences in the style of football present in the Netherlands and that in Portugal?

“This is an interesting question because, I really think there is a big and obvious difference between the two countries.
First of all I think in Portugal the players are more technical with the ball, the average Portuguese player is a bit smaller than the average Dutch player in my opinion, because of my 1.90m height (6’3), I think that's an aspect of me that I have as an advantage.
Secondly, all the focus in Portugal in my opinion really lies on defending. Here matches usually end 0-0 or 1-0, if you compare this with Holland, most of the matches in the Eredivisie end 3-4 or 4-2 scores like that.
I think this is because here in Portugal, system is key, most of the times we are training our patterns, defensively or offensively. Lots of passing the ball without any man pressure, or just everything on a low pace, just to practice the patterns, that our coach wants us to use in the games.”

Growing up, who has been your role model in the footballing world?

“Growing up I played several positions on the field, back when I was a striker, I had one clear role model, Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
This was because I always compared myself with him, On the number 9 position I was a bit crazy as well, I won every header, I could score some impossible goals and I had a really hard long shot, I even had the bit of aggressiveness that Zlatan has on the field.
When I started playing on the centre-back position it was obvious, I needed a new role model, in these years I really enjoyed the playstyle of Virgil van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt and Raphael Varane.
All three amazing centre backs with an enormous amount of pace and strength, but clearly Virgil is my number one, because in my opinion he had a little bit of the same life story (on and of the pitch) like I had.
If you look at a game of Virgil, you really think defending is easy, he makes everything look so easy. The way that he reads the game and his opponents is something every young player can learn from.
His ability to score from corners and free kicks is unbelievable as well. The calmness he has with the ball on his feet, is really something magical and amazing to watch.”

Playing as a centre-back in Portugal for SC Braga U-23, you would have come up against some really talented attackers so far, who have been the hardest opponents that you have faced so far in Portugal, anyone in particular who comes to mind?

“Yes, in the league we play (Liga Revelação), we play against all the top teams in Portugal, clubs like Benfica, Sporting and Rio Ave.
All these clubs have amazing players and all of them have different play styles.
I played against some really good and talented players this season. No particular name comes to my mind now, but it doesn’t matter who you’re up against, every game you need to put in your best effort and get the best out of yourself, in my case is that with the defensive line taking care that no one gets past us and we stop the threat of the opposition attack.”

Article by: Vibudh Dixit

Thumbnail by: Samuel Slaney

Images interpreted from: Getty Images & SC Braga

Six Questions: Jason Noslin of SC Braga