Michael Mason (soccer)

Michael Mason (born June 28, 1971) is an American former soccer player who spent his playing career in Germany.[1]

Michael Mason
Mason in 1997–98
Personal information
Full name Michael Mason
Date of birth (1971-06-28) June 28, 1971
Place of birth Kassel, West Germany
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Striker, midfielder
Youth career
KSV Baunatal
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1992 KSV Baunatal
1992–1994 Hessen Kassel 47 (5)
1994–1996 Hamburger SV II 10 (1)
1996–1997 Hamburger SV 11 (2)
1997–1999 FC St. Pauli 49 (6)
1999–2000 FC Gütersloh
2000 Carl Zeiss Jena 16 (7)
2000–2002 VfR Aalen 23 (1)
2002–2005 SV Elversberg 79 (16)
2005–2007 Hessen Kassel 15 (2)
National team
1997 United States 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

Mason was born in Kassel, Germany, but holds a U.S. passport. He began playing at lower division clubs KSV Baunatal and KSV Hessen Kassel before being picked up by Hamburg in 1994. He played with the reserve team until 1996, when he made the first of a handful of first team appearances.

In 1997, Mason's career hit its high point. He was playing Bundesliga football at Hamburg which led to U.S. national team Steve Sampson calling him up. That year, he earned five caps before his deficiencies became apparent. At that point, his career slowly slid downward. He spent two years at FC St. Pauli, then played briefly with FC Gütersloh, getting picked up by FC Carl Zeiss Jena during the 1999–2000 season.

He last played at a German Regionalliga Süd side, Hessen Kassel, a team he played with as a youth. At his previous team, SV Elversberg, he played for former U.S. national player Brent Goulet who was a longtime player and now coach for the team.

International career

Mason was discovered to be eligible for the United States national team through an e-mail that was sent to manager Steve Sampson. He was called up to several qualifier matches for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.[2]

National team appearances
  • March 16, 1997 United States 3–0 Canada (1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
    • 60th minute sub
  • April 4, 1997 United States 2–2 Mexico (1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
    • 78th minute sub
  • June 4, 1997 United States 0–0 Paraguay
    • started, subbed out 64th minute
  • June 17, 1997 United States 2–1 Israel
    • 71st minute sub
  • June 29, 1997 El Salvador 1–1 United States (1998 FIFA World Cup Qualifier)
    • 75th minute sub

References
  1. "Michael Mason" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
  2. Jones, Grahame L. (February 10, 1997). "A Talent Search Through Cyberspace". Los Angeles Times. p. C10. Retrieved December 4, 2019.
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