Episode #19
EP 19: Daniel Cappellaro - From Perth to FIFA Street, Futsal and the Champions League (Part 1)
From First Touch to First Team is the podcast for young football players parents and coaches. Every episode, host Jan Schmidt sits down with professional players, coaches, and people building lives around football, and unpacks the real journeys behind the game. The goal is simple: to give young players and their parents the education, the honest stories, and the perspective they need to navigate the pathway to professional football. This week is different. Daniel Cappellaro, known to most as D10, has a story big enough that we split it into two episodes. Part 1 is his journey as a player. Daniel did not touch a football until he was eight, on a family trip to Italy where his cousin played in Serie C. He came home to Perth, found two clubs on a school notice board, and chose Armadale Soccer Club purely because they trained twice a week instead of once. What followed was West Ham's Hammers Academy in Western Australia, a scholarship at John Curtin Soccer Excellence, and a pathway that barely existed. No academies. State teams that appeared and disappeared. His references were Stan Lazaridis and Harry Kewell, recorded off The World Game onto VHS. Then futsal found him at eleven, through a low bounce ball a coach had picked up from a guy in Leeds. It took him to Argentina, Spain, England, a Champions League campaign with a Scottish club, and eventually Melbourne. Along the way he became one of sixteen unlockable characters in FIFA Street, played against Falcao and alongside Douglas Costa, met Neymar in Brazil, and built an audience of hundreds of thousands without ever wanting to be an influencer. Part 2 lands next Monday and goes into the coaching side: skill acquisition, small sided games, and what a week inside the Melbourne City academy looks like. Whether you are a young player chasing the dream, a parent supporting one, or a coach shaping the next generation, this episode is essential listening for anyone who has ever wondered what a life in football can look like beyond the pro contract. CHAPTERS 00:00 Intro: "I was a professional futsal player and I travelled the world" 03:23 Who is Daniel Cappellaro: Melbourne City U14s coach and former pro futsal player 04:51 First touch at eight: discovering football on a family trip to Italy 07:31 West Ham's Hammers Academy and John Curtin Soccer Excellence 09:22 A critical father and the "what's next" mentality 10:21 The Perth pathway in the 1990s and Frank Arok's Future Glory 12:17 No clear path but real references: Stan Lazaridis and Harry Kewell 14:46 The Perth pathway today: NPL, Football West and two A-League academies 19:42 Why young players should still study Denilson, Rivaldo and Romario 22:23 A late developer obsessed with out-teching the next team 24:54 How he learned: watch it on VHS, then find street football 27:49 Futsal and NPL side by side, and four months in Argentina 29:44 FIFA Street, Spain, England, the UEFA Futsal Cup and Melbourne City 33:51 Champions League nights, video games, homesickness and money 35:06 Leaving Perth Glory for Spain with no European passport 41:34 Where social media fits into the story 46:12 The 2016 tutorial that hit 80,000 views and deals with Nike and Adidas 49:40 Consistency, timing and blind faith 51:09 Next week: Part 2 on coaching technical skills Jan and the Eleade Fussball coaches help young Australian players bridge the gap between team training and individual development, so they can reach the highest level possible. Individual and group sessions with a cognitive focus, game analysis, and performance testing, all built around the individual player. Through this podcast, we share the real journeys of players who have reached the top, so young footballers can see just how different every path can look.
