A Trickster Kicking Goals Around the World
Daniel “D10” Cappellaro, 29 years old, professional Futsal player for Pascoe Vale FC, employee at Futsal Oz Mt Evelyn.
Working at Futsal Oz isn’t your typical 9–5 job; it definitely keeps Daniel on his toes. Pun intended.
‘Futsal’ is another form of soccer, typically played indoors, with around five or six players on each team. Futsal has taken Daniel not just all around Australia, but playing games all around the world.
First inspired by a family trip to Italy when he was just 9 years old, it was there where Daniel instantly “fell in love with the game”. His cousin being a professional footballer, got Daniel to attend his games, and eventually he “was gripped” by the sport.
Daniel is also an ambassador for the highly popular Futsal medium “Futsal Focus”, a website that keeps users updated with all things Futsal related.
Futsal, which has a smaller pitch compared to a regular soccer field, appealed more to Daniel, as the smaller playing field allowed for a lot more involvement in the game. He describes this difference as a real positive, especially being “a player who loves the ball at his feet”, it also is an avenue through which he can “develop [ his] skills and 1v1 ability”.
Originally from Perth, WA, Daniel has played for many teams over the years including the AFA Australian Men’s team, Western Australia at the FFA Nationals, the State Futsal League ‘SFL 5’ at the FAFL Cup, and Fremantle Muita Calma. So saying he’s an expert at what he loves is an understatement.
Currently a Melbournian playing for Pascoe Vale Futsal Club in the Nike V-League, Daniel says that all clubs have a special meaning to him and were experiences which he loved, however there is one team that sticks out above the rest.
The Cambio Cumbre from Western Australia. Despite only playing very little for them over the past 2–3 years, there will always be a soft spot in his heart for them. Of his team he states, “we were not just team mates, but all very good friends and remain friends still to this day”.
Aside from his massive involvement in so many teams, Daniel was also the first Australian to play in the UEFA Futsal Cup. After watching and admiring the UEFA Champions League for years, to finally have the chance to participate through Futsal was like “living out one of my dreams” for Daniel.
To play in front of the huge crowds was not on lost on him either, saying “playing in front of a crowd of 2,000 plus, for a Futsal match was something very amazing”, and something not easily forgotten.
One of his biggest achievements however hasn't even taken place on the actual playing field, but on a digital one. ‘D10’ starred in EA Sports’ FIFA Street as an unlockable character in the video game.
Daniel explains the incredible feeling of being turned into a character in a video game as being “pretty much every boy’s dream”, further, he talks about how “it was unbelievable, from the moment I heard I was going to be featured as a character in the game, right up until today.. I still think the sound of it is hilarious, it makes me laugh. I’m very fortunate to have had this opportunity and experience”.
If Daniel has anything to be thankful for (other than the obvious family and friends influence), it would be his incredible trick skills, which helped him to be chosen to be in a video game. For his interest in that, he has the Brazilian and South American footballers to thank, who inspired him to practice every day until he could copy and imitate their exact moves; his favourites being the Flip-Flap and Roulette.
Although he had practised so hard to perfect them, he never saw the tricks taking him to the level he is at now, saying “[he] never thought it would develop into something like this, to create a career from doing skills and football tricks”.
While still on his own Futsal journey, Daniel loves to help engage the next generation of young stars through coaching, as he hopes to help the younger kids or the inexperienced achieve what he has been able to do, as well as enjoy it.
He got into coaching through Football West over in Western Australia under the guidance of ex-professional footballer Mark Lee, “He gave me my start in coaching, and showed me how to use my personality in order to engage, teach and pass on my passion to young players” Daniel says.
Another one of Daniel’s passions is fashion, and as a way of showing that passion, he has designed his own label #trickster. “I have always loved fashion and always liked the idea of designing my own clothes. I then showed this idea to a close family friend of mine and #trickster was born”.
Daniel says that he wanted to create a brand that players could wear to show who they are as a player just by wearing a piece of clothing.
While most would be happy with what they have achieved by now Daniel still has plenty of goals he is still looking to achieve not just on but off the field. 29 is considered young in the eyes of Futsal, so Daniel would like to play until he is at least 40 years of age and he “would like to win as much as I can domestically with my new club Pascoe Vale.”
His biggest goal though is to play for the Futsalroos who have just qualified for the 2016 AFC Championships in Uzbekistan, but ultimately Daniel wants to “continue promoting the sport, doing the tricks and skills and inspiring the younger generation. To see them all wearing a #trickster tee would be something else too.”
Daniel has one piece of advice for young people,
“If you have a dream or an ambition, go for it. No dream is too big, nobody can be too ambitious and don’t listen to those who tell you it’s not possible, this is only because it’s not possible for them.”
