Interview with Daniel „D10” Cappellaro - FIFA Street star

Written by Łukasz Samek, photo: Robert C. Ossowski & others

FIFA Street star and Middlesbrough Futsal player Daniel Cappellaro talks to Lukasz Samek. Could you please introduce yourself? My name is Daniel Cappellaro, I’m 28 and I was born in Australia. How did you get involved in futsal? What do you enjoy the most in futsal? I was first introduced to Futsal when I was 12yrs old, I played for Armadale Soccer Club at the time and my coach showed us an indoor version of the game that was played in Brazil. He said “ This game has been given the blame for producing all the countries best players”. Interestingly, our coach had returned from a visit to Leeds and had a VHS video in his hand with Simon Clifford’s face on it. This was the first time I had played with a Futsal ball, and with Futsal rules. I continued to play 5-a-side football and Futsal during the outdoor football offseason and then had the opportunity to play for the Western Australian State team, later joining the WA State Futsal League through an invitation from Eldon Abrahams and the rest was history as they say. Where has your career taken you over the years? Where is your favourite place that you’ve lived in or visited? I’ve been to many countries but my most favourite would have been earlier this year, when I travelled to Barcelona. The city, the people and the weather were all amazing. It was also surreal for me to be living in the same city as Neymar, Messi, Iniesta and other stars of the Barcelona Football Club, a team I’ve supported since I was a kid. Why did you decide to sign a contract with Middlesbrough Futsal Club? What do you think about your new club, team mates and staff? How do you see your role at Boro? Middlesbrough offered a new challenge, and in a country where football is truly a religion. Everyone here in England follows the football and I believe it’s only a matter of time before Futsal starts to take off in a big way over here too. I really like the feeling around the club and we have a great bunch of players, everyone has made me feel really welcome. I believe we are also very lucky to have Chris Hodgson as a coach, he is a fantastic motivator and constantly strives to get the best out of his players. My role is simple; I’m here to hopefully help and add to the existing squad. We have a good mix of youth and experience. Apart from playing for Boro you are also the head coach of academy. Could you tell a little bit more about academy? What are the challenges coaching kids at Middlesbrough Futsal Club? The academy is great, the kids have good attitudes and are very keen to learn. The challenge we face though is finding regular games for the kids to enjoy competitive futsal, this is made difficult without the set up of a junior national league.  Players put their preference in football, as a result of this. What’s your ambition for this season? I want to try and win the North: Division 1 with Middlesbrough, it’s an ambition and I believe you need to be clear about what you want to achieve. I would like to hope that I can help Chris Hodgson and my team mates create something special at Middlesbrough. Before joining Middlesbrough Futsal Club you travelled to Poland with Scottish champions Perth Saltires for preliminary round to UEFA Futsal Cup. Could you tell us about your experience of playing in that competition? Playing in the UEFA Futsal Cup was fantastic. We played against some of the best players in Europe and in front of crowds of 1,800 people. It’s an experience that I will keep with me forever, and one that I’m very proud to say I have done. What do you think about Poland? Did you have a time to visit any places in Poland? Poland seemed a very nice place, very untouched. To be fair I only really visited Bielsko Biala, however what I saw of this city and some of the hill side was very scenic. Strangely it reminded me a lot of the musical “The Sound of Music”, with its hills, mountains, housing and buildings. You are known as a star of EA Sports FIFA Street – D10. Could you tell us how did you get involved? I was in the right place at the right time. I used to work for a street football company in Australia, EA Sports contacted the owner and asked if there were any Australian street footballers that could possibly feature in the game. I was then contacted and asked to send through some information, and a couple weeks later I got called to say that I was going to have a likeness of myself in the game. What are your interests outside of futsal? Outside of futsal I love music, the beach, coffee, good films and fashion. I like to go shopping, I have an obsession with sneakers. I love watching live football as well, I’ve really taken to Newcastle United since being in England. Daniel, you are the face of brand #trickster, could you tell us a little bit more about that brand? #trickster is a brand I started with some good friends. It’s a brand that says “I’m a skilful footballer”. When I was younger I always wanted to wear clothing that showed how much I loved playing football, and that it was my favourite sport. Trickster is for players that love skills, tricks and 1v1 moves, we have a saying “Wear Skilful. Wear #trickster” and the brand was built on this idea. Daniel, you are a very successful person. What kind of advice you would like to give to young people, who aren’t sure, what to do? 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. Where to find out more information? People can follow me on Facebook, twitter and Instagram. @D10Football Thank you for your time. Łukasz Samek