Brandon Borrello on his path from Adelaide and the Queensland Academy of Sport to Brisbane Roar, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, and back to the Western Sydney Wanderers after a torn ACL.

Brandon started at Salisbury Villa in Adelaide at age four, moved through state teams and the South Australian Sports Institute, then to the Queensland Academy of Sport and Brisbane Roar. He explains the fitness reality check that changed his career, what he learned from senior players like Matt McKay and Thomas Broich, and why he chose Kaiserslautern, a club with a head coach who did not want him.

He tells the story of the coach who told him he was “not the Aussie I wanted”, fighting his way into the team, and the injury that put him on the operating table in Germany. He covers rehab, learning German, joining Freiburg under Christian Streich, starting against Mainz in the Bundesliga, a difficult loan at Dynamo Dresden and the call from Marco Rudan that brought him home to the Wanderers.

Brandon and Jan also discuss fan pressure in Germany compared with the A-League, the real gap between the two leagues, what to research before moving overseas, why availability is the best ability, and his advice for young players.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Brandon Borrello: Kaiserslautern, Freiburg and the Wanderers
00:47 Who is Brandon Borrello: a footballer off the pitch
01:57 First touch: Salisbury Villa and an Italian football family
03:52 Western Strikers and the sacrifices parents make
06:19 State teams, Federation football and the AIS pathway
08:32 From the South Australian Sports Institute to the Queensland Academy of Sport
09:49 Brisbane Roar youth team to first team
11:31 Fitness reality check: why work rate beats talent
14:24 Under 20 Socceroos, goals and learning from senior players
18:02 Signing with an agent and the dream of playing in Europe
21:11 Choosing 1. FC Kaiserslautern and moving to Germany
23:19 Arriving in Germany: the autobahn and “not the Aussie I wanted”
25:11 Fighting for minutes in the 2. Bundesliga
27:59 Torn ACL: the moment his knee gave way
29:15 Freiburg’s offer, surgery and rehab in Germany
32:26 Rehab mindset: learning German to stay positive
34:18 Joining SC Freiburg: Christian Streich and the language barrier
37:15 Half Time Schorle
37:52 Comeback from ACL: the Bundesliga level
41:27 Starting against Mainz in the Bundesliga
43:01 Loan move, fan hostility and Dynamo Dresden
45:14 No club, a broken foot and the call from the Wanderers
47:21 Rediscovering joy at Western Sydney Wanderers under Marco Rudan
48:26 Fan pressure: German ultras vs the A-League
51:08 Shooting drill lessons: the striker who always scored
54:37 Loneliness and lasting friendships in professional football
56:39 Injuries, Germany and what the game gave him
58:08 A-League vs Bundesliga: how big is the gap?
62:19 Advice for Australians moving overseas: do your research
64:11 Availability and leading as captain
67:55 Stoppage Time: Skopje with the Socceroos and the Union Berlin goal
69:20 Best teammate: Thomas Broich
71:44 Final advice: never take the pitch for granted

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.

Every episode, guest and chapter: https://www.firsttouchtofirstteam.com

Jan and the Eleade Fussball coaches help young Australian players bridge the gap between team training and individual development, with individual and group sessions, game analysis and performance testing: https://www.eleadefussball.com

Follow the show, leave a rating, and send this to one player or parent on the journey. Enjoy your football journey!

Dylan Watson of Southern Cross Athletes on the US college soccer pathway for NPL players: NCAA Division I, NAIA, junior college and scholarships.

Dylan grew up playing in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, stepped away from football as a teenager, and was working construction when a scholarship offer took him to a college in Tennessee in 2014. He went in without doing his research, learned the hard way about weak programs and transfer credits, and spent five years in the US before coming home to build an agency that helps young Australians avoid the same mistakes.

He breaks down every level of US college soccer, from NCAA Division I, II and III to the NAIA and junior college, and where an under-18s NPL 2 player realistically fits. He explains how Rex Pierce went from NPL 2 to NCAA Division I through junior college, and why Lachie Middleton left Sydney FC for Liberty University.

Dylan and Jan also talk about why 18 to 21 should be the most intense training years of a player's life, why so many Australians drop to two sessions a week instead, what to research before contacting any agent, and why he believes a 20-year-old outside an A-League environment may have a better chance of going pro in America. Plus his advice to every young footballer: get off your phone.

CHAPTERS

00:00 US college soccer scholarships explained with Dylan Watson

00:34 Who is Dylan Watson: Southern Cross Athletes founder and former US college player

02:37 Growing up in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs: Queens Park, Sydney Olympic trials and Sydney Uni

06:24 Losing focus as a teenager: why serious training has to start at 10 or 11

08:55 Is there a pathway for NPL 1, 2 and 3 players after school?

11:23 How he got a US soccer scholarship, and the mistakes he made choosing a college

19:28 College soccer highlights: beating national champions Martin Methodist in overtime

22:46 Life in the Bible Belt: culture shock and respect as an international student-athlete

25:32 From the Sydney FC academy to Liberty University: Lachie Middleton's NCAA Division I move

35:56 NAIA vs NCAA Division II: where an NPL 2 player realistically fits

38:10 Junior college soccer: how Rex Pierce went from NPL 2 to NCAA Division I

39:28 Why no agent can get you a scholarship if you stop developing

41:21 Why go to the US? Full-time training, a degree and coming home a better player

41:53 What players say about US college soccer, and life after the final whistle

44:56 What football has given him off the pitch: purpose, a career and lifelong relationships

48:33 Before you contact an agent: research, honesty and why it has to come from the player

52:44 What Australian football should copy from US college sport: a full-time environment

55:08 The state of NPL football, Transfermarkt and why A-League clubs sell young talent

58:29 Is it easier to go pro in the USL than the A-League after 20?

59:00 Best advice for young footballers: get off your phone

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.

Every episode, guest and chapter: https://www.firsttouchtofirstteam.com

Jan and the Eleade Fussball coaches help young Australian players bridge the gap between team training and individual development, with individual and group sessions, game analysis and performance testing: https://www.eleadefussball.com

Follow the show, leave a rating, and send this to one player or parent on the journey. Enjoy your football journey!

No two pathways into professional football look the same. Honest stories for young players, parents and coaches.

Every Monday, host Jan Schmidt sits down with professional footballers, coaches and people building full-time careers in the game, and goes back to where it started: the first touch, the first rejection, the sacrifices nobody posts about, and the moment it turned professional.

Marcus Younis lost two years to injury between 14 and 16, then went on to the A-League and PSV Eindhoven. Daniel Georgievski played Champions League nights against Chelsea with Dinamo Zagreb. Football Ferns goalkeeper Erin Nayler shares a decade as a professional abroad. Zac Sapsford went from the NPL at Hakoah to walking out at Celtic Park with Dundee United. Kealey Adamson went from NPL 2 to a contract at QPR. Brody Sams reached the NWSL as a goalkeeper coach without ever playing professionally. Daniel Cappellaro turned futsal into a career that took him to the UEFA Futsal Cup and into FIFA Street. Dario Vidosic stopped making Queensland teams as a teenager, then played in the Bundesliga with Nürnberg. And Socceroo John Iredale left Sydney FC at 17 for Heerenveen, played alongside Omar Marmoush at Wolfsburg, and is now scoring goals in South Korea's K League 1.

For players: hear how professionals handled being cut, injured, overlooked or homesick, and what they would do differently if they were your age again.

For parents: understand the real pathway beyond the highlight reels, from NPL and A-League academies to trials overseas, and learn how to support your child through every high and low.

For coaches: get honest insight into what academies look for, how players develop, and what Australian football can learn from Germany, the Netherlands, Asia and the US.

Also on the show: Will Kennedy, Nicolai Müller, Joshua Laws, Kiara De Domizio, Alexander Fuchs, Lloyd Owusu, Claudio Fabiano, Sammy Iredale, Daniel Solsky and UBF.

New episodes every Monday. Follow the show so you never miss one, and share it with one player or parent on the journey.

Every episode, guest and chapter: https://www.firsttouchtofirstteam.com

Enjoy your football journey!

Socceroo John Iredale on leaving Sydney FC at 17 for Heerenveen, two injuries before 22, Wolfsburg II, the 2. Bundesliga and the K League 1.

John grew up at Gladesville Hornsby, came through Marconi and Blacktown City, and joined the Sydney FC youth setup at 16. Training with the A-League squad, he even scored twice in a friendly at right back, but with Bobo and David Carney ahead of him he chose a move to SC Heerenveen's under-18s in the Netherlands over waiting for minutes as a striker.

In his first year in Europe he could not do a single pull-up. By the end of 2018 he was in Heerenveen's Eredivisie preseason and Graham Arnold's first Socceroos squad at 19. Then came the U20 Asian Cup, a stress fracture, six months out and the end of his contract. John explains how a trial at VfB Stuttgart led to Wolfsburg II, playing alongside Omar Marmoush and Anton Stach, and how a second injury, COVID and missing the Olympics shaped his move to Paderborn and his promotion with Wehen Wiesbaden.

He talks openly about strength and conditioning starting too late in Australia, investing in recovery and mental coaching before things go wrong, why Germany's league ladder means fewer players fall through the gaps, and life and football in South Korea. Plus Mesut Özil, Martin Ødegaard and scoring his first Socceroos goal in Canberra.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro: John Iredale, from Sydney FC to Germany and South Korea

00:42 Introduction and early football journey at Gladesville Hornsby

03:15 When football became the goal: NSW selection and idols Rooney and Van Persie

05:41 Youth development and coaching influence: Marconi, Blacktown City and Sydney FC

08:16 Breaking into Sydney FC and learning from older strikers

10:53 Why he left Sydney FC: two goals at right back and a trial at Heerenveen

13:29 Adapting to European football at Heerenveen: tactics, the gym and one pull-up

15:59 The impact of strength and conditioning, and what Wolfsburg showed him

18:53 A Socceroos call-up at 19, the U20 Asian Cup and a stress fracture

21:33 Lessons from the U20 Asian Cup and the teammates who became Socceroos

24:07 Lessons from injury and personal growth: six months out and coming back stronger

26:57 From a Stuttgart trial to Wolfsburg II: playing alongside Omar Marmoush

34:59 Injuries and challenges: 11 months out, missing the Olympics and signing for Paderborn

37:44 Mental readiness and what he would do differently

39:55 Experiences in German football: the fans, Düsseldorf and a transfer two days after moving in

45:22 Transitioning to Denmark: why football is a key or a prison cell

47:43 Life and football in South Korea's K League 1

53:38 Aiming for Socceroos selection again

56:16 Stoppage Time Questions: the most unexpected place football has taken him

57:04 Memorable moments: Wiesbaden's promotion and his first Socceroos goal

58:30 Lessons from German football: why Australia needs a league ladder

1:00:33 Best players encountered: Mesut Özil and Martin Ødegaard

1:03:39 Advice for young footballers: hard work beats talent

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.

Jan and the Eleade Fussball coaches help young Australian players bridge the gap between team training and individual development, with individual and group sessions, game analysis and performance testing: https://www.eleadefussball.com

Follow the show, leave a rating, and send this to one player or parent on the journey. Enjoy your football journey!

Dario Vidosic stopped making Queensland teams as a teenager, then went from Brisbane Roar to the Bundesliga with 1. FC Nürnberg and the Socceroos.

Between 13 and 16, Dario stopped making Queensland teams, never made the Queensland Academy of Sport, and was one of the last to go into the AIS. His dad's advice: keep working, keep enjoying it. As a late developer he had to rely on technique to beat bigger, faster players, and it paid off when he scored on his A-League debut for Queensland Roar.

From there it was a trial and a contract at 1. FC Nürnberg in the Bundesliga, learning every day from Marek Mintál and Zvjezdan Misimović. Dario explains how Germany's youth reform gave players like Ilkay Gündoğan, Toni Kroos and Mesut Özil their chance, and why Australia's young players, now playing 50 or 60 professional games before 18, are better prepared to go overseas.

He shares what young players should be ready for when they move to Europe, why three sessions a week with Pep Guardiola still would not be enough, and how Pep's Barcelona turned him into a coach, from the Melbourne City academy to Brighton in the Women's Super League.

CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro: scoring on debut, missing Queensland teams and Bundesliga matchdays

01:12 Episode 20: Dario Vidosic, Socceroo, Bundesliga player and Brighton coach

03:12 Who is Dario Vidosic: from Brisbane and the Socceroos to coaching in England

04:27 First touch: arriving from Croatia aged two and growing up at Brisbane Croatia

06:38 Childhood idols: Roberto Baggio on VHS, Ronaldo, Batistuta and The World Game

08:06 A late developer: missing Queensland teams, the AIS and signing with Queensland Roar

12:21 No two pathways are the same: Matt Leckie, Eberechi Eze and loving the game

14:28 What it takes to play at the top now: Premier League physicality vs technique

16:41 From Brisbane Roar to 1. FC Nürnberg: the trial, Bundesliga matchdays and the Fürth derby

20:17 Lessons from a pro career: discipline, extra work after training and earning your luck

23:43 Learning from Marek Mintál and Misimović, and what Germany's youth reform means for Australia

30:12 Why three sessions a week with Pep isn't enough, and what to expect when you move overseas

39:40 What he'd do differently, Ronaldo's mentality, and why Pep's Barcelona made him a coach

47:29 Is Hansi Flick's Barcelona back to its best? Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Pedri

49:44 From Melbourne City to Brighton: the jump to the Women's Super League

52:12 A-League Women vs the WSL: 15-year-old Shelby McMahon and learning the hard way

54:58 Young players in the A-League: from the Del Piero era to Lucas Herrington's move abroad

1:08:24 Stoppage Time Questions: an Olympic qualifier in North Korea

1:09:56 Best player he shared a pitch with: Luka Modrić

1:10:49 Learning German at Nürnberg and French in Switzerland

1:13:08 The moment he'd relive: scoring on his Queensland Roar debut, and beating Arsenal with Brighton

1:16:54 Why the friendships last longer than the results

1:20:12 Final advice: love the ball, chase the dream and learn from people who've done it

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.

Want to leave a question for one of the next guests?https://firsttouchtofirstteam.com/ask/

Follow the show, leave a rating, and send this to one player or parent on the journey. Enjoy your football journey!

Melbourne City academy coach Daniel Cappellaro on skill acquisition, the weak foot, and why Australian football needs more technique.

In Part 2, Daniel moves from his playing career to coaching. He explains why technical skill and skill acquisition are two completely different things, why so few Australian players spend time alone with the ball, and what he sees when Melbourne City scouts 2014 and 2015 born players.

We compare Australia with Japan and with Bundesliga U17 players, and look at the Australians making their way in Europe now, from Lucas Herrington and Nestory Irankunda to Alessandro Circati and Jordan Bos. Daniel explains why 15-year-old A-League academy players are relearning their weak foot, how the NPL ladder rewards early developers, and why a young Thierry Henry was told at Clairefontaine to stop using his speed.

He also lays out how he would build a complete player from 8 to 18, what Melbourne City's academy looks for, and why so many families keep switching clubs. Plus Tim Cahill, Falcão, and what Harry Kewell told him about coming back from injury.

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.

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: "Technical skill and skill acquisition are completely different things"

00:31 Part 2: coaching, skill acquisition and what Melbourne City looks for

02:02 Why Australia needs more technique: Harry Kewell, Herrington, Irankunda, Circati and Bos

04:33 Lessons from Japan, and why A-League academy players lack the foundations of a Bundesliga U17

08:19 Why so few Australian players train alone with a ball, and what you can do with a wall

11:14 What Melbourne City sees when scouting 2014 and 2015 born players

13:32 Is social media skills training useless? JJ Gabriel, Rayan Cherki and Kevin De Bruyne

17:48 One-to-one coaching too early and the bad habits it builds

19:09 Why A-League academy players relearn their weak foot, and how the NPL ladder plays a part

22:59 An ideal world: grouping players by maturation age, not birth year

24:54 Advice for late and early developers, and Thierry Henry's "stop using your speed"

28:20 Building a complete player from 8 to 18: Daniel's age-by-age plan

31:02 Why players keep switching clubs, and the environment that made them good

33:53 What Melbourne City's academy looks for: 2v1 moments and when to take more touches

37:05 Stoppage Time Questions: Tunisia, Tim Cahill, Falcão and the UEFA Futsal Cup

42:01 Final advice: love the ball, and what Harry Kewell told him about injuries

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.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firsttouchtofirstteam/

Follow the show, leave a rating, and share this with one player or parent on the journey.

Enjoy your football journey!

Daniel Cappellaro, known as D10, on his journey from Perth to FIFA Street, professional futsal in Spain and England, and the UEFA Futsal Cup.

Daniel did not touch a football until he was eight, on a family trip to Italy where his cousin played in Serie C. Back in Perth, he 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 A-League 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, where he now coaches in the Melbourne City academy. Along the way he became one of sixteen unlockable characters in FIFA Street, played against Falcão and alongside Douglas Costa, and met Neymar in Brazil.

Part 1 is his journey as a player. Part 2 covers coaching: skill acquisition, the weak foot, and what Melbourne City's academy looks for.

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.

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 Part 2 preview: 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.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firsttouchtofirstteam/

Follow the show, leave a rating, and share this with one player or parent on the journey.

Enjoy your football journey!