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!