From Unpaid Intern to the Champions League With Daniel Caraça and Dr Martin Buchheit

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Training Science Podcast

Episode: From Unpaid Intern to the Champions League With Daniel Caraça and Dr Martin Buchheit
Hosts: Martin Buchheit & Paul Laursen
Guest: Daniel Caraça
Date: August 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and inspiring episode, Martin Buchheit sits down with young Portuguese sports scientist Daniel Caraça to chart his unconventional journey from working part-time at McDonald's during university to landing a paid role at Pafos FC, a Champions League football club in Cyprus. Daniel’s story exemplifies perseverance, adaptability, and an unwavering passion for working in elite football, making the episode a must-listen for early-career practitioners and anyone facing the long road to their dream job.

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Key Topics & Insights

1. The Early Days: Moving Abroad and Juggling Jobs

• Background: Daniel discusses his upbringing in Portugal, struggling to choose a path after high school, and his neighbor’s influence leading to studying Sports Science at Coventry University, UK.
• Adapting: He highlights the challenges of adapting to a new country, educational system, and language.
• Survival Jobs: To support himself, Daniel took flexible shifts at McDonald’s, which allowed him to fund his studies and make time for unpaid roles in football ([02:01]-[04:00]).

Quote:

“I started working McDonald's as soon as I arrived to Coventry... with three shifts a week, I think I would cover all my expenses and I could have another four days for focusing on uni.”
— Daniel ([03:00])

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2. Stepping Into Football (For Free)

• First Experiences: Daniel details his own initiative to email rugby and football clubs around Edinburgh while studying for his master’s in Strength & Conditioning at Edinburgh University.
• Breaking In: Despite aiming for rugby to broaden his perspective, he ends up volunteering with a 6th division Scottish football club ([06:00]-[10:00]).
• Financial Reality: None of these roles were paid; he balanced study, part-time work, and football internships simultaneously.

Quote:

“No, no, no, no. Not paid. Not paid. I'll mention, I'll mention.”
— Daniel ([08:16])

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3. Climbing the Ranks: Voluntary to Symbolic Pay

• Lowland League Progression: Through persistence, Daniel earns a role at The Spartans, a 5th division Scottish club with resources that surpass its ranking. He stays for nearly three seasons, receiving a small Christmas bonus (£300) but otherwise works for free ([10:00]-[14:30]).
• Achievements: He celebrates helping the Spartans win promotion to the professional ranks but reflects on perhaps staying too long in voluntary roles before seeking paid work.

Quote:

“I got paid £300 a year, which is better than nothing.”
— Daniel ([12:22])

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4. The Long Grind: Personal Training & Relentless Applications

• Transition: Daniel eventually leaves McDonald's for personal training, but laments it’s essentially unpaid at the start due to gym policies ([14:31]-[17:00]).
• Job Hunt Frustration: Despite four years of football experience, he struggles to get interviews for paid jobs, noting the lack of “quality” experience means his CV is passed over ([17:38]-[20:11]).

Quote:

“At this point I have four years of football, but they are not a good quality four years. So they are not very relevant to many clubs and I don't get even interviews. But I keep applying. I don't quit because it's my dream job.”
— Daniel ([20:11])

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5. The Power of Networking

• Mentorship: Daniel’s coach introduces him to Anton McLeon, a leading practitioner who once held Daniel’s very position as an intern—15 years earlier. Anton becomes a pivotal mentor, helping with feedback, advice, and connecting Daniel to job opportunities ([20:11]-[23:00]).
• Breakthrough Opportunity: Daniel secures an unpaid internship with 292 Performance in Mallorca, where his hard work catches the attention of Martin Buchheit ([23:00]-[29:00]).
• Serendipity: Martin is so impressed that he later recommends Daniel for an opening at Pafos FC, after relating his story to club management ([29:38]-[35:10]).

Quote:

“From those five minutes we chatted in Mallorca, I was impressed by what you just...you've shown so much motivation, resilience, generosity...and I thought, if I can help Daniel, I will, because he deserves to be helped.”
— Martin Buchheit ([34:30])

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6. Getting to the Champions League: The Pafos Opportunity

• First Paid Pro Role: Daniel finally lands a paid, full-time sports science position at Pafos FC in Cyprus, entering just as they qualify for the Champions League.
• Rapid Learning: He partners with existing staff, upgrades club data systems (Power BI, GPS dashboards), and relieves overloaded colleagues, quickly providing value through tech and practical support ([38:36]-[43:00]).
• Handling Change: Within his first season, he works under three separate coaching staffs, requiring constant adaptation in work routines and communication styles ([43:26]-[46:54]).

Quote:

“I came to work. I was ready to work 247 if necessary. I was ready to do anything for this job, anything and everything to keep the job, to do the best, to impress.”
— Daniel ([39:17])

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7. Personal Growth and Professional Transformation

• Work Ethic and Motivation: Daniel credits his relentless drive to his background; growing up, he worked tough jobs, and his mother insisted on the value of hard work ([52:39]-[53:44]).
• Building Confidence and Skills: He learned to navigate player relationships, adapt to various management styles, manage data analytics, and become more comfortable and efficient in high-pressure environments ([50:36]-[58:17]).
• Advice for Others: Daniel encourages young professionals to start seeking real-world experience early—even if unpaid—and stresses the importance of persistence and attitude.

Quote:

“If you have two interns—one that works hard and the other that doesn't, even if the one that doesn't might be much smarter...the attitude will come out as well and people value that.”
— Daniel ([35:12])

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8. The Value—and Flaws—of Unpaid Work

• Fairness & Value: Daniel openly discusses the drawbacks of unpaid internships, emphasizing the lack of feeling valued and the importance of even minimal compensation for motivation and validation ([63:11]-[64:29]).

Quote:

“If, if you. When I was working voluntarily, I didn't feel valued by the clubs. I felt I was discardable, you know, and even if they paid me...it would change a lot because it's not about the money, it's about being valued or not.”
— Daniel ([63:11])

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9. Looking Ahead: Not Taking Anything for Granted

• Job Instability: Daniel recognizes the insecurity of professional football, planning to continue self-improvement, maintain strong networks, and keep his mind open to opportunities worldwide ([59:42]-[61:41]).
• Long-Term Dream: His ultimate goal is to return to Portugal in a major football role someday.

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Notable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• Daniel on work-life balance and struggle:
  “I was just sleeping and eating and otherwise I was always on my laptop doing something, exploring. And at the same time, the funny thing is it never felt hard to me...it was exciting for me.” ([50:36])

• Martin on Daniel's journey:
  “You’ve shown so much motivation, resilience, generosity...at all levels...this is such a nice example of, again, commitment and resilience.” ([34:30])

• Daniel on his motivation:
  “I know reality. I think I know this is a privileged job as well, in my opinion. It's very privileged. I'm very lucky to be here. So I, I don't want to waste this opportunity.” ([53:44])

• Advice for young listeners:
  “If someone is in my position, I think, and if you love football, I think if you work hard and you keep trying, you will achieve the same as me. It can take four, five, six, seven years, but you will get there.” ([64:13])

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Major Takeaways

• Relentlessness pays off—even after years of unpaid work, Daniel’s attitude and commitment drew advocates, opening doors that experience alone could not.
• Networking is critical—real-world relationships and serendipitous encounters (like meeting Martin) matter as much as technical skills, especially at the entry level.
• Value and fairness matter—Daniel calls for paid internships and greater recognition for young professionals’ contributions.
• Adaptability is essential—each new coaching staff or role demanded a shift in mindset, skills, and work style on Daniel’s part.
• Professional football is volatile—even with hard work, nothing is guaranteed; continued learning and relationship-building remain key.

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Suggested Listening Segments (Timestamps)

• Introduction to Daniel’s story & background ([00:00]-[02:01])
• Transition from university to Scottish football & unpaid work ([06:00]-[14:30])
• Discussion on job market challenges and networking ([17:38]-[29:38])
• The Mallorca internship and connection with Martin ([29:38]-[35:12])
• Landing the Champions League job and practical challenges ([38:36]-[43:26])
• Navigating turnover in professional football clubs ([43:26]-[46:54])
• Daniel’s advice for young sports scientists ([63:11]-[64:29])

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Final Thoughts

Daniel’s story is a powerful testament to grit, humility, and the long game in elite sports. His journey offers both caution and encouragement—highlighting the realities of the field while also keeping hope alive for anyone on the path from unpaid intern to the world stage.

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Transcript

[Martin Boucher]

How do you go from a McDonald's shift in Coventry to a Champions League night in Cyprus? Today I speak with Daniel Caraccia. He's young, he's early in his career, and this is exactly why I wanted him here. Portuguese. He studied in England and Scotland and he gave five or six seasons of unpaid work to football before anyone paid him a salary. His story is about ambition, hard work, and the attitude you bring every day. Hey, Daniel, how are you? It's good to see you today.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Hi, Martin, Good to see you, too. Thank you for inviting me to be here to start.

[Martin Boucher]

I'm super excited with this chat and obviously the listener will also get a lot from your story and your journey because today we're interviewing, I would say a newer practitioner. Had a lot of older people, like my generation, that have been a bit. Everywhere. You're starting your career and the story around you, starting with Paphos, is interesting and then there's a lot of learning because. Because so many things have happened already since you started. There's a lot to discuss. So now, welcome and I'm very excited about the discussion today.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Thank you so much, Martin. I'm very excited to share my story and to maybe inspire some young people that are going through what I've been or will be, hopefully.

[Martin Boucher]

Yes. Yeah, that's definitely the aim. So, yeah, I just kind of already teased a little bit saying that you're right now working at Paphos, but maybe let's go backward a little bit. The first time we met was in major CAR a bit more than a year ago. Now you are doing an intern job for Ben Rosenblatt and he's an IT2 company. That's how we connected. But we'll tell the full story afterward. But maybe if you start Mallorca being interns helping out Ben, maybe go backwards to that and what you've done before with your background and how you ended up doing all of this.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Okay, I'll tell you a bit about my study. So I'm Portuguese, I'm from Portugal. And when I was around 18, 19, I was a bit lost. I didn't know what to. I wanted to study at university. So I was just working and I found myself researching a lot about sports science. So the opportunity to study sports science actually outside of Portugal appeared because my neighbor went to study in Coventry University, which is next to Birmingham. And at the time I spoke with him, I thought was very interesting to study abroad because. Especially sports science in England, because my goal was football and I knew the Premier League. I was Watching a lot football at the time and I thought if I study sports science in England I'll be closer to, to the top level, to the standard. So I, after one year of my neighbor being there I, he gave me really good feedback and I applied as well. I got in to go to Coventry University which was okay university. It wasn't top, it wasn't bad in my opinion. And then I, I moved there in September 2018. So it's been now eight years almost to do my bachelor's degree in sports science. Then I'm. After I moved there I had to to get the part time job as well. So I started studying and working which I think it was. This is one of the things I felt it was different from the Portugal UK because it was very easy to conciliate, conceal conciliate the, the job and the study so I could do. In reality I went to work in McDonald's because it was a very flexible job that would give me freedom to, to have holidays when I wanted to go to Portugal and at the same time they paid well. So I, I started working McDonald's as soon as I arrived to Coventry and then with three shifts a week I think I would cover all my expenses and I could have another four days for focusing on uni. So after being in Coventry two or three years I in the second year I started a bit more focused because to be honest the first year was quite hard. I adapting to the English system of learning, adapting to writing English to have classes in English all this but. So the first year wasn't easy for me and. But I, I managed to adapt in the, the second year I started having better grades and I started to having bigger goals as well. I, I decided I want to do a master's degree also in the uk. So I was able to finish then my bachelor bachelor degree with the good, good grades and could choose any university to go for my master's and at the time I was inclined to go to Loughborough University. I don't know if you heard before but it's quite famous in UK to do my masters. But because I was in Coventry which was quite close. A lot of people give me feedback of British people. They say you should go to Edinburgh because I was also in between Edinburgh University which was also a very good uni. Maybe not so good for sports but very good uni. So but they said but Wolf Pro is going to be very similar to Coventry. The experience the city is not amazing. If you go. I think if you go to Edinburgh in Scotland you're going to enjoy a lot. And so I decided to go to Edinburgh University to do my Masters in Strength and Conditioning. So I moved to Scotland in 2021. 2021 and I started doing my master's degree in strength conditioning. At this time I also had to get a job in McDonald's because I thought like it's a job I know how to do, it's easy, I can do my studies easy and just have this on the side. So I keep working in McDonald's and in the same year also while I was doing my masters the university starts offering placements and trying to get us to get experience. And so at this point I'm applying for the to do placements and to start getting applied experience as well. And in reality I try to go to rugby. So my idea is I want to go to a rugby club and try to. Because I always knew I wanted to do football. That was my main goal. But I thought I will go to football for sure. So why don't I do maybe one year or two years of rugby just to learn outside of the box and, and maybe I can transfer some things to football. I also know that rugby is quite the physical part is very valuable in rugby and you take in other things. So I then apply for email. I didn't apply. I emailed many clubs of rugby clubs around Edinburgh and I got a couple replies and one of the guys that replied to me said so most of them rejected me but one said we, we are not looking for anyone to do internship with us but actually my friend is looking for someone right now and it was football. So I ended up going to football anyway and that's how I started my experience in football. So I go to, to 6 Division of Scotland which is called the east of Scotland with this, this guy called Grant, Grant Michael Yoda if I remember well he gives me kind of the first opportunity to, to be environment to, to learn and it was quite nice because introduced me the way introduced things and the way organized. He got another intern for the same team and I really like the way he did things because it was very good introduction for me and I was able to have discussions with him to see what he did. He was kind of a physical preparation coach as well and, and he didn't mainly work on that team but he also helped with that team. So I, I, that was the first time I was in the environment football and it me to watch in the beginning, watch what he did and eventually step, step over as well and start doing some things. And by the end of that season.

[Martin Boucher]

Yes, sorry to interrupt. That job, you were, you, you were paid or you were still also just intern.

[Daniel Caraccia]

No, no, no, no. Not paid. Not paid. I'll mention, I'll mention.

[Martin Boucher]

Yes, I knew the answer, but I just wanted you to, to, to go through that. Yes, okay, Go ahead, please. Yes, yes.

[Daniel Caraccia]

No, no. It wasn't late. So this was voluntary role internship, but it was good introduction. It didn't take me too much time, to be honest. This one took me mostly Tuesday, Thursday night, I think maybe two hours each. I had to get a bus to the place. Sometimes took a bit, but it was okay in general. It didn't take me too much time and it wasn't too hard. Yes, I was doing three things at the time, so I was studying my masters, I was working three shifts on McDonald's and I was doing two days in the football club. But I, I logged in that year and I, I thought like I, I, it's, it's the only, it's my last year in uni, so I really need to, to give everything to, and to have good grades because after this year I don't have an opportunity again to change that. So I really walked in. I don't know if I would be able to do it again. What I, the, the, the hours I spent that year focused on my masters. Everything I did at the same time. It was kind of crazy, but I managed to. And yeah, by the end of the, my masters in the football club, I was the east of Scotland. I was already doing the, doing the warm ups. It was funny because so that team had under 20s and first team, but they trained at the same time on the same pitch. And in the beginning I was more within the 20s, obviously. And then because Grant had to leave to Thailand for a job, I end up in the end of the season. I was doing the warm ups and I was doing myself. I was doing part of the work that Grant was doing and that was already good for me to gain some experience and some confidence in coaching after that. After finishing my master's, I decided to stay around Edinburgh because I've made contacts, I've had the job, I had the house, everything kind of taken care of. So I didn't want to move back to Portugal or anything. I also thought staying in UK would be better for more opportunities. So I stayed around and what I did after that season is I again emailed a bunch of football clubs. This time 5th, 4th division of Scotland, so 12 divisions above and from the clubs I emailed the one in the fifth division called the Spartans. The coach was very responsive. So I quickly met with a coach. And this coach is one of the. I would say the most important people of my career so far. His name is Douglas Samuel. He's a top person, great person. I own him a lot. And I end up staying in this club that I'm gonna tell you now, almost three seasons. And he was amazing with me. So what happened was I met with him, he agreed that I would do the. The fitness fitness coach for his team in the fifth division. The fifth division of Scotland is called the Lowlands League which is split in north, the north part in the. In the south part. So the Lowland League was the south of Scotland. And the. The project that they had at this point it was. I was impressed because a fifth division team we. They always. They already had GPS system. They. They had the to physios. They had a good good training ground. The project was very. I was very impressed with them. It was a big jump from that sixth division team to. To this team. It was a big jump and I can see they were probably not fifth division team. They. They. They could do much more. So I stayed for on that team that I. It was really good for me to gain experience again. It was voluntary so I did not get paid. I think they paid me if I remember well, £300. £300 on Christmas. So I got paid £300 a year, which is better than nothing.

[Martin Boucher]

The big bonus. The big yearly bonus. Yes.

[Daniel Caraccia]

And what happened that year? It was an insane year and we got promoted to the fourth division. So we did end up winning the Lowland League. We went to the playoffs against the. The. The North League as well. And we beat the north, the best team of the North. And then we have to play the last team of league two. So week two of Scotland, which is already professional, you have some teams that are part time professional but is considered professional. So then we managed to. To win all the playoffs and we got promoted to league two of Scotland. And it was a very good season for me. Was the first time I was winning things with the club to to be part of that. And it was very good experience. And so then we were in league two and a lot of things change because in Scotland if you get to league two, for example, you are then on a league cup that occurs in the happens in the beginning of the season that you play first division, second division and third division of Scotland teams. And again the club and this coach we did very well. Like in the first year in the fourth Division of Scotland League two. We played against some the same teams of the first division and we actually beat them for this cup. We, we managed to finish third in the league and to go to the playoffs to get promoted again and a second year in a row. And yeah, I end up staying and I understand we did not get promoted to League one, unfortunately, but I end up saying because the project was good and I was learning, to be honest, I probably shouldn't have stayed as long as I did because I probably maximize my learnings by the first or second year that I had there because the resources go until a certain point. And after that I needed a bit probably to jump to, to develop a bit more. But I ended up staying because at this point I was also doing personal trainer. So when I finished my master's degree, I forgot to mention I did start doing my personal training, which at some point I quit McDonald's when I was doing enough money in personal training.

[Martin Boucher]

So yeah, that was my question. When did you finally drop, did you finally drop the diagonal shifts to get something closer? Because as you said, there's a transfer between being personal trainer. So that makes more sense. But you have to have the economical model. I understand. So okay, that's answering my question.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Yeah, probably. It took me about five, I think I worked close to five years in McDonald's. So after I finished my master's, I still worked the first year as a personal trainer on McDonald's just because personal trainer didn't pay me anything apart from the clients the gym I worked. So I had to build the clientele first and then I would get money directly from the clients. So in a way, even the gym was kind of voluntary work in the beginning because the, the gym group, the one I worked for, I had to do 12 hours a week that I did not get paid. So this 12 hours a week that I did a week was the rent. I would pay the rent of the gym, so then I wouldn't have to pay to the gym a percentage of what I would make on clients. But if you are doing this 12 hours a week and you don't have any clients, you're basically working for free. So I worked another year in McDonald's until I had enough to, to make even a bit more that I was making McDonald's and still be comfortable. So at this point that I go to maybe third season of Spartans in League two of Scotland, I, I, what I was going to say, I forgot I'm just doing personal training and I get comfortable. This is what I'm going to say I was a bit comfortable so I shouldn't have stayed that third season in, in Spartans. I should probably have applied for jobs and tried harder to get something paid. But I was kind of enjoying my personal training side. So I was starting to make money to have a good business, to be successful as a PT and I was enjoying because I always wanted to be a personal trainer for a couple of years. I knew it wasn't going to be my career but I knew I would start with that and I was enjoying so I got comfortable and I thought, I have my PT side, I'm still doing football. So I didn't really apply for jobs or I just stayed in Spartans another season but after three seasons. So at this point I'm in Edinburgh for what, 40 years already? So three years after I finished my Masters and I think, okay, it's time to, to find a paid job in football. It's been too long that I've, I've been doing voluntary roles or internships and I need to apply for jobs. So I started applying since March, April to, to for the next season. And, and I, I tried everything at the time and I got zero interviews. I was, I was applying for London, I was applying for Scotland. I was at the same time I was doing my ukca. You probably know what's the UKC accreditation, right?

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah, yeah, but you did.

[Daniel Caraccia]

I've done three quarters.

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah. No, sir, what I want to say is that when you said that you just kept sending emails or applying and you didn't get positive feedback or answer because you were still probably missing more concrete experience.

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[Martin Boucher]

Maybe also in a higher level or a proper pet job, I would say, which is always the hardest bit to just to get a foot into it. And so I understand where you were, but I just. Sorry to cut you. I just let you keep going with this. Exactly, yeah.

[Daniel Caraccia]

No, I fully agree with you. I think the issue is me doing experience in all levels was very good experience as a coach as, as the coaching side, confidence side. But for the cv, it wasn't that beneficial probably to. To convince people to hire me. So at this point I have four years of football, but they are not a good quality four years. So they are not very relevant to many clubs and I don't get even interviews. But I keep applying. I don't quit because it's my, it's my dream job. I want to reach professional football and be paid for that. So I keep applying, I keep, I speak with my coach, so I speak with Douglas. I know Douglas knows a lot of people and he says he wants to help me. So he then introduces me to a very important person in my career as well, which is Anton McLeon. So Anton is a very, very good story. Anton was in my position with this same coach 15 years ago. So when Anton was around 25, he also worked with my coach as a voluntary role and he went to then be very successful in this role of strength conditioning, sports science. It was 10 years at Tottenham. It in bezik as he was in America. So he was a very successful guy in Douglas put me in touch with him and it was very funny because he was very interesting because I messaged Anton to get some advice to see what the. What if we have a chat and Anton actually messaged me back saying I'm actually in Scotland and because I I don't have. I'm not in any job right now. So I'm in Scotland on holiday and if you want to meet in person I would be happy. So it would. It was a coincidence because it's been so long outside of Scotland at that point he was. And even better I was able to organize a meeting with the three of us and they. Doug was Samuel, my coach and him haven't seen each other in 15 years. So it was a very good meeting to be there to. To see those them to meeting after Anton B. Young like me and now being in his 40s, much more experienced through very many experiences he had. And it was just really good to sit down and hear them chat. And from then I started staying in touch with Anton and I can see he was trying to help me. Sending me jobs, sending me connections he had and trying to help me out. So I kept applying and I kept trying and one of the jobs I applied as you know was 292. So I applied for a job with 292 Performance with Ben Rose and Blood and I got rejected as usual. But they were really nice about it. So the girl that worked with them, human resources I think Luis, I don't know if you met her, who is. She was in the camp as well last season. Yeah. And she was really nice about it because when I got rejected I always ask feedback because I always tried to stay in touch and ask okay, so what can I improve in my. If I could get some feedback on my application and all this. And she was really nice. She gave me a really nice feedback and we kind of stayed in touch and after maybe one month she asked me if I wanted to do internship in Mallorca with 292 but I still had to apply. I still had to do interviews as well just to go to this internship. It wasn't easy and it was voluntary so I still weren't paid but I knew, I knew it was going to be worth for the. Because I was going to be able to work with Ben. I was going to be able to. To work with Matthew Banks as well. Great coach and. And to be with the top players that went there. So I wanted to be in that environment. And I wanted to see what they did and to learn with them. So I got the internship and I went to Mallorca in June last year, 2025. And yeah, I've done the internship. It was great experience. It was quite hot there. But I'm Portuguese, so I was kind of used to that. And then I've done my best. And the funny part of that is when I've met you as well, because I was there one day, I was there doing the job and I heard your voice. I swear I saw you coming to the training camp and I did not recognize you because I heard a lot of your podcasts years before. And when I was at uni, I was hitting on Spotify, your podcast, Martin Boucher. So I saw you, I didn't. Didn't recognize you, but then I heard you talking with someone and I thought, this is Martin. I know that. I know, I know the voice. So I thought, I thought introduce myself if you. If you were alone, which I saw you were alone at the moment and I thought, okay, I don't lose anything. I probably won't have another opportunity of introducing myself to Martin Boucher. So I approached you and I just said, I really like your work. I don't know if you remember. Yeah, I really like your work. I'm Daniel. Nice to meet you. And by surprise you asked me. I wasn't expecting you ask me about me. So you asked a bit about my story and I wasn't expecting, but it was good and it seemed I liked you first. Like when we started talking, I thought you were a genuine guy and we had a nice chat. It was only five minutes, but I thought it was a good shot as well. But I didn't think any. Anything of that shot. So I. I've met you, I talked with you and I. I thought it was nice to meet Martin and maybe I see you again one day. But I never thought what would happen after actually. So what after that internship, I get back to Scotland and it was a roller coaster of things that happened in these three months. Not just Paphos, but a lot of things happened, I don't think, you know, but when I get to Scotland, this guy, Anton McLeon, the Douglas contact that my coach gave me, calls me and says if I want to go work with him in Livingston. So Livingston was first division team of Scotland Premiership. And it was my first paid job, actually. So what happens is Anton is currently looking for other jobs. Head of performance because. And. But someone, one of his friends or called him and Asked him if he could help out with Livingston for this month until they get a fitness coach. And Anton then called me if I could go with him to help him out as a assistant string and conditioning. So in July, in July after Mallorca, I go to, to work with the Livingston and to work with Anton. And it was a top experience as well. Like in that month working with him, me and him, I learned a lot. I was exposed a bit more now to higher level team, to everything of a first division, full time professional. And unfortunately by the end of the month what happened was Anton got a job at Aston Villa. So he went to be Aston Villa head of performance of the women's and he left me at Livingston but the club did not want to continue with me so they let me go as well and I. And I had to search for another thing again. So at this point, a couple months back I had the interview with Hearts. You know Hearts in Scotland, right. They finished second last season, right. And I had an interview with them to, to be the fitness coach for the women's, I think in March or April. And I did well on the interview. I knew they liked me, but at the same time I knew there was better competition. So as usual I didn't get the job. But they offered me a voluntary position. So I thought, okay, I don't have anything, I will go, I will go back and get in touch with Phil McGuire. So he's the guy at Hearts that offered me that position. And I got in touch with him and said, I feel how are you? Can I still come and help this season with the women's first team at Hearts? And, and I honestly believed at this point I was going to do another voluntary season. But I was happy because it was a much higher level than before and even the, the standard that Hearts had, it was impressive. I don't know if you had to, if you've been to Hearts in Scotland, they train at this. The training ground is Orium and Oreum is basically where the rugby national team of Scotland also trains. So the, the facilities, the infrastructure is beautiful, is very modern, advanced. It was impressive. So I thought, okay, this is really good. Even if I do one voluntary year year, I think I'm going to develop a lot and probably get the paid job after, you know. So I'm doing this and finally I get a message from Martin Boucher. And I was completely surprised because I don't even remember giving you my number.

[Martin Boucher]

No, maybe I can.

[Daniel Caraccia]

That's something I actually would like to ask you.

[Martin Boucher]

Yes, yes, I Can take over from the other side of the story. So yeah, I remember that you told me that you were again in between jobs when I reached out, probably in. Was it September, August, September, I think, yeah, when I reach out. But yeah, maybe so just to tell you, because that's something that's nice to share how things happen. And again, how we always say that, you know, the network matters a lot to put people into connection, these kind of things. But at least if I speak about myself, I will always, I will exclusively connect people that are worth connecting in terms of qualifications, skills, but also the personal side. And we always talk about the, the personality of people that matters even more and so on. And from those five minutes we chatted in Mallorca, I was impressed by what you just like you told me in five minutes, what you spend 20 now in the podcast going through more details. But what really strikes me at that time, because I asked you this, that you always been from an unpaid to another unpaid to another unpaid job for the last that time was six, seven, eight years years. And I was like, is it impossible? You know, for me, those we, we've all done intern jobs, but for a couple of years you do that one, two, three years max. And then eventually you get, you get a proper job. And when you told me that and you say, yeah, I've been to Scotland, I've been doing this, I said, no way, this, this guy needs help. But he was not like, I was not sorry for you. I was just like, this is wrong, this is wrong. Someone like Daniel needs, he deserves better than that. And I was seeing you running everywhere, helping out with the gps. Of course, you were also pouring some ice in the drinks. I saw you running everywhere during the couple of days we were there. And of course, in between the different things we were discussing with Luis or with Matt or with Ben, they were all very, very extremely positive by the way you were helping them out. It's super good. Imagine the, the quality of the resources we have even for free. They were even feeling bad not to the two compulsate you, but that was part of the contract. And they were like, okay, we've been lucky we got Daniel in those conditions. So the story with this is that I always, I kept you in mind and I always like, I like to see those practitioners that have some because you've shown so much motivation, resilience, generosity, you know, at all levels of you have your dream job and okay, I moved from Portugal, you moved to England, you moved to Scotland. Doesn't matter. I didn't know about the McDonald's shift, you know, but this is such a nice example of, again, commitments and resilience. So even not knowing the full story, I said, if I can help Daniel, I will, because he deserves to be helped. That's what I was thinking, leaving Mallorca. But three days after, I was in Marbella, and I came to meet my good friend Juan Carcedo, who was at that time, the head coach of Paphos. And I knew a little bit Sergio Dominguez. I knew him, but not very well. So we had the chats. I was with my son. We spent an afternoon, we had the dinner together. And they tell me that now they've won the league, so they're going to play Champions League, and now there's going to be. They're gonna need some help. And I said, you know what? If you need someone, I have an idea. And I almost suggested. I almost told them that they should hire you because they would need help because of now, the increased demand, the Champions League and everything. And you would probably be available and you would not be too expensive. That was the pitch, you know, saying, but you need to give a chance to this guy. So. But that happened a few days after Mallorca. And then Sergio said, okay, let me work. We need to create the position. We need to convince the head coach. And not only the head. No head coach was already convinced, but we need to convince the board and everything. And then I guess for a few weeks we didn't hear about them. And then Sergio came back to me and he said, okay, we have the position open, so would you now share Daniel's contact or whoever, if you have anyone in your mind? And that's how it happened. So I think, like everything, it's always a matter of being, you know, you say being at the right place at the right time, of course. But if I had not heard your story, the commitment plus, in addition, the quality of the work you were doing. But again, that's down to the personality, the commitment. Back to that, you know, I didn't look at your GPS dashboard. I didn't look at the detail of, you know, but the attitude spoke for yourself, you know, And I think that's nice. And there's so many people who went through the same path as you, and they are still waiting to get their first job. We know it's never easy. Sometimes you need to be a little bit. You need a bit of help, need a bit of luck or a push from the universe. But, yeah, you deserved it. You deserve it.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Thank you, I appreciate it. I agree with you and I think what you saw you saying, my attitude and all that is because I love this. I love football, I love sports and I would do anything for it. So I always thought the minimum I can bring to internship or to a job is. Is commitment, is hard work because you might not have the skills, you might not know something, but if you work hard, people will value as well, you know what I mean? If you have two interns, that one that works hard and the other that doesn't even that the one that doesn't might be much smarter, might know much more, but the attitude will come out as well and people value that. So I always thought the minimum I can do in these internships, in these jobs is to show I'm here to do my marks, to do my best and to have a smile in my face and. But the smile in my face, I can't. It's just I've always been a very positive guy as a kid I always had a smile and so always been like that. So it was easy for me. But yeah, it was. That would happen. And after Serge, you got in touch with me, I'll take over that. And I stayed in touch with Sergio wasn't. It didn't happen straight away. So what happened actually was I send you my CV and after a while I didn't hear anything. So I've contacted you and you gave me the number of Sergio. So I then got in touch directly with Sergio and it was really nice. He said yes, I would like you to come if it's possible for you. So we started arranging things. I waited a while, a bit again more. But eventually I came to Paphos in September, mid. Mid September and I could not believe it. I couldn't be more happy as well. I. I was thrilled because going from voluntary jobs to go to now a club that is in the Champions League. It was a dream. Like I. I never thought this would be possible and I would be happy to be in any paid football job, but I got this and, and I was really, really happy for it.

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah, and I think just to. To finish off because when you were saying about the attitude and the hard work, I like just to tidy it up to you probably listen to him at some stage or read some stuff from Alistair Mackow. He's always been a great inspiration for me. He has a background in conditioning, works in tennis, but now he's really working with our own leadership and around building attitudes. So that's it. Read books, I read all his Books. He's one of the top, top influencer, I would say in a sphere of leadership and the mindset, these kind of things. And he keeps telling that your own attitude is what matter the most because you control it. You know, you control your attitude, you control your, as you said, the smile. You are an energy giver than a taker and so on. So I'm sure he will. I'll send him the link to this episode and he will just have another example because you just illustrated in reality what he keeps preaching when he talks to conferences and so on. So that was just a plug for my good friend Alistair. So now back to you landing into Paphos.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Yes, yes.

[Martin Boucher]

As you said, not too bad. I said dream job. In addition, Paphos is playing the Champions League. You're also working with a very nice group of coach because I cannot. I rate obviously also Juan Carcedo very, very highly. We worked together back in our days in PSG and again, more than an amazing coach, he's an amazing person, an amazing human. So having Juan and also Sergio supporting you, Sergio needed you. I'm sure they had high expectations from you now they had created this position. So I'd be curious to know how did you. How were the first weeks when you started?

[Daniel Caraccia]

So I came and I kept my attitude, I kept my posture. So I came to work. I was ready to work 247 if necessary. I was ready to do anything for this job, anything and everything to keep the job, to do the best, to impress. So I came and they also had a rehab coach wish so Spanish also he was doing my job, sports science in rehab at the same time he was doing everything. So they hired me to relieve him a bit from the jobs because he could not cope with everything, especially with injured players. So he was very, very helpful for me. And even after Carcedo left obviously to Russia, he wish was the guy that teached me the most the last season in my opinion is top guy. And so when I arrived, he basically gave me, told me what I had to do and the things I didn't. Wasn't 100% sure. He. He told me how to. He gave me ideas, even some things that he wasn't also up to the job because he's obviously not a sports scientist, he's a rehab coach. They could improvise a lot. He told me where, what to do, how to get better. And from following kind of what Luish told me. I then started working really hard to improve some things like power bi that I knew was a very Important program to make my dashboards of the GPS to also start much more with Excel and not just have the raw exports from Catapult. And from then from this month was basically me trying to create. I've created the databases of catapult for PAFUs. I started creating all these dashboards as well that over the season they improved a lot. I learned a lot, spend a lot of hours on Power Bi on these things. Also always try to help in the gym, in the pitch, everything that they. They ask me, they. They let me do because I'm also happy to to do these things. I love the gym part. You know why? Because I was a personal trainer. I always liked the gym and I was happy to help in everything and, and try to to do my best. So I, I also improved a lot in the gym, in the pitch by just by watching Sergio, by watching leisure and learn with them. And eventually I had the opportunity as well of, of doing my. My coaching. And even when they travel for Champions League, I stayed in Pafus with the players that didn't travel. So this was. Was good experience for me because I had elite players just staying with me and I had to do their training sessions in the pitch and in the gym and it was a great learning opportunities for me. And then I think eventually I, I started getting a bit more comfortable in the job. If you know Power Bi and things, if you start, you can automatize processes a lot. So instead of wasting hours a day, I started making things more efficient the systems and being able to focus on other sites. And I think I did well in general and I keep learning I'm starting now my new season.

[Martin Boucher]

But yes, and so you, you also. You already mentioned that at some stage the coaching staff left for. For Russia.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Yes.

[Martin Boucher]

Which was yes, somewhat of a surprise given the. The dynamic they had created. But in confidence, Juan told me as well that of course it was a good opportunity and they've done, they had done. You guys had done so well already that he wasn't sure what would be if you. You cannot always repeat such a successful season. So time to transition. But the good thing is now you had a club contract, right? So of course the club kept you this time. Not like the. The few months before where you were released in. In Scotland. This time the. The club kept you. So I'm curious to know then how your role evolved with the arrival of new coach stuff. You had to adapt again because every time there's a change in stuff.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Exactly.

[Martin Boucher]

Everyone has to adapt at some stage. But for you it was still in a. Within a very short time frame, you were roughly just up to speed, as you said. Then there's a. There's already a change Christmas.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Yeah. So like you said, they. They in this month I was here. They've done incredibly well. So Carcedo and Sebastian is assistant manager in dumb Sergio. They. They've done incredibly well. So we were first in the Cyprus league and I think we were even four or five points above the second isolated first we were in at this point in Champions League we only lost to Bayern, I think and we were able to win against Villa Real, we were able to draw against Monaco and we. We had crazy results on Champions League. We were at six points, I think. And the expectations for this club weren't great because just the. The budget that the team is. It was considered one of the weakest in the Champions League. But we've done very, very well. So when Carcedo left I in one side of me wasn't surprised because of what they've managed to do in. In such until December it was. It was top work and obviously clubs weren't. Were watching and he had offers and he left and he probably done the right thing. So then we got Albert Salades, the new coach, also Spanish and he brought with him Juan. Juan as head of performance. So that's the. The second boss I had. And I actually developed a really good connection with Juan and learned a lot with him. He was really nice with me. He came from Sevilla, from the football club. And he also wanted. He used the power Bi and the gps. All these dashboards he had in Seville, he wanted me to create for him. So then it was really easy for me because even ideas that I didn't had, he brought to me acute chronic load. Other ways of measuring acute chronic. Different dashboards, different things we can do with the GPS he brought to me and I've created everything he asked for him. And I think he was really happy with me. I really, really connected well with him. Unfortunately, they were also psyched after three months because the experience didn't go well, which was a shame because I like them. I like the coaching stuff. They're really nice. And we had then Ricardo Sapinto, the Portuguese coach, joining the PAFUS in the new head of performance again Leandro. And even. Also like them a lot. Even my relationship with Leandro is already a bit different. For example, I felt with Juan before it was more like he's my. He was my boss and he asked me to do things. But with Leandro there's more of a partnership relationship where he asks me, I also provide to him my opinion. And because I've done this now for one season and I've won a lot of things, I I try to be more helpful and before I maybe I just give the numbers to Juan and let him take his conclusions while Leandro is more we work together and we discuss together and right now I'm still with them. So we are currently the coach Ricardo Sapinto and Leandro as the head of performance and things are going well as well.

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah, that's amazing.

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[Martin Boucher]

So if you just rewind like a year ago, imagine a year ago or 13 months ago, you're in Mallorca sweating and running after those players with the 292 and then you have the move and already three coaching staff. This is what I keep telling about professional football. What happens in a week or in a month in football happens in a year in normal life. You the what you've been through over the last year, the last year and so is. It's incredible. Incredible.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Yeah. It was a roller coaster for sure. Roller coaster in a good way. If you told me one year ago when we met in Mallorca that I would be here today having this conversation with you, I wouldn't believe, not even close. Nothing, nobody could convince me with this, with all of this would have happened and I will be here now.

[Martin Boucher]

Yes, yes. Plus and not the fact only the learning is on the way. All the learnings on the way. So would you be able just to kind of highlight how this last 13 months have changed you? What have you learned about yourself professionally, but also about yourself? Are you able to reflect on this past year?

[Daniel Caraccia]

Yes, that's a good question. Nothing that I didn't think about this before much. But I think professionally, I think anyone that loves and is driven, I always been ambitious as well. And I think you can put as much time as you need and you think is right in something. What I want for me is I can work and work and work and work when I need to achieve something. And when I'm motivated, I can put as much work as needed to achieve something. And I was some days, sometimes I was relentless in this job that I had to in the first month when I arrived, for example, to start understanding Power Bi and evolve so quickly with Excel, Power Bi and other systems. I think the first month I was maybe working 15 hours a day. I was just sleeping and eating and otherwise I was always on my laptop doing something, exploring. And at the same time, the funny thing is it never felt hard to Me, it's like I wanted to do these things. I enjoyed being, developing myself and finding new things on these systems, having the tools that I didn't had before. It was exciting for me. So I was able to motivate myself and work relentless to achieve, to learn, to, to do the things I needed. And so professionally also I think I have.

[Martin Boucher]

Yes, Sorry, just a question on the. Because you said you worked so much and actually you work now in Paul, 15 years, 15 hours a day, but all those previous years. So definitely work is a strong stand down. It's almost a value of, of yourself. But is it coming from, from your family? I just, I don't want you to, to lay down on a psychological analysis, you know. But where is this rentlessness coming from? How did you build that? Was it something natural or family? Was it coming from where you got that from?

[Daniel Caraccia]

I think the easy answer for this is I've done a lot of jobs. When I was 18, my mom told me, if you don't want to study, you need to go to work. So I had maybe three or four jobs in one year. I was working in construction, I was working in hotels in Portugal, I was working in tv, cable TV contracts. So I would go door to door, try to do contracts for the tv, phone and Internet. I had multiple jobs and then Obviously I did five years of McDonald's in UK. So I know when I'm a job, I know how hard these certain jobs are and I didn't want to do these jobs and to be in football and do this paid when I've done it four years for free, it gave me. I don't want to go back, I don't want to go to do those jobs. I love this and I would do anything for this. So I think this is the biggest motivation I had is. I know reality. I think I know this is a privileged job as well, in my opinion. It's very privileged. I'm very lucky to be here. So I, I don't want to waste this opportunity.

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah, excellent. Now I can't agree more. I think I can probably put myself a bit into this bag. So the only thing is when I applied for McDonald's when I was 18, 19, they didn't want me, so I got rejected from McDonald's.

[Daniel Caraccia]

You also applied for McDonald's?

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah, but I didn't get the job. I didn't get the job at three days. Many of those student jobs, I didn't know that I didn't get it, so didn't get McDonald's. I wanted to work for decathlon. You know, the sport shops. Not interested. They didn't hire me. They didn't hire me either. So I had to found I worked in more, let's say in jobs that were more related to our field. I gave tennis lessons, I gave handball lessons. I was more coaching from the beginning to make a bit of money or kids kindergarten, this kind of stuff for summer holiday. So I was at least a bit closer to this field of sport and sports science than what you described. But that's okay. That's super interesting.

[Daniel Caraccia]

By the way, one thing I would like to say is if there's something I regret in my path is not starting doing voluntary roles or to get applied experience in sport earlier. So if I could change, if I could tell something to back to myself, I would. I would tell myself on my first year that you need to go and look for something at Coventry that is sports related because it's always beneficial. You get experience, you can do network, you can meet people that could help you. You never know. And I think if I change something also can go on the cv, it can open doors. I think if I could do something earlier, was to get applied experience earlier. I think on my master was a bit late and that kind of delayed the process for me, in my opinion. I think if I went, for example to the 6th Division of Scotland on my second year of my bachelor's degree, maybe I would be getting a paid job by one year after I finished my master's or the year I finished my master's, you know what I mean? But because I started in my master's, I think I delayed a bit the process for me of finding a paid job as well. So that's an advice I would like to give to young people.

[Martin Boucher]

No, Perfect, very good. So I just cut you about asking you about the resilience and where this is coming from. And also. And you are starting to tell me more about also the learning more on the year. Like the confidence you gained, how much more complete you've been as a professional. So anything else on that or the things that you can say that you can be, you're proud of. So looks like all those new dashboards, everything that's something very big that you had not done as deep as before. But what else. How transformed are you now after this season?

[Daniel Caraccia]

I think it's obvious that dealing with football players, it's a changing experience because you have to know how to deal with them, how to be professional but friendly at the same time, how to be in that environment, how to adapt to that, into the pressure of it. And sometimes can be hard, especially with my face and being young. Some players are older than me and people don't think I'm 29 years old. People think I'm 21, 23. And sometimes I always struggle with this in my life to be taken seriously because of my face and sometimes my attitude as well. If I can be honest, I think me being too smiley too. Sometimes it cannot. It might not be the right time for that. And. And I learned with that, like, also understand that players are different. Who. How should I be to each player? And this basically that I think I learned a lot on that as well. And I blend much better now. I think I. In the first years. But in Scotland, I already learned that when I was in. In other divisions of Scotland, I already learned that it wasn't going to be easy with some players. It was. Some players actually very humble as well. So it's a mixed group always, but you learn how to. I think after being in the. In the field, in this environment, people adapt to it as well and get really good at it. And I think I evolved a lot in that aspect.

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah, no, exactly. Like what you said, when you have to be professional but friendly or. Yeah, friendly but not friend. That's also a way I like to put it. So. Yeah, I've been through this learning as well, especially my first year at PSG with big guys. And actually David Lewis. You work with David also last year at the start of the. He's still with you. Actually, it's the same season.

[Daniel Caraccia]

He's still with us. Yes, yes, he's still with us.

[Martin Boucher]

David Lewis, same season. So these are. This is a super top, top player. But is it easy. Easy to deal with? Because he's a. He's very nice. It's very, very, very easy to.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Okay, you know him already. Okay. Yes. You also work with him, right?

[Martin Boucher]

Yes. From a time with PSG and you guys speaking Portuguese both. I think that that would work very well.

[Daniel Caraccia]

No, I have. I have a good relationship with David Blish for sure. He's very humble for what he achieved and he's very professional. He's very mature. How I came out is an example. Is an example for any other player. So.

[Martin Boucher]

Yeah.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Yeah.

[Martin Boucher]

No, no. Surprise. Excellent. Okay, so I'm gonna have a last question for you now. It's so now you. You. You made it. You know, that was the dream. You wanted to reach professional football, Champions League. So you. You made it. So what else? Or you can retire already.

[Daniel Caraccia]

No, no. And Far from it, I think. I think football is also tricky in terms of you never have a guaranteed position, you never take things for granted because when you are winning, everybody's happy, but when you start losing, things can go wrong. And I've seen that with the. The other coaching stuff that we had previously. And I can be next as well. You never know. You never have a guaranteed job. So it's always good that you try your best. You've made connections and you show that you are a good professional, so people recommend you. And if you need. Because you can go from being employed to be unemployed, you never know what could happen. And in that case, it might be hard to find a job again because unfortunately I don't have a strong CV yet, in my opinion. I have one year of Paphos, but I don't think we'll get me to places yet. So I have to keep up with the job. I have to. To try to improve every day and to, To. To make sure I'm valuable and that they want to keep me because I think if I lose this job, it won't be that easy, at least to get to this level again. So, and, and. But my goal is always to. To be at the higher level. And if I can tell you, actually my dream is, is one day to go back to Portugal. So I would love to work at a higher level in Portugal, close to home, but you never know. And I would do anything for football. So, you know, I'm open to go anywhere. I'm open to go us, China, Australia, for the, for the right opportunity. The right. What I'm trying to say is that I would love to. For football. I would follow anything, like depending on opportunity, on the, on the project, if it's good for me, but I'm open to go anywhere for this field.

[Martin Boucher]

Okay. No, Excellent. I like the way you frame it. Is that, as you said, you cannot. Nothing is set for granted and it's a very unstable and unpredictable market. So you're right. Just keep sharpening your sword and you'll just get better jobs or more options as you develop. So that's excellent.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Exactly.

[Podcast Advertiser]

I agree.

[Martin Boucher]

Okay, I'm going to let you wrap up the episode. If there's anything else you wanted to add or something, I didn't ask, so I'm going to give you the last words. Definitely.

[Daniel Caraccia]

No, all good. I think we covered everything. I want to thank you so much for the opportunity again. I mean, I mean to be able to five, six years ago be reading your podcast and now to be on it, it's also something that I would never believe. It's

[Martin Boucher]

priceless, you know, that's my pleasure. And I'm sure, as we said in the introduction, there's a lot of people that have been through your journey or partially or even through the same journey, and they recognize themselves into that. But I'm sure, yeah, people are going to get a lot of that. And even myself knowing I was very, very happy to hear some part of the story I didn't know. And definitely going through your resilience and the drive and the motivation you had through everything, it's something outstanding. And also I can just recommend other people to follow the same path with the same energy and same attitude.

[Daniel Caraccia]

If I can say something for the younger people is, I know we can be hard, but I guarantee that if people, even if you have to do four, five, six season voluntary, I don't, I don't think that's fair. I think every internship should be, should be paid because it's not just the fact that you are there for free, is the. If, if you. When I was working voluntarily, I didn't feel valued. I didn't feel valued by the clubs. I felt I was discardable, you know, and even if they paid me maybe 50 pound a month or 100 pound per month, it would change a lot because it's not about the money, it's about being paid or not, and it's about being valued or not. And I wish everyone would be paid just even for transport or to get to the place because that changes a bit, even your mentality and makes you feel valid and you'll give more motivation to young people. But at the same time, if someone is in my position, I think, and if you love football, I think if you work hard and you keep trying, you will achieve the same as me. It can take four, five, six, seven years, but you will get there. I'm sure if someone sacrifices all that time, you'll get there.

[Martin Boucher]

Excellent. Very good. I think. Perfect way to end the chat. Thank you so much, Daniel. Good to reconnect and good luck with everything and definitely we stay in touch. Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Daniel Caraccia]

Thank you so much, Martin. Thank you.