Professional football is full of ups and downs; knock-backs, fight-backs, tough decisions on when to change clubs and sacrifices only known to professional athletes.

Globetrotter Daniel Severino knows this perhaps more than anyone through his extensive career playing in Australia and Europe.

Donning his boots at the tender age of six, the Sydney boy played for his local club until Marconi snapped him up two years later.

In an impressive eight-year stint with the club, the youngster was fortunate enough to play for every age group and level until his dedication paid off and Italian club Piacenza signed him on.

There’s no doubt the hardworking midfielder had earned his place too. While most teenagers were attending parties and their year 10 formal, Daniel put the football field first.

Even though he loved the game, being so determined did have its drawbacks when it came to school friends.

The 29-year-old admitted most of his pals couldn’t really understand his commitment to the beautiful game which became the driving force in his life.

“There was a lot of sacrifice, as you can imagine, I think it’s the same in all sports,” he said.

“The difficult sacrifices are the ones you make when you’re missing out on something you really want to do in order to get somewhere you really want to be.”

But, as they say, sacrifice and hard work pays off, and so it did for the promising left-footed 17-year-old as he ventured across the world to play and live in Europe.

Being on Piacenza’s books still remains a highlight for Daniel, as is evident with the smile that breaks across his face when recalling playing for his first professional club.

He worked hard to settle in within the foreign environment, despite a language barrier and whole lot of water separating him from his comfortable home.

The bright young star became so adapted to his new surroundings that during his four years with Piacenza he knocked back several opportunities to play on loan with other clubs.

“I got caught up in the whole ‘I like the city, and I like my friends and I’ve integrated well into another country’,” he said.

“I just didn’t realise that in football you have to move around. Even if you don’t want to, sometimes you have to.”

After the loyal leftie had played solidly in Italy for four years, Daniel saw his opportunity to change clubs when a shift in management meant a major reshuffling of the team.

Following a smooth transition to Millwall in southeast London, he fact the major challenge of adapting his technique to fit in with the English style of play.

A faster game, more physicality and some major tactical differences made the transition a tough one, but luckily the young playmaker had some support in fellow Aussie and teammate Tim Cahill.

Being three years junior to Cahill, Daniel was able to learn from the Socceroo’s extensive experience, plus form a strong friendship that has survived until today.

Playing for Millwall was difficult though, and despite his best efforts he was not offered a contract extension due to budget constraints.

Being the first rejection in his football career, it’s obvious the decision packed a bit of a sting, but looking back he accepts now that it was all part of the journey.

“I think you don’t really know how to handle rejection until you get your first one, then your second one, then your third and fourth,” he said.

“But you have to learn how to handle it and just bounce back.”

From there Daniel continued his travels around Europe, playing in Sweden, Spain and back in Italy, until he decided it was time for his nine-year overseas odyssey to end.

With the Hyundai A-League heating up back home and with an eagerness to enjoy the Australian lifestyle he had missed out on while he was still young, the midfielder was determined to find the club that suited him.

While playing in two or three month stints with the New South Wales Premier League, Daniel knocked back offers from Sydney, Adelaide, Perth and Central Coast because they didn’t feel right.

The shoe seemed to finally fit, however, when Gold Coast United came knocking on his door last year.

So the set-piece expert, keen to be under the tutelage of Miron Bleiberg and enjoy the lifestyle the Gold Coast offers, signed his first Hyundai A-League contract.

Severino’s highlight so far in United’s colours has to be the match-winning penalty against rivals Brisbane Roar in the dying minutes of the Boxing Day derby. With the clock ticking down he thumped the ball past Michael Theoklitos, sending the home fans into raptures and sparking his own emotional celebrations.

While the 29-year-old knows his age means playing football at this level becomes more uncertain and challenging, he hopes to stay in the Hyundai A-League for two or three more years at least.

No matter what the future holds though, Daniel can look back over a colourful career with pride.

And although he speaks with a small sense of regret and nostalgia, it’s clear the well-travelled footballer is pleased with the life he’s led.

“I am happy where I am obviously, it all worked out ...I accept where I am, but maybe if I could do it again I’d stay on with Italy for two years instead of going to Millwall, because that’s where I could change my destiny,” he said.

“But I look at things like if I had stayed an extra two years in Italy I maybe would have never met my wife, stuff like that … So I know I’m in the right place.”