Daniel De Oliveira brings over 20 years of professional playing and coaching experience to the USF Bulls men’s soccer program.
A former offensive midfielder, he played professionally in Venezuela, the United States, Spain, Brazil, and Central America, and competed at DIV 1 soccer program Long Island University, where he earned a degree in Sports Sciences, Northeast Conference Rookie of the Year, selection to the Soccer America 1987 Freshmen Team, and four consecutive All-State and All-Conference First Team honors. He represented Venezuela at both Youth and Senior National Team levels and later competed in beach worldwide soccer.
A FIFA Future III certified coaching instructor with a Sports Management specialization from FIFA and the prestigious Venezuelan Metropolitan University. He also holds a CONMEBOL Professional-level coaching license and a USSF "A" License.
De Oliveira has served as Head Coach of Venezuelan Youth National Teams and as Sporting Director/Head Coach for many years at the professional level, where he scouted, coached, and helped develop top players including MLS 2018 and golden boot Josef Martínez as well as former USF alumni Gerardo Hernandez, Eduardo Maceira, Alessandro Bianchi, Juan Carlos Garcia, Luis Avila, Roberto Alterio, Alessandro Paciocco and Top midfieders Bernardo Anor and Francisco Aristeguieta among others.
He has trained as a coach with elite clubs such as Atlético Madrid, Real Madrid, Sevilla, Bayern Leverkusen, Fluminense, LOSC, Legia Warsaw, and federations including Germany, Croatia, and the KNVB, earning Elite certifications in Match Analysis and Training Planning.
In 2025, in his first full-time NCAA Division I experience, he helped lead the GCU Lopes to a WAC Championship and a historic NCAA Third Round appearance, defeating top-ranked programs, finishing the season with a 14-4-5 record, the second-most wins in program history. GCU captured the WAC Tournament title with a victory over San Jose State before advancing past UCLA and San Diego in the NCAA Tournament. The 2025 Antelopes were led by freshman forward Junior Diouf (17 goals and six assists), who earned the WAC Freshman of the Year and WAC Offensive Player of the Year.
Following the campaign, the staff was named the 2025 United Soccer Coaches Men's College Soccer Far West Region Staff of the Year.
On the personal side, Daniel is a proud father of two daughters, Daniela and Sabrina, who currently reside and attend college in Venezuela. Dani will be getting married this coming March 17th to his fiancée, Ana Cecilia Jimenez.
