Daniel Oliveira: “Young people are a little lost in relation to what they want and can do, perhaps because of the multiple possibilities they have”

Born in January 1981, in Alcântara, Lisbon. He was raised by his grandparents and aunt. His grandparents were his “vital pillar” and the things he saw and experienced as a child gave him a “calm” to deal with life.

At the age of 10, he went to school alone, crossed a train line every day and already had a key to his house. He studied in Amadora, in one of the schools that appear in the news today for the “worst reasons”.

The love for sport, particularly football and Benfica, dates back to childhood. He even did the so-called “uptake tests” but without great results. At the age of 14 he was a national chess champion and brought a piece to this podcast. It was with his grandfather that he learned to play and they still play together today to “remember the old days”.

In 1993, as a teenager, he created the newspaper “Penalty”. Because of the newspaper he was able to go to the Benfica and Sporting Stadiums, watch the games and even try to interview the greats of the time – little did he know that one day he would be talking to Cristiano Ronaldo.

His journey at SIC began at the age of 16 with Donos da Bola. He was a production assistant. SIC was 5 years old when he joined the group and at the time people still smoked in the newsrooms, played football and worked “til the clock”, largely due to the desire and enthusiasm of “creating something new”.

He went up from step to step. He became a production assistant, producer and – later – journalist. He has been leading the hit program “Alta Definição” for 15 years and continues to prepare interviews “as if it were the first”.

In 2011 he became deputy director of entertainment and today is General Director of Entertainment and Director of Programs at SIC. The family life he had and the life he has today are opposites. He has two daughters and confesses: “I don’t want to give them too much because I had too little.”

Daniel Oliveira is Francisco Pedro Balsemão’s new guest. In this conversation, he recalls the tough childhood he had and each stage he reached until he got here.

“I try to explain to my eldest daughter that life is not what she has been used to since she was born. When he asks me what I do, I explain that the position I am occupying is not who I am”, he admits.

Free and dreamy, the 80s in Portugal were marked by the consolidation of democracy and an opening to the world driven by membership of the EEC. These were years of great creativity, the impact of which continues today. Despite the mustaches, the wads and the perms, did the 80s give the world the best harvest ever? In this podcast, we give voice to a series of Portuguese people born in that brilliant decade, in a return to the future guided by Francisco Pedro Balsemão, born in 1980.