Tim Cahill

Timothy Joel "Tim" Cahill (born December 6, 1979 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian football (soccer) player who plays as an attacking central midfielder for the Australia national football (soccer) team and Everton F.C.. He is best known internationally for scoring the first goal by an Australian at a FIFA World Cup. In 2007 he also became the first Australian player to score at an Asian Cup.

Life and early career

Cahill was born to a Samoan mother and English people father of Ireland descent, and was encouraged to play football. He went to Bexley North Public School. He started his high school years at Tempe High School from yr 7 to yr 8 then he moved to Kingsgrove North High School where he ended his high school years. and played football for Balmain Police Boys Club when he was a child. He also played for the Marrickville Red Devils Soccer Football Club. Cahill paid a visit to Bexley North following his World Cup exploits where, despite the fact that the school holidays had started, almost the entire student body turned out to welcome him back.

Cahill at Millwall

In 1997, Cahill asked his parents to allow him to travel to England to play professionally. Cahill was signed by Millwall F.C. on a free transfer (soccer) from Sydney United in 1997 and made his Millwall debut on May 22 1998. In the 2003-04 in English football, Cahill was the workhorse in Millwall's heroic campaign which led them to the FA Cup final for the first official time in their history and a UEFA Cup place. Cahill polled over 100,000 votes to win the FA Cup ‘Player of the Round’ award for his performance during the semi-final victory in that competition . Cahill made 241 overall appearances for The Lions, scoring 58 goals. Before the start of the FA Premier League 2004-05, Cahill's contract was transferred to Everton Football Club for a fee of 1.5 million pounds (after a move to Millwall's south London rivals Crystal Palace F.C. fell through, when Palace Chairman Simon Jordan refused to pay his agent's fee).

Cahill at Everton

Cahill's transition into the Premiership was seamless. In his first season Cahill finished as the club's top goal scorer and assister. He finished the FA Premier League 2004-05 as fan's player of the season as Everton romped into the UEFA Champions League qualifying stage ahead of cross-town rivals Liverpool. Cahill is renowned for his late surging runs into the penalty box, ghosting headers, and tough tackling. In a season of great highs and some lows, Cahill scored many vital goals amongst his total of 13, a superb return for a midfielder in his first top flight season. One of his best efforts came via a low angled volley against local rivals Liverpool F.C., in a match Everton lost 2-1. In August 2005 Cahill's contract at Everton was extended with a salary increase reflecting the impact he had made at the club. Upon signing, Cahill declared "All I can say it is another dream come true, another five years at the club I love and at the one that gave me my chance."

Cahill is extremely popular with the Everton fans and they sing his name to Tom Hark (We Want Falmer) by Seagulls Ska. They have also given him the nickname "Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol)" after the Charles Dickens Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol) due to being quite short and slim.

On January 18 2006, Cahill had the good grace not to celebrate his winning goal for Everton against former team Millwall in the 3rd round replay of the FA Cup, stating, "They gave me my big break, it would have been like kicking them in the teeth."

As of October 29 2006, he has scored 7 goals from 12 outings, with a decisive goal against Liverpool F.C. in the Merseyside derby.

In October 2006, Cahill was named as one of 50 nominees for the prestigious Ballon D'Or award. He was the first Everton player in 18 years to be nominated and was also the only player on the list from the Asian Football Confederation or from Oceania.

Cahill was out of action for 8 weeks with a knee injury he sustained playing against Aston Villa on the 11th November 2006. He was stretchered off early during the 1-0 home defeat after a freak collision with team-mate Lee Carsley.

Tim Cahill returned in place of the suspended Mikel Arteta in the 1-1 home draw against Reading F.C. on 14 January 2007. He looked to have not lost form in his absence, twice coming close to assisting eventual goal scorer Andy Johnson in that match, and then in matches after almost scoring a winner for the Blues.

Tim broke the 5th metetarsal in his left foot in the 1-1 draw against Sheffield United, on 3 March 2007. It has been confirmed he will be out for the rest of the season.

On 29 June 2007 Cahill signed a contract extension at Everton that will see him stay at the club until 2012

On 9 July 2007 Cahill was named "Top Fantasy" pick for the upcoming 07-08 Premier League season by footballing guru Mark John Travers Erickson in 4-4-2 magazine.

Cahill's International Career

The midfielder only made his début for the Australia national football (soccer) team in 2004, as a result of his having played for Samoa national football team at Under-20 level at the age of 14. In 2002 there were talks of him declaring for the Republic of Ireland, due to his paternal grandparents' heritage, before he played for Australia. His Australia début was against South Africa national football team in June of that year. He participated at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Tim was named Oceania Footballer of the Year for 2004, joining Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Brett Emerton, Christian Karembeu and Mark Bosnich among some of the past winners of the award, which has existed since 1988. On November 16 2005 at Sydney's Telstra Stadium, Cahill played a full game as the Socceroos defeated Uruguay national football team and 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (play-off CONMEBOL-OFC) for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in a dramatic penalty shootout (football). As at the June 13 2006 Cahill had 13 goals from just 18 appearances, making him Australia's most prolific midfielder. This statistic is made all the more impressive by the fact many of his 18 appearances have been as a substitute. Tim Cahill is commonly referred to as "the super-sub" after two world cup goals coming off the bench against Japan and after saving Australia from an embarrassing defeat against Oman in their 2007 Asian Cup opener with a stoppage time goal.

World Cup 2006

After Japan national football team led 1-0 for the majority of the game through a controversial Shunsuke Nakamura goal, Cahill, who was a second half substitute for Mark Bresciano, scored Australia's first ever world cup goal to bring Australia level in the 84th minute. He slotted home a low swivelled drive after a long throw had caused confusion in the penalty box. With Australia driving forward, Cahill curled in a second goal from outside the box in the 89th minute to put the Socceroos in the lead. John Aloisi capped off the victory with a goal in the 92nd minute off an assist from Cahill. This made Cahill the first Australian to score in a FIFA World Cup Finals game, the scorer of Australia's second ever World Cup Finals goal, and thus the scorer of Australia's first Brace (grouping). He is also Australia's first Man of the Match at a World Cup.

Cahill also played in the Brazil national football team game, which was lost 2-0, and the Croatia national football team game, which was drawn 2-2 ensuring a place in the 2nd round. Cahill played the entire match when Australia faced eventual winners Italy national football team, but his team was eliminated by a late penalty kick.

Prior to the World Cup, Cahill and his Australian team-mates became the new face of Sanitarium's Weet-bix. The advertisement showed Cahill scoring a goal, with fellow Socceroos player Lucas Neill asking "How many do you do?", referring to the amount of Weetbix he has every morning. The advertisement was filmed while the Australian national team was in the Netherlands.

Asian Cup 2007

In the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Cahill only appeared as a substitute as he was recovering from an injury. He agitated through the Australian press for a starting berth but failed to secure one. He provided 3 assists in the last 3 goals in Australia's 4-0 win in their crucial last group match against Thailand national football team.

In the quarter-final against Japanese national football team, Cahill featured as a substitute for Mark Bresciano (the other substitutes used in the match being Harry Kewell and Nick Carle). Australia lost that match (1-1 at full time and after extra time) through a penalty shootout and were eliminated from the Asian Cup.

Cahill was immediately given a reprieve from participating in his side's pre-season in the United States after a hectic run playing for club side Everton and in the club off-seasons for Australia in the World and Asian Cups.