Cool Cahill calling shots
MELBOURNE City’s ageless superstar Tim Cahill is set to be thrown straight in to the derby furnace at Etihad Stadium tonight as Melbourne Victory toys with handing a historymaking debut to 16-year-old sensation Seb Pasquali.
At just 16 years and 344 days, the attacking midfielder would become Victory’s youngest-ever player. It was an upbeat Cahill at City training yesterday, less than three days after he featured off the bench for the Socceroos.
The 36-year-old declared he was ready to start, denying he felt any pressure ahead of what is the most anticipated individual debut in A-League history.
“Pressure for what? Pressure is every time I put on the Socceroos jersey,” Cahill said.
“Do people expect me to score second touch against UAE? Of course they do. People expect me to come on and score against Japan.
“Against Melbourne Victory they’ll see my intent, they’ll see my fitness, they’ll see my workrate. I can’t guarantee stepovers, never have. I can’t guarantee mazy runs.
“One thing I can guarantee is there’ll be nerves (for Victory defenders), I can guarantee an expectation that something is going to happen.
“I don’t get caught up in this emotion of what’s expected, because if I did I would’ve been retired five years ago.”
Coach Kevin Muscat needs to replace the injured James Troisi (collarbone).
Fahid Ben Khalfallah appears most likely to assume the No.10 role, switching from the wing, but Muscat was last night seriously considering handing Pasquali a shock start.
The fearless Year 11 Maribyrnong High student trained yesterday and looked sharp during the 45-minute session.
Even if he were to just appear off the bench, Pasquali, who starred as a substitute in July’s International Champions Cup clash with Juventus, would surpass Jordan Brown (17 years, 153 days) as Victory’s youngest debutant.
“We’ve got some options and some flexibility in that area,” a guarded Muscat said when asked who would fill the Troisi void.
As of last night there were less than 4000 tickets remaining for a clash that will go close to attracting 50,000 should Victory and Medallion Club members turn up in number.
Cahill will even have a dedicated camera trained on him for the match that fans can view on Fox Sports via the redbutton service.
Muscat said Cahill was “going to be a threat”, but declined to add more to the hype surrounding his homecoming.