Sachin all-time favourite, I admire Virat a lot: Cahill
KOLKATA: Tim Cahill is Australia’s leading goalscorer, got their first goal in a World Cup and played in four of them but switch the conversation to cricket and he is just as comfortable.
“Sachin Tendulkar is my alltime favourite cricketer but now I admire Virat Kohli a lot. I follow him on social media platforms and I like his passion. He also comes across as a guy who gives back a lot to his people,” said Cahill, an Everton legend who has netted five times for Australia across four World Cups --including the country’s first two goals, against Japan in Kaiserslautern in 2006, that produced a remarkable comeback win --- and won the Asian Cup in 2015. Cahill also said he is ‘friends’ with Brett Lee and that he spoke to David Warner and Steve Smith before deciding on India over an offer from a club in west Asia. Cahill, who will be 39 in December, is the biggest signing of the fifth edition of the Indian Super League (ISL) and will play for Jamshedpur FC.
Having played in China, USA and Australia, Cahill was wellplaced to take the question on the development of football in India, which would be at the foot of the ladder in comparison to the other three. “The investment in China is so much more; they can actually afford to get almost the best players in the world. But you have to go at your own pace. You have to ensure that the structure is solid and that the foundation is set and you have to concentrate on the grassroots,” he said, speaking at an ISL media day programme here on Saturday.
JFC ticks all those boxes, he said. “The first thing I asked was how professional their set-up was. And I see that we have our own training pitch, our own stadia, we stay in a complex and are building our own swimming pool. We also have an academy and three players from there will be part of the first team. So, no complaints,” said Cahill.
Cahill was got over with help from Atletico Madrid who also aided JFC in recruiting coach Cesar Ferrando. Asked about Cahill’s role, Ferrando, a former coach with Atletico Madrid, said: “He will be a striker and we have got him to be an example on and off the pitch.”
Marquee signings have often struggled in the ISL but Cahill is confident he can change that. “I know I can be more than the marquee and I know the league will be talked about because of me. Even after the league, I can be of help to Indian football,” he said. Cahill will miss JFC’s opener, away to Mumbai City on October 2, as it would be the last of a three-match ban he received while at Millwall.