RETIRING TIM PAYS TRIBUTE TO FOLLOWERS
WITH a broad grin on his face, Tim Cahill enjoyed a final spar with the media who have tracked his remarkable career, laughing at its twists and turns and the attempts to be ahead of the game in reporting it.
Now officially an exinternational after his farewell against Lebanon on Tuesday, Cahill recalled gratefully the months of attempts to have him qualified to play for Australia after a youth appearance for Tahiti had threatened to block his Australian dreams.
More than a century of caps – and 50 goals – later, the fruits of that campaign will last the test of time, and Cahill acknowledged those who had covered that career as it unfolded. “We’ve got to be honest, we’ve tested each other,” Cahill said.
“I’ve played my whole life like a chess board.
“No one has known any single move or what’s happening, other than my last one going back to Millwall. I’ve always been very protective ... because that’s my domain.
“What I do on the pitch, I own that. Off the pitch, you own that. But it didn’t dictate who I was or am.
“It’s been fun, and I don’t think there’s really been anything negative. I honestly can say there’s not much more I could have done.”
Cahill recalled the work of former national team coach Frank Farina, team manager Bonita Mersiades and journalist Mike Cockerill for creating the springboard for his career by getting FIFA to change its rules.
“I’ve attacked every single moment, and when I’ve put on that jersey, you’ve seen it.
“It doesn’t matter if it’s Bangladesh away, Netherlands in the World Cup, Germany when I got my red card (in 2010) – you name it, I’ve pushed myself to the limit.”