No, I’m not scared of failing, I had nothing
IT IS 21 years since Tim Cahill arrived in England on his own, with no money and no promise of a future.
Little did he believe that a career that has now gone full circle would see the Australian midfielder end up back at Millwall, planning weekly visits with his team-mates to a Turkish kebab restaurant in Bromley. A romantic return for a 38-year-old who is driven to appear in a fourth World Cup finals this summer.
That means giving something back to Millwall, the club that set him on the road to his rags-to-riches story.
His father, Tim snr, had to take out a loan not just for his air fare but also to buy him football boots.
“The project now is how I can give something back to the club that made me,” said Cahill.
“There was no negotiation with [manager] Neil Harris. I didn’t need to read the contract, it was just sign and it was done.
“It’s very surreal sitting at The Den now. But Millwall is my home and what I learnt growing up here has never left me.
“I was recently sitting with Rhino [former Millwall manager Keith Stevens] in Queensland and talking about whether it was the right decision to come back.
“He said, ‘If I have to take you to the airport and put you on the plane, I will’. And the place hasn’t changed much. The staff who work here are all fans, they’re part of the mould.
“Very few clubs have that – it’s the same at Everton. I have both of these clubs tattooed on my arm for a reason – they are part of my life and they have given me what I have created. I was the kid who never was going to make it. So when you go back you never forget how you started.
“The lads who came over from Australia like me, Lucas Neill, Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, we had to fight it out as there were no options.”
Cahill’s CV includes lucrative spells in America, China and finally his native Australia, but he has already immersed himself back into the dressing room at the Championship club.
There are no airs or graces to a player who has done his homework on his new team-mates. “The players have invited to me join the Thursday Club and boy, I’m in already,” he added. “I can’t wait.
“That’s the key thing – at Millwall, nobody’s different. That suits me.
“I’ve never put myself in a different class at any club I’ve been at. The players know what I’m about. I spoke to Steve Morison, the club captain, and I said I’m here if there’s anything you need. He’s been amazing. Thirteen assists and two goals.
“I know everything about him and the players. We have created the third highest amount of chances in the Championship.”
Millwall will not rush Cahill, who has taken a pay cut in signing a contract until the end of the season, into seeing his powerful trademark leap, back on the pitch.
The last of his 250 games in his seven previous years with the Lions, before joining Everton for £1.5million, was the 2004 FA Cup final – some way to bow out.
Now this short-term spell could well prove Cahill’s swansong before he hangs up his boots for good later this summer.
“I don’t want people to focus on my age, I want them to look at my energy and fitness levels. You have to come up to scratch,” he said.
“I’m not scared of failing. I started with nothing so I have nothing to lose and that mentality has guided me through the right way.
“Every single player I have played with, many who are managers now, say don’t retire if you can still run. Some of them regret packing up a bit earlier and they miss it. But you have got to be realistic as your body ages.”
In a month when spending has gone through the roof, Millwall see this as a win-win. There is no long-term commitment and it does not stretch them financially.
Harris said: “Football is crazy when Premier League clubs can spend £430million on transfers in one month. “Time will tell whether this is the best piece of business of the transfer window – but it
just might be.”