This will go against popular opinion, but the infatuation Australian football fans have for Tim Cahill has clouded the fact that he needs a reality check.
He’s become an ego-centric individual at times, with his comments often bordering on referring to himself in third-person to the point where he’s virtually classed himself as royalty.
After being asked by Fox Sports whether if he would consider ending his career in Australia, Cahill replied “I’ve never ever closed the door on the A-League.”
However, during Friday’s press conference, David Gallop refuted that claim saying the FFA nor the A-League clubs “could not meet his needs” and “the A-League was not an option for him.”
DG: We contacted Tim Cahill and his advisors immediately when he heard he was not longer part of Shanghai.
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) February 18, 2016
DG: He made it clear immediately that we could not meet his needs.
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) February 18, 2016
DG: We’d love to have Tim Cahill in the A-League, and we’re clear about our ambition, our confidence.
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) February 18, 2016
DG: Tim made it very clear that the A-League was not an option for him, and in any case, the FIFA window was no longer open
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) February 18, 2016
For someone who would be worth anywhere between $50-100 million and has just been paid out $4m US, “needs” is perhaps a bit rich from the Socceroos’ talisman.
Cahill has become a self-absorbed ‘entity’, a far cry from the boy at Milwall, the cult-hero at Everton and the phenomenon who tore Japan to shreds at the 2006 World Cup.
He’s become a brand. Someone who no longer thinks of themselves as purely a footballer concentrated on scoring goals and performing well for the national team, but a commercial entity, an endorsement driven money-making machine.
We often joke on the Daily Football Show, he has his clothes, his watches, his vitamins, his book and whatever else, immersing himself in his business ventures to the point where rumblings out of Shanghai Shenhua suggest they terminated his contract because these off-field ventures were detracting from his on-field responsibilities.
Playing in China was more a business decision than a football one for Cahill, allowing him to distribute and promote his products in the fastest growing market in the world. But now it may have brought him unstuck.
Don’t get me wrong, I, like all Australian football fans adore Cahill for his ability on the football pitch.
One of the key reasons why we have a degree of recognition on the world football map is due to the goalscoring heroics of Cahill. How could we forget his double against Japan, his screamer against the Netherlands or his overhead against China in last year’s Asian Cup?
No one is questioning his brilliance and legend status, nor the fact that he has a burgeoning football academy in Australia, however it’s time for Cahill to face the music.
Cahill’s idea of giving back to Australian football is through his academies and promotional ventures.
He has always refuted the A-League’s reliance on big-ticket players to support the league, and the league in general for that matter.
It dates back to a long-standing feud with the FFA over his involvement in a South Sydney FC bid for the A-League in 2009, where Gold Coast United and North Queensland Fury were chosen instead.
Simply put, Cahill and the FFA have never seen eye-to-eye since.
In comments released this morning, Cahill criticised the FFA’s handling of Australian football and admitted that he’d regularly considered a move to the A-League, but was concerned the competition’s current lack of vision would only hurt his career.
“I just need vision, I’ve never asked for anything but that. The only thing is, some people’s vision is not as big as mine and it’s tough, because it depends where they want to be. Where does the A-League want to be?” he told News Corp.
“We’ve played in three World Cups and we don’t really have anything to show for it.
“Every time I go back it’s mayhem and you don’t understand how that makes me feel, but at the moment the game is in a bit of a rut where it’s caught in a crossroads.”
He also commented on his long-standing belief of the A-League relying on high-profile stars to ride them through a rut.
“Del Piero was one of the biggest things to ever happen to the game, but also the worst because it wasn’t capitalised on,” he said.
“A guest stint for anyone can only harm you and coming back without any sort of plan and substance is always a recipe for disaster.
“I’ve seen the record with short-term goals of going back to the A-League and the destruction that it’s had on top players careers who have come back to finish there.”
One must endorse his ambition, although they are comments which have precious connotations.
Sorry Cahill, but reading between the lines all we can hear is ‘me, me, me’. If you really wanted to give back in substantial manner to Australian football, you wouldn’t be slating a growing national competition and playing the role of cynic.
“Vision” is a funny word, because what exactly is China’s vision is the question you could pose directly back at Cahill? To splash the cash on stars from around the world in the hope that they last maybe a season or two in the Chinese top-flight?
The Chinese government want to win a World Cup within 24 years, let alone qualify for one – you don’t think Australia set similar goals?
If you really wanted to give back to Australian football you’d be putting money aside. We have a ‘vision’ for you to come back, put all grudges aside, play on a modest salary and develop the game in your nation of birth
Otherwise, if not, keep your comments to yourself, earn as much as you’d like playing in China, the Middle East, wherever, and you will ‘hurt your career’ through your negligence toward Australian football.
