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Tim Cahill's a walk-up start for world best

Article from The Australian, Ray Gatt | January 31, 2009

THE man who handed Tim Cahill his first senior international cap declared yesterday he would not look out of place in the first XI of any of the world's big clubs.

Former national team boss and now Queensland Roar coach Frank Farina joined a long list of football people to heap praise on the Everton midfielder after his stunning performances this season in the English Premier League.

Cahill has been the talk of English football after scoring goals which have helped Everton snatch important draws with powerhouses Liverpool and Arsenal in its past two games.

His goal against the Gunners brought up a century since he first moved to Millwall as an 18-year-old in 1997, putting him 22 behind Mark Viduka as the leading Australian goalscorer in England and 21 ahead of Harry Kewell.

It prompted Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger, a long-time admirer of Cahill, to gush with praise.

"Tim Cahill is a fantastic player," Wenger said.

"Tactically, he is very good, very intelligent and if you look at all the defenders in the league, they are all a head higher than he is, but he always pops up with a header. He has something that you can't give to anybody. He knows where to be on a football pitch."

Farina, who drafted Cahill into the Socceroos side for a friendly against South Africa in 2004, echoed comments from the Frenchman.

"Timmy is something special," Farina said. "I have no doubt he could play with any club in the world, bar none. He has something you can't coach. It's a natural gift. You are born with it.

"He knows when to make runs into the box, he scores from midfield, he is superb in the air. He is just about the complete player.

"Most of all, he has that mental approach that separates the good players from the great ones."

Farina said one of his first jobs when he took over the Socceroos in 1999 was to go to London to speak to Cahill about playing for his country.

"I remember meeting him at the Hilton. He was desperate to play for Australia but he was having problems with FIFA (he had played for the Samoan under-20s as a 17-year-old). It took a few years to sort that out and I was finally able to call him up in 2004."

Cahill, 29, has gone from strength to strength since joining Everton from Millwall, where he scored 56 goals in 239 games, the same year as his national team debut.

He has become a huge crowd favourite at Goodison Park, notching 44 goals in 146 matches for the Toffees, prompting his club manager David Moyes to declare Cahill is the future of Everton and he would not be tempted to sell him to any other club.

Former Socceroos coach Rale Rasic, who took Australia to its first World Cup finals appearance in Germany in 1974, said recently that Cahill is already "far and away the greatest footballer Australia has produced".

"I have huge respect for guys like Mark Bosnich, Ray Baartz, Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell, John Kosmina and whoever else you want to name," Rasic said at the time.

"But, for me, Cahill is a phenomenal talent and stands above all of them. He is miles ahead."

Like Farina, Rasic believes would walk into any side in the world.

"What would those clubs give to have a player like Cahill?" he said. "You cannot deny his qualities.

"He is the complete footballer. He has presence, poise and the ability to read the game. He is great in the air, his heading is exceptional. He is an extraordinary goal-scorer and he just knows where to be at the right time. You can't coach that in a player.

"Everton are a different team without him. When he plays, the whole team lifts. Having a player who can inspire that is priceless. I don't know how long he has to go at Everton, but it wouldn't surprise me if some of the biggest clubs in the world want him."

Speaking yesterday, Rasic said one of Cahill's greatest attributes is his passion for Australia.

"What I really like about Tim is that he has so much pride for his country," Rasic said. "There are a lot of sportspeople who could learn from him. He always talks so passionately about the green and gold. You can hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes.

"He would crawl over broken glass to play for the Socceroos."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24985828-5013406,00.html