Tim Cahill is an international footballer who preferably plays as an attacking midfielder. He was born on December 6, 1979 in Sydney, Australia to a Samoan mother and an English father. He attended Bexley Noth Primary School, Tempe High School and finally Kingsgrove North High School.
Tim Cahill made his international debut for Australia on June 30, 2004 against South Africa and also participated in the 2004 Olympic Games. He was named the 2004 Oceania Footballer of the year. As of June 13, 2006 he has scored 13 goals of just 18 appearances and in most of the matches he entered the field as a substitute. For that he is commonly referred as ‘the super-sub’. In a World Cup match against Japan, Tim Cahill after coming off the bench in the second half scored a goal in the 84th minute to level the score 1-1. The very goal was the first ever goal by an Australian in the World Cup Finals game. Later in the 89th minute, Tim Cahill scored another goal to secure the match 2-1, which made him the first Australian to score a brace in the World Cup stage. Also, he picked up Australia’s first Man of the Match in the World Cup for the very match. In the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, Tim Cahill appeared as a substitute in a match against Thailand, where he assisted in last 3 goals that helped his team to win the match 4-0.
At his early age, Tim Cahill started playing football for Balmain Police Boys Club and later for Marickville Red Devils Soccer Football Club. In 1997, he joined Millwall on a free transfer and played first match for the club on May 22, 1998. In the 2003-04 season, Tim Cahill scored in the semi-final to help his team reach the FA Cup final for the first time in the history. For his performance in the match he was voted the FA Cup ‘Player of the Round’ with over 100,000 votes. Also in the same season, the club was qualified for the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Cup for the very first time.
Tim Cahill was later transferred to Everton for a fee of £1.5 million and had a successful debut season, where he became the club’s top goal scorer and assister. He was also voted the Player of the Season by his fans. Before the start of the 2005-06 season, Everton extended his contract with a salary increase, which clearly shows his value in the team. In the FA Cup third round of the season, Tim Cahill scored the winning goal against Millwall, but chose not to celebrate the goal, showing respect for his former club. In October 2006, Tim Cahill was named as one of the 50 nominees for the Ballon D’or, which is referred to as ‘European Footballer of the Year’ and he was the first Everton player to be nominated in 18 years. On June 29, 2007, he extended his contract with the club until 2012.
Tim Cahill is nicknamed ‘Tiny Tim’ by the fans after the Charles Dickens character for being quite short and slim. During his 100th appearances for the club, he mentioned Duncan Ferguson and Alan Stubbs as the two biggest influences for his Everton career.
