Rowdy
Well-Known Member
Sorry Harry but it's not Kewell to overlook Cahill:
By Philip Micallef for TWG.
Harry Kewell's nomination of his best Socceroos XI that has no place for Tim Cahill has caused a stir among Australia's football fraternity.
The man voted as Australia's greatest ever footballer has picked a dream team that comprised himself and Mark Viduka as the two spearheads with Cahill nowhere to be seen - not even in midfield.
Cahill's omission has come as a major surprise, even allowing for the fact that the two one-time Premier League heroes are not exactly best mates, putting it mildly.
Many are asking how Cahill, who has scored 39 goals in 83 appearances for Australia with the promise of more to come, can be possibly left out after his extraordinary feats in the green and gold.
Cahill, who now plays for Shanghai Shenhua, has come to Australia's rescue so many times in World Cup and Asian Cup finals matches and qualifiers that he has earned legend status in Australia's sporting landscape.
Okay, the man who made his name globally as an Everton player for eight seasons is probably not as technically endowed as Kewell or Viduka.
I'm sure Cahill would be the first to admit that.
The two ex-Leeds United forwards could just about make the ball talk and terrorised English and European defences when at their peak in the early to mid-2000s.
But, hey, what Cahill lacks in the finer aspects of the game he makes up for with his uncanny ability to score goals. Lots of them, most of them crucial.
Where would the game Down Under be today without the two goals he scored against Japan in the Socceroos' 2006 FIFA World Cup opener?
Or the many vital goals he scored for the Socceroos since that glorious day in Kaiserslautern when he changed the course of Australian football?
Kewell's omission of Cahill is not just strange and baffling but it borders on disrespectful.
If he wanted to, Kewell so easily could have picked a 4-3-1-2 formation instead of a standard 4-4-2 and accommodated Cahill in the hole at the expense of Josip Skoko and nobody would have questioned his judgement.
However, Kewell chose not to go that way so it was no oversight on his part, more like a calculated snub of a player deemed to be less naturally gifted ... as if technique is the be-all and end-all in the game.
Football is not about flicks and tricks.
It is also about rising to the occasion by scoring goals that win matches.
It is also about commitment and being there when you are needed most.
As far as I know, Cahill has always put country before club but this plausible attitude does not seem to have impressed Kewell.
Kewell needs to be reminded that Australia's sporting public was always behind him even when at times he chose not to be available for green and gold duty, due to club commitments he might have seen as more important.
Fans always forgave his perceived lack of loyalty, essentially, because he always did his best for Australia whenever he gave himself the opportunity.
I still remember how well he played and how tirelessly he worked in the two legs against Uruguay in 2001, a World Cup qualifying tie Australia lost 3-1 on aggregate.
How he tormented Rio Ferdinand and England in London in 2003, even though he was as sick as a dog.
How his late leveller against Croatia in 2006 gave the Socceroos a ticket to the last 16 of the World Cup.
And how his headed goal in extra time gave Australia a 1-0 win over Iraq in a difficult 2011 Asian Cup quarter-final.
Cahill has hardly ever reneged on his representative responsibilities and almost always put his hand up to wear the green and gold, even in matches Kewell might have considered 'mickey mouse' games.
Cahill, who at 35 is on track to become a Socceroos centurion, may have his faults but he is a proven national team hero and he deserves to be recognised accordingly ... particularly by his peers.
And how his headed goal in extra time gave Australia a 1-0 win over Iraq in a difficult 2011 Asian Cup quarter-final.
Cahill has hardly ever reneged on his representative responsibilities and almost always put his hand up to wear the green and gold, even in matches Kewell might have considered 'mickey mouse' games.
Cahill, who at 35 is on track to become a Socceroos centurion, may have his faults but he is a proven national team hero and he deserves to be recognised accordingly ... particularly by his peers.
By Philip Micallef for TWG.
Harry Kewell's nomination of his best Socceroos XI that has no place for Tim Cahill has caused a stir among Australia's football fraternity.
The man voted as Australia's greatest ever footballer has picked a dream team that comprised himself and Mark Viduka as the two spearheads with Cahill nowhere to be seen - not even in midfield.
Cahill's omission has come as a major surprise, even allowing for the fact that the two one-time Premier League heroes are not exactly best mates, putting it mildly.
Many are asking how Cahill, who has scored 39 goals in 83 appearances for Australia with the promise of more to come, can be possibly left out after his extraordinary feats in the green and gold.
Cahill, who now plays for Shanghai Shenhua, has come to Australia's rescue so many times in World Cup and Asian Cup finals matches and qualifiers that he has earned legend status in Australia's sporting landscape.
Okay, the man who made his name globally as an Everton player for eight seasons is probably not as technically endowed as Kewell or Viduka.
I'm sure Cahill would be the first to admit that.
The two ex-Leeds United forwards could just about make the ball talk and terrorised English and European defences when at their peak in the early to mid-2000s.
But, hey, what Cahill lacks in the finer aspects of the game he makes up for with his uncanny ability to score goals. Lots of them, most of them crucial.
Where would the game Down Under be today without the two goals he scored against Japan in the Socceroos' 2006 FIFA World Cup opener?
Or the many vital goals he scored for the Socceroos since that glorious day in Kaiserslautern when he changed the course of Australian football?
Kewell's omission of Cahill is not just strange and baffling but it borders on disrespectful.
If he wanted to, Kewell so easily could have picked a 4-3-1-2 formation instead of a standard 4-4-2 and accommodated Cahill in the hole at the expense of Josip Skoko and nobody would have questioned his judgement.
However, Kewell chose not to go that way so it was no oversight on his part, more like a calculated snub of a player deemed to be less naturally gifted ... as if technique is the be-all and end-all in the game.
Football is not about flicks and tricks.
It is also about rising to the occasion by scoring goals that win matches.
It is also about commitment and being there when you are needed most.
As far as I know, Cahill has always put country before club but this plausible attitude does not seem to have impressed Kewell.
Kewell needs to be reminded that Australia's sporting public was always behind him even when at times he chose not to be available for green and gold duty, due to club commitments he might have seen as more important.
Fans always forgave his perceived lack of loyalty, essentially, because he always did his best for Australia whenever he gave himself the opportunity.
I still remember how well he played and how tirelessly he worked in the two legs against Uruguay in 2001, a World Cup qualifying tie Australia lost 3-1 on aggregate.
How he tormented Rio Ferdinand and England in London in 2003, even though he was as sick as a dog.
How his late leveller against Croatia in 2006 gave the Socceroos a ticket to the last 16 of the World Cup.
And how his headed goal in extra time gave Australia a 1-0 win over Iraq in a difficult 2011 Asian Cup quarter-final.
Cahill has hardly ever reneged on his representative responsibilities and almost always put his hand up to wear the green and gold, even in matches Kewell might have considered 'mickey mouse' games.
Cahill, who at 35 is on track to become a Socceroos centurion, may have his faults but he is a proven national team hero and he deserves to be recognised accordingly ... particularly by his peers.
And how his headed goal in extra time gave Australia a 1-0 win over Iraq in a difficult 2011 Asian Cup quarter-final.
Cahill has hardly ever reneged on his representative responsibilities and almost always put his hand up to wear the green and gold, even in matches Kewell might have considered 'mickey mouse' games.
Cahill, who at 35 is on track to become a Socceroos centurion, may have his faults but he is a proven national team hero and he deserves to be recognised accordingly ... particularly by his peers.
