Australia's Scott McDonald and Iraq's Haidar Hussain during the Australian Socceroos v Iraq World Cup qualifier. AAP Image/Dave Hunt
You’ve got to hand it Tim Cahill. He might have acted like a plonker in his infamous interview with Melanie McLaughlin, but he’s kept football in the news for the past fortnight. Better than in the news, actually on the front pages.
In fact, the regularity with which the Everton and Australia midfielder makes news has probably made “Cahillgate” redundant as a cover-all.
With any given day you’re not sure what news Cahill is making: allegedly getting into dust-ups with bouncers, having a blue with News Limited, spruiking his kids cancer charity, being the guest of honour at the Johnny Warren Football Foundation dinner and turning up late, having his name linked with Manchester United.
Now he’s making news all over again by confirming to SBS’s The World Game that all is not well inside the Socceroos camp.
This topic has been the talk of football circles for some time now but got forgotten amid our country’s qualification for the 2010 World Cup. For good reasons various journos were too afraid to touch it.
However it was too radioactive to die altogether.
“It doesn’t take rocket scientists to work out what’s happened in the past couple of weeks,” he told Les Murray in an interview to be aired this Sunday, apropos of his own troubles with the press.
“There are players’ agents involved who are very bitter. It’s difficult to explain because you think that you can play football and nothing else matters but factors outside the game do affect the team.
“It’s one of those issues that will definitely be addressed with the FFA and players because it’s something that has made me angry. As a team, when we play we are unbelievable but outside, when it comes to other issues, it’s a little sad.”
Sad and clearly divisive, as evidenced by an email sent by “a big-name player” (or on behalf of that player, if rumours are to be believed) to News Limited last weekend when the fallout from the nightclub affair was still pitting news organisation against football federation with no signs of a ceasefire.
“You don’t go around abusing people and acting like a big-time Charlie,” part of the email read that was published in the Sunday Telegraph and the Herald Sun. “Ever since the World Cup it has just gotten worse and worse. Some of the boys have let the whole superstar thing go to their heads and they act like they are untouchable.
“What gets me is the guys that are doing this sort of thing the most are the ones running around the place and telling everyone how they do this and that for the kids and how they want to be role models.
“It’s a bloody disgrace and I’m glad that people are finally taking it a bit more seriously. If we don’t pull our heads out of the sand and be honest with ourselves, the World Cup will be a disaster.”
Whooah.
Ray Gatt, The Australian’s longtime “soccer” writer, wrote the next day that the email was a “punch that has the power to suck the breath out of the Socceroos and cause a rift in the camp with less than 12 months to the kick off of the World Cup finals in South Africa”.
He’s not too far wrong.
Something has to be done about it but Pim Verbeek, the Australia coach, is currently out of the country. The FFA likely won’t touch it. They’re acting and have been for some time like there’s no issue at all.
Nor can a rapprochement be expected to be brokered from within the playing group, given that elements in and around that group are allegedly the source of all the trouble in the first place.
It’s messy. Decidedly messy. And not good at all for a team going to the World Cup and needing every advantage it can get.
But one thing is clear. Cahill, for all that is said about him, good or bad, has done his country a big favour by publicly acknowledging there is a problem. That’s the first step in resolving it.
It’s now up to the rest of his team-mates to put their differences aside and find some real unity rather than just presenting a united front.
If they can’t do that, then God help us in South Africa.
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Football articles
- Phoenix need more than flash in the pan crowds (133)
- ‘New football’ fans may help save the game in Australia (124)
- Does Tasmania have a case for A-League inclusion? (119)
- What happened in Port Said was not a football riot (118)
- Magilton struggling to make a mark (68)
- Socceroos screwed over by FIFA, again (41)
- Gulf influence cripples the FFA again (40)
- Zambia plays Cup of Nations final in memory of their fallen
- Capello’s resignation ends an awkward marriage
- Does the A-League need an injection of humour?
- Redknapp the best bet to clean up Capello’s England mess
- Redknapp tight-lipped over England job
- Departing Lavicka has players’ respect
- Victory gain Spanish recruit for Mariners
- Zambia plays Cup of Nations final in memory of their fallen (1)
- Capello’s resignation ends an awkward marriage (0)
- Redknapp the best bet to clean up Capello’s England mess (0)
- Melbourne derby reveals tale of two journeys (1)
- O’ so close for John: How JON almost landed the biggest job in sport (15)
- Capello ‘walks’ from England’s top job (13)
- Why Manchester United are never really beaten (15)
GeneralAshnak said | June 26th 2009 @ 7:35am | Report comment
This feels like a beat up still Jesse. Being unable to name sources leads to classic examples of investigative journalism like the ‘utegate’ affair, and we all have seen how much truth there was to that. I think the best advice is to not jump the gun, if that email was sent by an agent – is it the current agent of a current Socceroos? Or is it a former agent? Or former Socceroos? Or is it a huge big steaming pile of bulldust? Cahill’s comments do not say to me that there is a rift or trouble brewing amongst the Socceroos, but it does tell me that there may be trouble brewing amongst their entourages.
Realfootball said | June 26th 2009 @ 8:15am | Report comment
I think there have to be grave doubts over the authenticity of that email. There is an agenda at the Daily Telegraphy to discredit football, and its no coincidence it coincides with the launch of our world cup bid. The alleged email says the player writing has been with the national team 10 years. The only player, I believe, who has been there that long, apart from Mark S, who is named in the email, is Harry Kewell. Is it credible that Harry would right or sign off on an email like this? Very, very hard to believe. I remain deeply suspicious of this as just another beatup by a New Ltd paper, known for their hostility to the code. The upside is that it shows that footballl is being taken very seriously now.
sheek said | June 26th 2009 @ 8:34am | Report comment
I think someone else said it last week. When the media starts putting out these kind of stories, whether they’re true or not, you know you’ve hit the big time.
For every 10 people building you up, there’s maybe three trying to tear you down. Criticism, often invented, comes with success. Indeed, criticism is a by-product of success.
And of course, if there’s any truth in these stories, it reminds me of another saying about people pulling together to reach a goal, then tearing apart once they get there.
For the time being, I’m going to treat some of these stories with the skeptical cynicism they deserve.
whiskeymac said | June 26th 2009 @ 8:44am | Report comment
Jesse, Davvide Corran wrote a similar piece on The Roar a week or so ago and the general consensus was that these divisions in the roos were insignificant at best and not being displayed on the field. . Since Davvide’s piece the email “broke” and there have been SBS reports and chats. More smoke without fire? or is it just everyone wanting a piece of Cahill now he is one fo the countries most known stars in any sport/ field ata time when rugby league has had a rough time and it’s someone elses go?
I do not believe that the Roos will have a Dutch like implosion, but with all this smoke being generated by the media and commentators something will have to be done because maybe, just maybe, if enough people believe there is trouble then we will have the story come true. and that would be a shame.
Dan said | June 26th 2009 @ 8:47am | Report comment
Sheek,
Spot on. I’ve heard a lot of people complaining that the media are out to get soccer with the outrage that was generated by Cahill’s post match interview, but the reality is that this is the kind of attention that any football code gets in this country once it’s hit the limelight. Just look at how the Daily Terror spent weeks claiming the NRL was “in crisis” and losing popularity because of sex scandals (despite the ratings not being affected and crowd numbers remaining stable). 10 years ago Cahill’s petulance wouldn’t have got much attention, but now they’ve hit the big time it’s news when a soccer player carries on like a 5 year old.
Midfielder said | June 26th 2009 @ 8:55am | Report comment
Interesting times ahead… with Obie Wan, BB & Archie in charge in the back room… I think (hope & pray) that along with Pim there is the necessary skills to resolve this problem..
If it is a bad as you are suggesting Jes… then a head or to may have to go…the reports coming out of the Asian Cup of 2007 strongly indicated that Graham Arnold had caused rift in the team which maybe is still there. Maybe he needs to a sacrificial lamb to smooth out the issues…
Brett McKay said | June 26th 2009 @ 9:00am | Report comment
Sheek, Dan, I said something similar last week, or the week before even, that the fact the Terrorgraph is now using it’s rugby league writers to cover soccer/football, and Rothfield devoting plenty of his column space (usually reserved to RL half-truths) to football half-truths, surely has to count as a win in the end for football.
If any publicity is good publicity, then the FFA is cashing in…
Pippinu said | June 26th 2009 @ 9:02am | Report comment
What is the issue exactly? I haven’t read anything anywhere (inlcuding here) that actually describes a problem as I would normally understand it.
Some no names get a bit miffed at the big names strutting their stuff?
Is that it?
It’s as recent as 2001 that Harry Kewell was flying in first class while the rest of the team sat in Economy.
We’re all equal – but some are more equal than others.
Ben of Phnom Penh said | June 26th 2009 @ 9:24am | Report comment
There will always be someone upset in the dressing room that they didn’t get the game time, not given a leave pass when someone else is, thinks the showers are too cold etc etc etc. Whether this type of discontent, normal human background noise, constitutes discontent that will translate onto the field is doubtful.
What is interesting, a point picked up by a few here, is that fact that this type of issue is being reported upon at all. In the recent past no-one cared even though the issues were greater (particularly trying to get the team together to play Oceania nations). The same goes for all of the reporting on the Socceroos’ style. It is amazing that anyone cares beyond the SBS crew, let alone have an opinion on how the Socceroos should play. Now it is a constant topic of discussion in the most pedestrian of our papers.
Football has come a long way in the public consciousness.
Robbos said | June 26th 2009 @ 9:55am | Report comment
Dan,
the difference being RL has some history with sex related issues, while the Cahillgate was as big a story as the Fitler drunkeness, it was a non event.
60 odd people were evicted from the SOO the other night, if that happened at a football match, it would be frontpage headlines about ‘soccer fans violence’. There is an inequality in the reporting.