The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Is Tim Cahill really our greatest Socceroo?

Roar Rookie
23rd June, 2014
Advertisement
What is Australia's football identity? (Image: AP)
Roar Rookie
23rd June, 2014
46
1236 Reads

Is Tim Cahill really our best ever Socceroo, or is Australia simply hung over from his wonder strike?

Andrew MacDougall argued that while Harry Kewell might be the “best product to leave these shores”, Tim Cahill “sits head and shoulders above his peers when wearing the green and gold”.

I liked Andrew’s post and reread it before penning this, but I wondered what the Roaring public would say if we asked them to choose between Australia’s greatest two footballers.

If you’re stuck on an island and you need a teammate to defeat the locals so you can take your dinghy and row home, do you choose ‘our Harry’, or the fighting spirit of Tim Cahill? Do you take the former Leeds and Liverpool winger or the tenacious striker who literally headed the Everton attack for eight years?

Cahill and Kewell stand on the blue and red halves of Merseyside, so in the blue corner…

Weighing in with 34 goals in 71 appearances for our country, Tim Cahill is undoubtedly our most successful Socceroo. But is he our greatest?

His goal against Japan in Kaiserslautern, 2006, has become one of Australia’s sporting ‘where were you?’ moments, and it is only fitting he can claim our first ever World Cup and Asian Cup goals.

Cahill scores extra points because of the passion, drive and commitment he displays every time he pulls on the green and gold. He says he treats every game as thought it were his last, and he means it. Having spent six years at Millwall and a further eight at Goodison Park before moving to the New York Red Bulls, where he currently plies his trade, Cahill is the little guy who has made a career of out-jumping the bigger guys.

Advertisement

With the A-League calling and local media describing a potential move as a game-changer, maybe this ‘greatest Socceroo’ business is actually sober talk.

In the red corner is Harry Kewell. The darling of Australian football for so many years.

No other footballer has made a bigger impact beyond our shores than the Sydney-born Kewell. Seven years at Leeds and five more at Liverpool were the highlights of his career and, at that point, Australian football.

His was an international brand long before soccer became football on our streets or the A-League was even thought of.

While Cahill scored more goals, Kewell was always our star abroad with a bag of tricks at a bigger club, and he remains our only footballer to be part of a Champions League winning side. Although he can never claim the reliability tag for the national team Cahill has deservedly earned, Kewell’s poolroom still plays host to some memorable Socceroo moments.

Do yourself a favour and type “Harry Kewell equaliser against Croatia 2006” into Youtube.

What do you say, Roarers, who is our greatest Socceroo? Cahill versus Kewell. Let the games begin.

Advertisement
close