Tue, 30 Nov, -0001
Born: 06/12/79, Sydney, Australia Position: Attacking Midfielder/Forward Current Club: New York Red Bulls (USA) World Cup Matches: 6 World Cup Goals: 3
No player in the modern era of Australian football has had quite the impact of Tim Cahill, who actually represented Samoa (the country of his mother) at under 20 level before opting to play for the country of his birth after FIFA changed its eligibility rules in 2004.
The Socceroos stalwart made history by scoring Australia’s first ever World Cup goal, with his 84th minute strike against Japan in the 2006 finals part of a record-breaking haul of international goals for his country.
Cahill, who became Australia’s all-time top scorer with two goals in the Socceroos’ 4-3 friendly defeat to Ecuador in March, began his professional career in England with Millwall before moving to Everton in 2004, where he was the club’s top scorer and player of the season in his first season.
Following eight years at Everton Cahill left English football for a new challenge in the USA and showed that his knack of making an impact hadn’t deserted him when, in May 2013, he scored the fastest goal in the history of the MLS, netting in New York Red Bulls 3-0 win over Houston Dynamo after just seven seconds.