Tim Cahill could make emotional return to Millwall in bid to make World Cup
FOOTBALL fans across the globe associate Tim Cahill’s first professional club with hooligans. The Socceroos star could soon associate Millwall with his fourth World Cup.
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AN emotional return to Millwall could be on the cards for Tim Cahill as the Socceroos star weighs up his next move.
It’s understood Cahill, who turned 38 this week, has several options open to him after walking away from his contract with Melbourne City in a bid to find more regular game time before next year’s World Cup in Russia.
And while moves to either Asia or the UAE remain more obvious possibilities, one of Cahill’s options is a return to English side Millwall, where his professional career began in 1998 before he left for Everton in 2004.
Cahill’s former Millwall teammate, Neil Harris, is now head coach of the English Championship team, who currently sit 17th on the ladder. With 21 goals in 20 games this season, scoring has been a real problem for Millwall. Harris and Cahill both played at the club from 1998 to 2004 and were even roommates during that period.
But a reunion with his former Everton coach David Moyes is also a possibility, with Moyes having recently taken over as manager of English Premier League side West Ham. The Hammers are second from bottom on the ladder, having scored just 13 goals in 15 matches.
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There’s nothing stopping Cahill from signing a precontract, but he will only be eligible to play for a new team when the January transfer window opens.
That leaves him with less than months to get as much game time as he can to prove his fitness for the World Cup. Cahill is desperate to play in his fourth World Cup, where he has the chance of creating history. The Socceroos’ record scorer is one goal away from joining Pele and German greats Miroslav Klose and Uwe Seeler as the only players to score in four World Cups.
Despite his age, Cahill remains the Socceroos’ most prolific goal scorer and it was his brace against Syria in the second leg play off match that enabled Australia to qualify for the World Cup.
Cahill also scored 13 goals for City in the 33 games he played for the club since joining in August 2016.
Cahill released a statement last night regarding his time at City and his shock departure.
“It’s been a pretty full on couple of days — but I wanted to also say thank you to the FFA, the A-League, David Gallop, Steven Lowy and all the fans across the country for the opportunity to come home and play in Australia,” he said.
“It was a hell of a challenge that I haven’t taken lightly, and I wanted to make sure I was in the best physical condition for both my club and country so that I could contribute on and off the park.”