When is a player retired?
On July 17th a player dubbed by many as “Australia’s Greatest Socceroo,” Tim Cahill. announced his retirement from international football. Not surprisingly following the announcement there was a great deal of media coverage praising Cahill for his contribution to the game, and hailing the greatest goalscorer in Socceroos history. All plaudits were thoroughly deserving.
Yet not two months after that announcement we hear he is to wear the green and gold shirt one last time in a match agains the Lebanon at ANZ stadium in Sydney in an international friendly in November.
There will be many who say that Cahill deserves to farewell his fans in Australia, having announced his retirement following the World Cup in Russia, and plenty will agree. Yet he made the decision to retire when he did, and he should stick to that decision.
The truth is the FFA has committed to the match with Lebanon, hardly a football nation with a strong support base worldwide, or one with a team that fans will rush to see on a Tuesday evening. Lebanon are ranked 79th in the World by FIFA compared to the Socceroos 43rd.
New coach Graham Arnold has announced his squad for his first training camp in Turkey and there are plenty of new faces as he tries to regenerate the Socceroos and build for the future. Sadly many of the names in his squad would be very unfamiliar to fans in Australia, apart from those who are avid followers of the game. So that coupled with a none too fashionable match played in a stadium with a capacity of 83,500 is a recipe for disaster in terms of crowd numbers and the look on television. Why the FFA chose such a venue for the match is baffling.
So what can they do to generate interest in pull in fans? Bring back Cahill.
Regrettably the FFA made a decision to put all their eggs in one basket when it came to marketing the Socceroos when they brought a 36 year old Tim Cahill back to Australia to play for Melbourne City. Even then his best days were behind him, and his career was fading, yet they used Cahill as the face not only of the Socceroos but also Australian Football.
If there was a handing over of the baton it was hard to see to whom that baton was to be passed. In fact it is hard to see if the FFA had a plan at all once Cahill retired. Now with him being recalled for a “farewell match” one wonders if there was in fact any form of plan.
How must Graham Arnold feel having Cahill foisted upon him and his squad? It may only be a friendly but to Arnold it is a very important match as he tries to stamp his mark on the Socceroos and start his preparations for Australia’s defence ofd the Asian Cup. It is both unprofessional and unfair to ask him to accommodate a player who has retired for “sentimental reasons.” It will also shift the whole emphasis of the match. One has to ask would the FFA have tried this with a high profile coach? Would a high profile coach have stood for such a publicity stunt used to simply sell tickets?
One has to ask where is Tim Cahill’s dignity? He has been around football a long time and he must understand that sometimes it is best, for the good of the game, to walk away. To allow the next generation to make their mark, to let the new coach start to build foundations on which the national team can grow. Maybe the carrot from the FFA and keeping him relevant was too much to refuse. Certainly Cahill has never been a player accused of vanity so that can be the only reason. That he needs to remain in the public eye to stay marketable.
There is no doubt that Tim Cahill deserves a send off in Australia, but not as a player on the pitch. That is putting one man ahead of the team and the game as a whole, and that is something Australia has never done. Have him do a lap of honour in a Hyundai car, have him toss the coin, whatever but he should not be playing having announced his retirement.
Ironically Cahill said at the press conference announcing his cameo appearance that “The one thing we have to be careful of as an organisation, as a media and now as someone that’s not playing for the national team is making sure that we protect our game.” IF he really wanted to protect the game and allow it to prepare for the Asian Cup and focus solely on that task, he would have thanked the FFA for the offer of being part of the team in the game against Lebanon and politely declined. He announced his retirement, he should stick to that decision.
Tim Cahill has been great for Australian football, but his time has passed and it is time the FFA and he realise that and we move on.
