‘I want to help everyone’: Cahill keen for Hyundai A-League mentor role
No longer a player but now a fan of the Hyundai A-League, Tim Cahill says he wants to be a mentor and help the competition in any way he can.
Cahill was back in Australia on Tuesday after it was confirmed he would play a farewell game for the Caltex Socceroos in November against Lebanon.
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Speaking at the press conference in Sydney, Cahill spoke glowingly of his time in the Hyundai A-League and admitted he was delighted to see the competition where it is now.
While Cahill, who spent 18 months at Melbourne City, had a chance to re-join the Hyundai A-League after the recent FIFA World Cup, he opted to continue his club career in the Indian Super League.
But the 38-year-old insists he still wants to be involved and is available to provide guidance and support to everyone associated with the competition.
“That’s why I neutralized myself for any A-League club, any A-League bid, any consortium…I made that decision after the World Cup because I want to be neutral, I want to help everyone,” Cahill told reporters.
“Whether it’s to give any support commercially, advice for teams or for signings. I’ve been around the block more than enough times to understand everyone is trying to push in a good direction to grow this game.
“And this is the perfect direction where I’ll be a mentor and I’ll be constantly overseeing and helping with whatever they need help with.
“I’ll be here four or five times a year and I’m going to make sure I’m supporting the game.”
A thank you message to Honda
Cahill said the addition of star players like Keisuke Honda will only help the Hyundai A-League go from strength-to-strength and become a powerhouse of Australian sport.
“The signings now of top quality players like Honda, who I know personally and sent him a message and thanked him for coming to our country and bringing quality and a standard which is world class at his age,” Australia’s greatest ever goalscorer said.
"The A-League needs to support. It's the biggest game inside Australia among kids and we need to work together to lift it and let it grow instead of always hindering it,” Cahill added.
"There’s constant problems whether we like it or not in all sports. I’m happy to see where [the Hyundai A-League is] at now and I hope it stays as it is.
“It's our game, it's Australian, it always has been. It’s now how we build it to keep it and make it a powerful sport in Australia.”
