Greatest Australian football player

[JayBee]

Having a huge debate with some cousins about this

We're pretty major football nuts. Some of the older boys have been following it religiously since the 80's and more have come along since. The big argument comes over this particular question.

Half say Kewell the other half say Cahill. Obviously this is open to debate of other players IE Viduka, Slater, Trimboli etc etc. But we have nailed it down to these two.

So between the two - who and why?

 

[Slippery]

Tim Cahill

* More consistent
* Less injury prone
* Greater influence on the team as a whole (motivational)

Kewell has better ball skills etc., but Cahill simply has a better all-round game, and has contributed more to the Oz team than Kewell has in a shorter space of time.

 

[Book]

Cahill.

 

[Paint.]

Cahill is better than Kewell, but is he the_greatest football produced by Australia? No, I don't think so.

 

[JayBee]

Cahill is better than Kewell, but is he the_greatest football produced by Australia? No, I don't think so.

Hence the other.

Please specify

 

[Paint.]

Hence the other.

Please specify

Argh, I've got a player in my head, can't remember his name, from a couple of decades ago, tho... =/

 

[Book]

Argh, I've got a player in my head, can't remember his name, from a couple of decades ago, tho... =/

LOL must be a terrific player then.

 

[ElMagicElMasri]

Cahill, he's the most complete player we've produced and he's performed at the highest with great success, both for us and individually.

 

[Hansta]

Tim Cahill

* More consistent
* Less injury prone
* Greater influence on the team as a whole (motivational)

Kewell has better ball skills etc., but Cahill simply has a better all-round game, and has contributed more to the Oz team than Kewell has in a shorter space of time.

Spot on. Kewell by his own admission i reckon would also say he would have liked to have scored a lot more than he has considering he has a better strike rate at club football. A bit like Viduka. Both never really scored heaps of goals although they were still very valuable for the team.

 

[Slippery]

Kewell had the potential and natural ability to be a lot better than he and Cahill is.

Unfortunately, injuries never helped him. They would not only have affected his body so much that his training and style changes, but also his mental state when recuperating and getting back into the thick of it.

Cahill has been much more fortunate in this respect, at the same time showing us the skill he has, and the pride he holds in his country.

 

[Maza]

Out of the two - Cahill

 

[will.i.am]

Tim Cahill

* More consistent
* Less injury prone
* Greater influence on the team as a whole (motivational)

Kewell has better ball skills etc., but Cahill simply has a better all-round game, and has contributed more to the Oz team than Kewell has in a shorter space of time.

Well said brother

No one can ever doubt Timmy's passion and pride to put on the Socceroos jersey. He is always the first one to put his hand up for a call up.

Very unfortunate for Harry the nation has never got to see him fulfill his talent and potential over the years due to the spate of recurring injuries.

 

[BulldogsFAN]

Cahill cos he graduated from my high school

 

[OTTO]

Francis Awaratife

 

[Slippery]

Francis Awaratife

lol

 

[The Greatest]

Francis Awaratife

LOL... I've played against him back in the days when he played for Marconi...

 

[Pom_81]

It's not even a contest. Cahill has been (over his whole career) many times the player Kewell has.

Kewell at the age of 19/20 looked like he'd go on to be one of the best midfielders in the world. I remember watching both legs of Leeds-Roma in the UEFA Cup in 2000 (when Roma were bossing the Italian league) and the best man on the park for both games by a country mile was Harry Kewell. 30Million GBP wouldn't have bought him in those days. Fast-forward a few years and by the time he left English football, he wasn't even the sixth best midfielder at Liverpool.
Okay, his career has picked up a bit in recent years, but he's still one of the biggest and most frustrating talents in world football. Given his natural ability, he could have been many times the player he has been. He just didn't seem to want it that much. A bit of glory and a massive paycheque seemed to be enough for him. A real waste - and a good player, but not the world-class player he should have been.

Cahill, on the other hand, is one of those players who would find a place in any squad in the world. Not suggesting he'd necessarily start for some of the bigger teams, but he's a constant threat, especially from set pieces etc and his strike-rate is hugely impressive for someone not primarily a striker. I don't think any squad (club or country) wouldn't be able to find a place for a player of his production. A genuine world-class talent.

 

[bulldawg]

viduka?

 

[maltalian_dog]

Id have to say that both are very great players in there own right and for different reasons, i would have to say that kewell is a better player technically and has a better football brain, but i would have cahill over kewell in certain situations. Cahill is a better finisher and alot better in the air..so after all that ramble its very close but i feel Kewell is the better overall player. Hes done it all and mixed amongst the best in the world and come up favourably many times..

 

[Pom_81]

Id have to say that both are very great players in there own right and for different reasons, i would have to say that kewell is a better player technically and has a better football brain, but i would have cahill over kewell in certain situations. Cahill is a better finisher and alot better in the air..so after all that ramble its very close but i feel Kewell is the better overall player. Hes done it all and mixed amongst the best in the world and come up favourably many times..

"mixed amongst the best in the world"? Last time he came off well from any world-class comparison was about eight years ago. His career aged 18-24 was excellent. Since then, he's rarely looked in the top bracket of players. He was nothing but an abject failure at Liverpool. His strikerate was half that of his Leeds days (12 in 93 games as opposed to 45 in 182 games). This is despite a decent start to his Anfield career (7 goals in his first season alone). He's now playing in what is a no better than average European league (certainly not comparable to Spain, Italy, England, Germany, France, Russia, Ukraine etc - when was the last Turkish team to make a significant dent in European competitions?). Sadly, given his early promise, that is his level. He's one of the best players in the Turkish league or could be an average Premier League player. Cahill is most certainly a hell of a lot better than an average Premier League player and would be in any league in the world.

I agree Kewell's got more natural technical ability than Cahill will ever have. That said, I'd rather have a talented overachiever than a very talented underachiever any day of the week.