Timbo in limbo
Cahill on the outer as Shanghai looks elsewhere
Almost one year ago to the day Tim Cahill set the football world alight with a volley for the Socceroos against Netherlands that was considered by many to be the one of best goals in FIFA World Cup history.
In one crisp left-footed strike, the player synonymous with producing the big play at the right moment for Australia, defined a campaign which was at once bold, skillful and dynamic in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
It was the exclamation point on a series of Socceroos performances that won admirers and altered misconceptions about Australia's football.
It also provided one of the high points in the 12 fluctuating months since for Cahill, who today faces an uncertain future with the news that his current club, Shanghai Shenua, is looking to offload him.
In October, long after Australia was eliminated from by far the most challenging group at the World Cup, Cahill was back in the green and gold shirt for an international against Qatar, which the Socceroos lost 1-0.
It was what Cahill said afterwards that made more headlines than the result though, .
For me, I have no problem [with Qatar hosting the World Cup.] ... I feel they deserve the opportunity," Cahill said. "There [are] a lot of people that talk about the heat and talk about the facilities, [but] they have to question themselves as to whether they have actually been here.
"[The people of the Middle East] will prove a lot of people wrong, and if they don't, they will hold their hands up gracefully because that's the kind of people they are."
Cahill resumed service with New York Red Bulls, for which he started in the second leg of the MLS Cup semi-final against New England Revolution in November. Cahill scored in the match but, his team was eliminated 4-3 on aggregate.
By December, speculation on Cahill's club future intensified after he was left off Red Bulls' protected player list for the 2014 MLS expansion draft, meaning he was available for selection by the league's two new expansion clubs, Orlando City and New York City FC.
At the time, Cahill, one of three Red Bulls marquees, told Empire Of Soccer: "You know. I'm going to have a little break with the kids. Chill out. I'm going to play in [the] Asian Cup and try and do well for my country. I'll talk with the club afterwards but I've enjoyed it. It's been an unbelievable two-and-a-half years."
Facing an uncertain club future amid rumours of A-League interest, January would represent another high point in Cahill's decorated international career.
Starting for the Socceroos in their opening match against Kuwait, Cahill scored in the 4-1 win, becoming the first Australian to score in three straight AFC Asian Cup tournaments. In the 2-0 quarter-final win over China, , the first of which an impressive bicycle kick that conjured memories of the volley in Brazil.
In the final against Korea Republic, Cahill's substitution for Tomi Juric was one of the tactical turning points of the match, the Western Sydney Wanderers striker adding more dynamic forward presence and providing the assist for James Troisi's match-winning goal.
While the nation was still basking in the afterglow of the Socceroos' Asian Cup win on home soil, Cahill , saying: "I've done the Premier League, I've done America. New York was amazing for me but China is a growing market in football, You see in the Asian Cup quarter-final game that we played against China, millions of people watched it and I'm someone who is embracing culture and a different aspect of life.
"I'm at an age where I want to give something back to football and still play at a high level.
"To play in so many countries, I'm blessed. This will be massive for Tim Cahill."
Fairfax Media reported Cahill would earn upwards of $10 million for his move to China. He told the Sydney Morning Herald publication he felt he could do more for Australia as an "ambassador playing abroad" than by returning to the A-League.
"One thing I do know is that the fans are passionate, and I want to put Shanghai Shenhua on the map in a big way."
When asked about the appearance of One Direction singer Niall Horan in a 'Cahill' shirt, Cahill said: "This is the impact of me as an Australian ambassador. To see him walk out on stage with my UAE shirt, with my name on the back, I said to him that it was a priceless memory for kids in Australia. I said to him I couldn't buy that moment."
Around that time, Cahill again polarised Australian fans when he for a second time in five months.
"I'm a massive fan of Qatar and Dubai," he said. "I travelled there every year when I was in the Premier League to get a rehab, or just to rest. I don't know the politics behind it and the things that go on in the country.
"I'm going off personal experiences, the way we were treated as Australians when we played in Qatar.
"Definitely don't discriminate against countries when it comes to having a go at a World Cup because Australia would want to have a go at it as well."
Injury ruled Cahill out of the Socceroos' highly-anticipated international against Germany in March, but the next month
Selected for the Socceroos for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Kyrgyzstan in June, Cahill had an anonymous night out, barely touching the ball before his 87th-minute substitution for Juric.
Upon his arrival back in China, Cahill was welcomed by reports , despite taking to Instagram to voice his desire to get back onto the pitch.
An active social media user, hours after the Instagram post Cahill retweeted this:
The acknowledgment of a moment that will be forever etched in not only Australian football but World Cup folklore seems oddly poignant. It's been a tumultuous 12 months since then for Cahill, who, more than ever, appears to be at a career crossroads.