Kosmina backs Cahill's MLS switch

An avowed fan of Major League Soccer, Kosmina spent time at Galaxy's sprawling Home Depot Center base last month where he held lengthy discussions with the club's assistant coach Dave Sarachan and director of soccer operations David Kammarman.

And Kosmina believes that it will take at least five years for the A-League to be comparable with a competition gaining in stature and popularity with each season.

Kosmina insists that 32-year-old Cahill's move to New York Red Bulls, where Thierry Henry is already thriving, will protect his body from the wear and tear which comes from the intensity of playing in the EPL.

"Tim's a realist and is very pretty much aware of where he is at with his football and his body," Kosmina told The World Game.

"I am sure he would dearly have loved another year or two in the EPL but he's looked at last season and thought another campaign would be very tough on him physically.

"He could well have ended up sitting on the bench and not playing at all at Everton.

"Going to America takes the pressure off … the climate helps, and there are likely to fewer games in a season than he was used to at Everton.

"After eight years at a club a change can be as good as a holiday. He's said to himself, 'I am making a sensible decision here'.

"And it's not just a career move."

Kosmina also claims a star-spangled Cahill will fly the Australian flag with panache in the US.

"He's a great character and a good personality and that will go over well in America. He will put our game on the map there," he added.

"LA had David Beckham, who as a marketing exercise was a massive success and the Red Bulls have Thierry Henry and now Tim Cahill is there."

Kosmina isn't quite as convinced by the marquee model in Australia.

"We have borrowed a lot of idea from the MLS in terms of the franchise set up and also the marquee signing concept and the centralised control of the game," he added.

"There will always be a place for a marquee here. You just have to have the right ones. Fans have been fed a steady diet of marquee players and celebrity-type players and you can't turn around and say you can't have that any more.

"But there is an argument to maybe incorporate the marquee money into the salary cap and put everybody on a level playing field."

The MLS, which boasts purpose-built football arenas, has been a role model for the A-League and will continue to set the trends, at least for the time being, according to Kosmina.

"It's a numbers game and they have a nation of 360 million and that gives them a better range to choose from, even taking into account the similarities with Australia where they have three or four major codes above soccer in popularly with the likes of baseball, NFL and basketball," he said.

"The MLS has had a big head start on us and that translates to the quality of their stadiums and players across the board.

"But if you come back to the A-League in five years time and you might get a better comparison of where we are head to head."