Tim Cahill said his experience convinced him that India has what it
takes to excel on the continental and world stages.
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Agencies: Former
Australia and Jamshedpur FC striker Tim Cahill believes Indian football’s young
talents can flourish with systematic exposure at the top level. Cahill, who
brought his sterling career to an end following his stint with the
Jamshedpur-based side in the 2018-19 season of the Indian Super League (ISL),
said his experience convinced him that India has what it takes to excel on the
continental and world stages.
“Indian talents just need more games, get them
playing all the time and competing and when they go into international
fixtures, you (will) see that they can handle the pressure,” Cahill was quoted
as saying by ‘Star Sports Football United’ according to the Asian Football
Federation website.
Cahill, 40, believes India is
moving towards the right direction to achieve greater heights. “The ISL and the
leagues that are being played with its infrastructure are great and the only
thing that the game needs more than anything is unity,” he said.
“Everyone is flowing in the same direction to
get to that one goal - which is to win an AFC Asian Cup title, to reach the
World Cup and help women’s football and to develop your own leagues.”
Cahill’s spell at Jamshedpur
was cut short to 11 matches due to injury but the Australian legend has fond
memories of his time with The Red Miners. “It was amazing, I lived and breathed
everything and was very close to the community as well as the owners from the
Tata Group,” said Cahill, who had also spent eight years at English Premier
League side Everton, featuring in 226 matches with 56 goals to his credit.
“One of the best things about the club was
that everything we did was for our fans and everything Jamshedpur FC did was
for players.”
He said it was a crazy
experience and he felt blessed to have been with the club. “We were around kids
and in schools where we opened up training programmes. I was asked about
fundamental skills and things that I do such as projects... it was just crazy,”
he said.
“We were in the middle of nowhere and we have
thousands at the game. I’m very blessed to have had that kind of experience.”
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