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Timothy Filiga "Tim" Cahill (born 6 December
1979) is an Australianfootball (soccer) player,
who is the all-time top scorer for the Australian
national football team. Cahill currently plays
for American Major League Soccer club, New
York Red Bulls. Prior to joining New York he
played his club football in England,
for Millwall and then Everton. Cahill plays as
anattacking midfielder, but has also played as
a forward on several occasions. A box-to-box
midfielder, Cahill has become recognised for
"his direct and powerful approach and his late
runs into the penalty area. Cahill has become
one of the highest profile footballers in the Asian Football Confederation, earning 70 caps and scoring 33 goals for his country. He scored the first goal by an
Australian at a World Cup, and has also scored the most goals by any Australian in the World Cup. In 2007 he became the first Australian player to score at
an Asian Cup. Cahill is known for his adept heading ability, the height of his
leap, and scoring a large proportion of his goals with his head.
In July 2012 Cahill signed for the New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer as a Designated Player, for a fee reported to be approximately £1 million. He made his MLS debut in a game against Houston Dynamo the following
month. On 19 May 2013 Cahill scored a goal which turned out to be the winner
in the 91st minute against Los Angeles Galaxy in a 1-0 win. On 20 October
2013, Cahill set a new record for the fastest goal in MLS history when he
scored seven seconds into a 3-0 win against the Houston Dynamo.
Cahill made his debut for Australia in a friendly against South Africa on 30
March 2004 at Loftus Road, London. He then participated at the 2004 Olympic Games. Tim Cahill made his competitive debut for Australia at the 2004
OFC Nations Cup. Cahill finished the competition as second-highest scorer in
the competition with six goals, and was the top scorer in the final round. Australia went on to win the competition for the fourth time in their history. Having
won the competition, Australia were drawn against Uruguay in the World Cup
qualification play-off. Cahill played in the game as Australia beat Uruguay after
a penalty shoot out to qualify for the World Cup, for only the second time in
Australia's history. Cahill helped Australia reach the quarter final stage of
the men's football tournament at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He scored his
only goal of the competition in a 5–1 win over Serbia. Australia were knocked
out of the competition by Iraq following a 1–0 loss. Following his exploits in the
OFC Nations Cup and Summer Olympics competitions Cahill was
named Oceania Footballer of the Yearfor 2004. Cahill played in the 2006 FIFA
World Cup and, in Australia's opening group game against Japan, became the