A TEARFUL Tim Cahill was inconsolable yesterday as he described the sending-off which left his World Cup in virtual ruins as the saddest moment of his career.
His face a mask of raw emotion and his eyes welling with anguish, Australia’s main man faced up to the prospect of the Socceroos’ fate being sealed when he returns from his mandatory one-match ban for the final Group D game against Serbia on June 23.
He misses Saturday’s must-win duel with Ghana after being handed a straight red card by trigger-happy Mexican referee Marco Rodriguez in the 57th minute of Australia’s humbling 4-0 loss to Germany.
His lunge at German star Bastian Schweinsteiger was reckless – but most observers couldn’t believe the referee considered it worthy of a red card.
“It’s the saddest momet I’ve faced in my career so far,” said Cahill, who this time four years ago was the unlikely hero as his two goals steered Australia to a historic first World Cup win against Japan.
“It just proves how dreams can be crushed in seconds. I never went out to hurt him and was genuinely going for the ball. I kept my knee bent to make sure that’s what happened.
“I felt the incident turned the game because although we were two goals down at the time we had a bit of momentum behind us and were making them work hard to stay ahead. It shows how in football you can be a hero one moment and hit the bottom the next.”
In a disarming twist to the tale, a conciliatory Schweinsteiger went out of his way to console Cahill afterwards, telling him that he should never have been sent off.
Cahill, 30, paid tribute to Schweinsteiger for his honesty, adding: “A lot of players could have milked that situation but for him to say I shouldn’t have been sent off meant a lot to me.
Defender Scott Chipperfield was aghast at the decision, declaring: “It was harsh to say the least. I saw the replay and I don’t think it was even worth a yellow card, let alone a red. There was only minimal contact. It was a really tough call on Tim.”
Skipper Lucas Neill concurred, adding after Australia were forced to play a nightmarish 33 minutes with 10 men: “It was the wrong decision. If you look at the replay it wasn’t justified at all. You could see that Tim went in to make the tackle and then pulled out.
“He didn’t want to touch him and there was clearly no intention to even commit a foul.”
Cahill vowed to continue training hard, insisting he will pick himself up and overcome his darkest hour.
“Our team is not about any one player,” he insisted. “For me it’s about being a role model to the younger players and I’ll continue to try and be that, whether I play or not.”
Performing in tandem with surprise selection Richard Garcia up front, Cahill – like his teammates – had no answer to the power and panache of the Germans.
Prior to his dismissal he had been only a peripheral presence as struggled for possession and did little with the ball when it did come his way.
“You have to give credit to them because they are an excellent side,” he conceded after two goals in each half underscored the effortless superiority of Joachim Low’s men.
Ironically, Cahill had been cast by the Germans as Australia’s danger man, with defenders ready to double-team him to keep him in check.
In the end, they didn’t have to bother.
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