Australia’s record marksman on how to time your runs from deep and hit the back of the net
“You have the knack of scoring plenty of goals from midfield. What’s your secret?”
Ryan Smith, via Twitter
Tim Cahill says:
“You need to have two things: desire and a good engine. So many of my goals came from sheer desire – wanting to get into the box and put my head where others were afraid to go. It didn’t have to be the perfect cross; if the ball was in the box I’d always do everything to get to it.
You have to be really fit as well. You need that engine, so that in the 80th minute when the defender marking you is tiring, you are still running and can go past them and convert a chance.
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Make sure you have more stamina than them. On the pitch you always need to be smart and think about how you use your energy.
One other important factor is preparation. Understand the back four you will be coming up against. Locate weakness in the defence you are facing and then try to exploit it.
For instance, Vincent Kompany doesn’t like the ball on his left foot, so I’d put him under pressure in this area. Even the best defenders can have lapses in concentration.”
Tim Cahill’s autobiography Legacy is out now, published by Harper Collins
Sam Pilger is a freelance sports writer who writes for Forbes, FourFourTwo, Optus Sport, The Athletic and The Times Magazine. He was previously the deputy editor of FourFourTwo magazine (lucky him), still contributes regularly and has written several books, including Manchester United's Best XI and For Club and Country with Gary and Phil Neville.
