Football Talk - Cahill distraught after red card - 14/06/10
Australian midfielder Tim Cahill was distraught after his red card in his side's 4-0 defeat to Germany, describing his dismissal against Germany in their World Cup opener as the saddest moment of his career.
Cahill was sent off in the 56th minute for a challenge on German midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger. After the match Schweinsteiger told Cahill that the incident should not have earned him a red card, gesture which was too much for Cahill who struggled to compose himself as he spoke about the incident.
"I'm just sad. It's probably one of the saddest moments of my footballing career to be in this position," said Cahill. "To hear Schweinsteiger say that, it's very nice of him to say it wasn't a red card. It just shows you how dreams can be made and crushed in the space of hours. It's one of the lowest points of my career. But this is the beauty of football. One day you are a hero, the next day you are at the bottom."
Cahill, who will miss next Saturday's game against Ghana at the very least and possibly the final Group game against Serbia, maintains that he had attempted to avoid contact when it was apparent he was not going to get the ball.
"My leg stayed bent all the way. Never once did I try to straighten it. What do you want me to say?" added Cahill. "To have the momentum as we did in the second half, to have Emo (Brett Emerton) on the right and (Richard) Garcia on the left and show some desire to close down, to try and make things work. I thought the tempo was good and we just started to pick up and put pressure on them, make it play quicker.
"A lot of credit goes to the German team and for us, it makes it worse. I feel that maybe that decision changed the game, even though we were 2-0 down, I felt the momentum was with us." Cahill is confident the Socceroos can bounce back without him against Ghana.
"One hundred percent, it isn't about one player," he added. "We've said from the start. I think for us, as players, especially myself is to be a role model to the young players and to try and make sure that I try and play as well as I can. I never doubt my own character. One thing I am is 100 percent committed to the cause. I'm 100 percent behind the lads and I'll train just as hard to prove my worth."
