Tim Cahill Childhood Story Plus Untold Biography Facts

Our Tim Cahill Biography tells you facts about his Childhood Story, Early Life, Parents – Tim Cahill Snr (Father), Sisifo Cahill (Moter), Family Background, Wife (Rebekah Greenhill), Children, Siblings, etc.

LifeBogger presents the Full Story of an Australian Football Legend who is best known by the Nickname; ‘Timmy’.

Our version of Tim Cahil’s Childhood Story and Biography brings to you a full account of notable events from his boyhood days.

We then proceed to tell you how Tim became famous in the beautiful game.

The analysis of the Australian and Everton FC Soccer Legend involves his life story before fame, family life and many OFF and ON-Pitch little-known facts about him.

Without a doubt, Tim Cahill is regarded as one of Australia’s most successful athletes. Now let us dive into his person.

Tim Cahill Childhood Story – Early Life and Family Background:

Young Tim Cahill in his boyhood years.
Young Tim Cahill in his boyhood years.

For Biography starters, Cahill was born on the 6th day of December 1979 in Sydney to an English father of Irish descent (Tim Cahill Snr) and a Samoan mother (Sisifo Cahill).

He was encouraged to play football as a child, although he grew up in a very large rugby-playing family. Despite that, Tim took an interest in Football.

One of his favourite hobbies was watching the Barclays Premier League. Ideally, he could do what many Australians found hard to do.

That is staying awake at the dead hours of the night (12:00 mid-night – 4:00 am) just to watch every single English league action.

As far as football is concerned, the harsh Australian and British time difference has hampered many from watching the game.

As a little 5-year-old, he grew up supporting Everton Football Club. The club as in the mid 80’s, dominated English football.

They won the premier league during the 1985/1986 and 1986/1987 seasons. Tim grew up watching and learning from his favourite Everton striker, Gary Lineker.

Boyhood years:

As a young kid, it was unacceptable to be awake at the dead hours of the night. Tim Cahil had to seek special permission to be up by midnight from his British-born father, who also was an ardent English football supporter.
So both of them watched together. According to Tim,
I don’t actually watch movies. And I will either play or watch Barclays Premier League Football. I enjoy to watch games in the Premier League as a kid. That is how I relax.
I could always see the flickering in the hallways… of Premier League football even World Cups and things like that. Also, I was in awe of professional players back then. I appreciated their talent,” he said.

“Back then as an active footballer, I think about how hard it was to get on that stage, and when am there, I look around and see myself lining up in a tunnel and I’m standing next to Ruud van Nistelrooy, I’m standing next to Thierry Henry, Robby and Roy Keane, Owen, and Robert Pires.

It is at that point that I tell myself, that “Wow, I’ve finally made it in life”. Then I tell myself again, “There’s no way I’m coming off this pitch without one of their jerseys”.”

It is worthy to assert that Tim Cahill’s parents made one of the greatest sacrifices to get him at the top. This will be explained in this long piece. His parents love his intelligence.
The boyhood years of Tim Cahill.
The boyhood years of Tim Cahill.
He could watch matches all night and still never show any sign of sleep during the day. He was even the best in his class, claimed his parents.

Tim Cahill Biography Facts – From Rugby to Football:

Cahill grew up surrounded by his stocky Rugby league-playing cousins who convinced him to forget football and put a start at their game.
As a little boy, he sometimes followed them to play Rugby. He did it not because he loved the game but out of love for his cousins.
Thou, his father (Tim Cahill Snr), wanted him to become anything he wanted to become. It was his mother (Susifo) who violently refused her son to play Rugby.
She feared the game was more dangerous and her son could get severely injured from it.

But after constantly worrying about her fears of stocky players injuring her son, she forced her husband to eject him from that sport – to what she referred to as a “safer sport” of soccer.

It didn’t take long before Tim’s younger brother Sean followed the same soccer.

Tim Cahill Biography Facts – How he got to England:

Both parents (Tim Cahill Snr and Sisifo) scraped together a $10,000 loan to get one of their sons to England. They decided it would be Tim due to his long-standing love for English football.

The family decided it would be his only opportunity to showcase his Australian Talent. They made the push with scouts, and their son, Tim, travelled to London to hold trials with Millwall FC in the year 1998.

His family was so broke after Tim travelled. His younger brother had to stop school to get a job. He did that to help support finances at home.

According to Tim, “Still to this day, there’s not a day that I don’t think about that. I call it the beautiful scar,” he said.

His family struggled financially to service their loan after he left. They both worked for tireless hours in a factory and had a low standard of living until their son had made it.

According to his mom, “We’ve got no choice financially. We couldn’t afford money to see him through his dreams. So we had to take a loan. We became debtors for years. We are happy our sacrifice paid off.

All we wanted was for him to become successful as a footballer who would play in the Premier League. Glad it finally came through.”

When Cahill arrived in England, he rented a one-bedroom house. He fought hard to be successful in his trials.

Fortunately, his effort paid off. He was signed by Millwall in the year 1998. In his book ‘Tim Cahill Legacy’, he wrote that he sent the 5,000 pounds signing-on fee straight home as part of the repayment for the loan.

Tim Cahill advertising his books.
Tim Cahill advertising his books.

Thou his football wages were low. He still saved to service the loan and even sent 5,000 pounds home. The family then made its first-ever deposit on a house with the money.

Tim Cahill Bio – The Rugby Family Connection:

Starting off, Tim Cahil is the brother of Samoan footballer and former Samoa captain Chris Cahill. Many of his relatives are involved in rugby.

In fact, three cousins have been engaged in playing professional rugby. They include Ben Roberts (New Zealand Rugby League) and Jeremy Stanley (New Zealand Rugby Union).

Again, two of his nephews who are professional rugby league players, Chase Stanley and Kyle Stanley are related to Rugby Union professionals Sam Stanley (Saracens & England U20), Mike Stanley (Samoa), Benson Stanley, and Winston Stanley.

Who is Rebekah Greenhill? Tim Cahill’s Wife:

Tim Cahill married childhood sweetheart Rebekah Greenhill in May 2010. The couple soon had four children together.

It was not a typical Las Vegas wedding but was hosted at the world-famous Bellagio Hotel with over 50 supporting friends watching.

On his wedding day, Tim Cahill said to his wife; “You is my best mate, my everything.”

Tim Cahill says he and his wife Rebekah have never pursued a glamorous couple status and lifestyle led by the likes of other footballers and their wives, including David and Victoria Beckham.

The focus is on living a simple life, spending solo time with his wife and kids. It is pertinent to note that Tim loves to hang out with his kids. To him, “children are everything”

Tim Cahill’s Children:

Tim has four kids who are really active sports lovers. Three (3) sons named Kyah, Shae, and the youngest one has no disclosed name and a daughter Sienna. They all come from his spouse, Rebekah Cahill.

Being surrounded by lovely kids while celebrating trophies is ultimately what makes Tim Cahill feel fulfilled and happy. The complete family man once said, ‘Family will always come first before football.’

He further said,

“Experiencing happiness with my family is one thing, and I’ve had all my whole life. Everything else that comes with it even [football] is fake.

Also, money, contracts and newspaper headlines. Aside from family, if you could take everything off me tomorrow, I’ll still be happy. So long as my family are living very close together, that’s all that matters really for me”.

Tim Cahill doesn’t see his status as anything special, instead choosing to focus on what he knows.

He credits his parents for putting him in situations where he could be guided by skilled coaches and have the opportunities to play at different levels — even though a lot of people told him that he was too small to be a professional footballer at some point in time.

Tim Cahill Family Fact – Half British, Half Somoan:

Although Cahill’s birthplace is Sydney, Australia, his father is of Irish descent but lived in England during his life. Cahill gets his dark complexion from his mother, who is a Samoan native.

Cahill supposedly had the option of representing Ireland because of his father, but he has only represented Samoa and Australia in his international career.

Tim Cahill Biography Facts – Career Summary:

In his youth, Cahill played football for the Balmain Police Boys Club, Marrickville Football Club, and Plumpton/Oakhurst Soccer Club.

He Lived and played football in Samoa for a short time as a youngster. He represented the Samoan national football team at age 14. Moved to England in 1998 to play soccer for Millwall FC.

As time went on, he became an integral member of Millwall’s squad. Cahill’s popularity only really took off in the 2003-2004 season when he helped Millwall to reach the FA Cup final, only to lose to Manchester United 3-0.

This prompted interest in Everton. Tim Cahill was spotted by Everton’s scouts, and in the summer of 2004, he moved to Goodison Park.

He fitted in immediately and finished the season as Everton’s top scorer and was voted Everton’s players player of the year. In the same year (2004), he joined the Socceroos, Australia’s national team.

After playing with Everton for almost a decade in the English Premier League, he moved to the U.S. in 2012 to join the New York Red Bulls. Cahil played there – two years after Tyler Adams joined the club’s academy.

There, she was awarded the Gold Boot and MVP in 2013. His last destination was the Shanghai Shenhua FC in the Chinese Super League. After hanging his boots, he was appointed as a UNICEF ambassador.

Tim Cahill Facts – A man who embraced cultures:

Tim Cahill has come a long way in life. “Coming from Australia, living in London, Manchester, Liverpool, Sydney, New York and then Shanghai, I’ve treated it as an adventure,” he explains.

“I’ve embraced all cultures, foods, the people, the lifestyle.”

But with all that adventure, Cahill is constantly aware of the sacrifices his family made for him to follow his dreams.

Running 2 Football Academies:

Another cool fact about him is that he runs two football academies.

One is in Wollongong, Australia, with the partnership of Wollongong Police and Community Youth Club, the other is in Dubai, which he runs in partnership with Elite Sporting Academy. Both were launched in 2009.

Tim Cahill Brother – Jailed for Six (6) Years:

In 2008, Sean Cahill was jailed for six years for an assault in Britain that left his victim partially blinded.

His ‘brutal and terrifying’ assault on his victim labelled him a dangerous man in Britain.

He was first convicted of grievous bodily harm at Croydon Crown Court for attacking Chris Stapely, from Orpington, on July 11, 2004.

Investigations revealed he repeatedly kicked the victim Mr Stapely in the head near a taxi office in East Street, leaving him semi-conscious with fractured teeth and a severed retina in his right eye.

Mr Stapely, the victim faced a life of impaired vision and can no longer carry on his career as a quantity surveyor.

Coward Cahill repeatedly denied attacking Mr Stapely and even absconded to his home country Australia before he was re-arrested in Sydney, Australia.

Detective Constable Will Hope from Bromley Police said: “Mr Stapely has waited over three and a half years to see justice for what was a brutal and terrifying assault.

Sean Cahill denied his involvement, even in the face of compelling forensic evidence. He was sentenced to six years in jail after being extradited from Australia.

The sentence was a vindication of all the efforts taken to bring him to court to stand trial.

Tim Cahill Brother Story – Reacting to his brother’s arrest and jail:

 

The Australian midfielder once scored and celebrate by crossing his wrists as though he had been handcuffed and later revealed he was dedicating the goal.

He revealed it was for his brother Sean, who was jailed for six years for partially blinding a man. It is the first time that Cahill publicly acknowledged the sentence.

Cahill said: “Basically, it’s for my brother. Everyone knows my situation and I am just proud that he is happy and I am happy and I’m thinking of him always.

My family means a lot to me and so does this football club. It’s been a bit emotional but it’s good.”

An Everton spokesman defended Cahill from criticism that the celebration might be seen as inappropriate.

Saying that he knew some would not be in favour of the celebration, the spokesman said:

“Goal celebrations are a personal matter and up to the player to decide, no-one dictates what the player can do as long as he stays within the laws of the game, as long as it doesn’t result in a caution.”

Tim Cahill Bio – Australia’s Greatest Goal Flag Boxer:

Tim Cahill’s goal-scoring heroics know no bounds. He was the first player in history to score at three separate World Cups and three Asian Cups.

Only eight players in history have scored at three separate World Cups: Cahill, van Persie, Arjen Robben, Roberto Baggio, Jurgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthaus. Pele and Uwe Seeler scored at four separate World Cups.

In total, he has scored five goals at the World Cup. For about 30 international games in which he has scored a goal, Australia has won 19, lost five and drawn six.
His goals-per-game ratio of 0.4875 places him 44th on the all-time list among international players with a minimum of 20 caps.
Tim Cahill’s trademark goal celebration style is no news to football addicts. No Australian – even Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka have Scored as Many Goals as Him For the National Team.
Tim Cahill is someone who had chased and lived with his dreams with Everton FC.  It had always been his childhood dream to play for the Toffees.
Goal Celebration Trademark Goes Wrong:

Tim Cahill’s shadowboxing trademark celebration had once been trampled upon by a cheeky ball boy. go-to celebration: run to the corner flag and start shadowboxing.

The cheeky ball boy decided to wreak havoc with the Australian’s fabled routine during Melbourne City’s clash with Central Coast Mariners.

Cahill jogged predictably towards the corner flag after scoring only to find out the crazy lad had pulled off the turf and walked backwards preventing his shadowboxing attempt. Tim upon observing this had to box the thin air.

Tim Cahill Interview:

What is your Favourite way to work out?

Tim Cahill“I’m not a player who can sprint all over the field for 90 minutes. For me it’s about being explosive so that when that opportunity comes, I can react quickest, jump higher than the defender or make that five metre sprint to get to the ball first. I try and replicate that in my gym work so that most of what I focus on is explosive movements with light weights”

What’s your number one go-to healthy meal?

For me the night before a game I make sure I get my carbs and protein so pasta with chicken is a good way to make sure that my body has all the energy it needs for a match.

What’s the best fitness tip you’ve picked up being an athlete?

For me it’s all about knowing and managing your body. That’s why I’m still able to play at 35. That and training specifically for your position/role.

What’s been the highlight of your career?

For me it’s hard to choose between our first World Cup victory against Japan and our Asian Cup win a couple of weeks ago. To win an important piece of silverware on home soil is something I will always consider one of my proudest moments.

The goal you scored against the Netherlands at the World Cup was pretty amazing! For you, what’s been the most memorable goal you’ve scored to date?

As amazing as it was to score against the Netherlands, I still rate my goals against Japan in Germany 2006 as the best of my career, most of all for their importance to our win.

What’s left for you to achieve as an athlete?

I’m looking forward to going to China now with Shanghai Shenhua and being able to have a really different experience to anything I’ve had in my career so far. I’m definitely looking to have a really positive influence on the park as well!

If you didn’t pursue a career in football, what would you be doing instead?

That’s hard to say. Since I was really little I always wanted to be a footballer. I think most likely I would have gotten a trade of some kind.

What are your plans after you finish playing football?

I have some really exciting projects outside of football which I’ll definitely look to be more involved in when I finish. I don’t think I will ever not be involved in the game though.

What’s your philosophy when it comes to health and fitness?

For me it’s all about balance. Yes, I train hard, but I make sure that I balance that out by playing FIFA with my kids. If all I did was train all day, I would have burnt out by now.

Do you think your kids will follow in your footsteps?

My second-eldest boy, Shae, is really good. I want to make sure that I give him the space to make his own way though, not put too much pressure on him. And my 3 year old Cruz definitely shares my lack of self-preservation!

What’s one thing not many people know about you?

I love singing and music. My eldest boy, Kyah has an amazing voice and my brothers and a lot of my family are really talented as well.

Tim Cahill Car Fact – The Bugatti:

He owns a Bugatti Veyron 16.4, the most powerful, expensive and fastest street-legal car in the world.

Appreciation Note and Fact Check:

Thank you for taking the time to read LifeBogger’s version of Tim Cahill’s Biography. We care about accuracy and fairness in our quest to deliver you Australian Football Stories.
Kindly stay tuned for more! The Life History of Garang Kuol and Jackson Irvine will excite you. Kindly reach us via comment if you find anything that doesn’t look right in our article about Tim Cahill.

Hi there! I am Hale Hendrix, a passionate football enthusiast and writer dedicated to uncovering the untold stories of footballers' childhood and biography. With a deep love for the beautiful game, I have spent countless hours researching and interviewing players to bring to light the lesser-known details of their lives.

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