Say what you like about Tim Cahill (and many of us do), he is a very good soccer player. He left the New York Red Bulls under a bit of a cloud, which has perhaps overshadowed his contribution to the club's history: he was the team's MVP in 2013, the season it won its very first meaningful silverware - the Supporters' Shield.
And he scored one of the more memorable goals in RBNY history, which also happened to be the fastest-ever scored in MLS at the time.
After a stint in China, Cahill has gone home. He's back in Australia, playing professionally in his home country for the first time in his career. At 36, this should be his last stop - and his contract with Melbourne City includes a transition into coaching.
But he still has life in his well-traveled legs. Tim Cahill's debut goal for Melbourne City was a stunner.
Cahill will have a unique perspective on soccer when he retires. He has played for the two most prominent global soccer projects in the world right now: those of Red Bull and City Football Group. Those two projects collide in New York, where RBNY and NYC FC are currently neck-and-neck at the top of the MLS Eastern Conference.
If Cahill's career does bring him back to New York, it will most likely be in a coaching capacity for the CFG side of the global game's two great experiments in corporatized soccer. But he was once a Red Bull and he's doing no harm to RBNY by scoring great goals in A-League.
It's the goal you have been waiting for!@Tim_Cahill, welcome to the @ALeague! #ThisIsOurCity pic.twitter.com/E8wiGJIGm5
— Melbourne City FC (@MelbourneCity) October 15, 2016
Well played, Timmy C. Good luck to you.