Legacy

by Tim Cahill

The # 1 Bestselling Sport Autobiography of the greatest of all the Socceroos. It's an unlikely footballing fairy tale. Born in Sydney to a Samoan mother and Londoner father, Timothy Cahill grew up in the sprawling western suburbs, where cricket and rugby league ruled. It was a long way from his father's beloved West Ham and the English game that transfixed a young Tim with his own unlikely dreams of one day playing professionally.

Growing up in the 1980s, life for Tim was about family, football and more football - training, playing and watching it with his brothers. Beginning as the youngest and smallest boy on the field, Tim steadily worked his way through the local club sides with an on-field toughness and intelligence that made the unlikely a possibility.

By the time he was a teenager, Tim's parents boldly applied for a bank loan to fund his travels to England. It was an act of faith repaid with a successful trial for Millwall, the storied London club. After 249 appearances and 56 goals and cult-hero status among the fans, he signed for Everton, where he would enjoy a highly successful Premiership and stellar international career - leaving the legacy of becoming one of the most admired and respected Australian sportsmen of all time.

With his trademark honesty and candour, Tim reflects on what it takes to make it to the top - the sacrifices, the physical cost, the mental stamina, the uncompromising self-belief, but also the loyalty, the integrity and the generosity. An autobiography that is more than a record of the goals and the games, Tim Cahill's story is a universal reminder of the importance of making your moment count.

'I can't remember a time when I wasn't dreaming of football ...'

Genres: Football, Biography, Nonfiction, Soccer

357 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Tim Cahill was born in Sydney, New South Wales to an English father of Irish descent and a Samoan mother, and was encouraged to play football as a child. He grew up moving between homes around Sydney’s south, west and inner west. He has an older sister Opa, older brother Sean and younger brother Chris. As a youngster, Cahill played football for Balmain Police Boys Club and Marrickville Football Club.

Reviews

[Josh Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very easy to read, and interesting to hear Cahill's story. He's very candid all the way through, but it's a little bit too much "in this game, in the 36th minute, I did this" sort of stuff. Not sure how a non-football fan would go about reading it, despite the fact he says in the preface he wants them to enjoy it too.

[Max Coggan · Rating 5 out of 5]

We gave this book to our 14 year grandson for Christmas. He is not an avid reader but has loved this book. I enjoyed the 60 pages I read before my wife wrapped it for Christmas. I will get to read it later. My grandson rated it 5 stars.

[Joshua Cullen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing man and amazing footballer.. Do yourself a favor and read this book!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a huge football follower, but what a hardworking man!!! Really inspiring !

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a focused inspiring man! Really enjoyed this autobiography. The book is easy to read but still full of so much information about Tim, his family, English premier league and Australian football. I think the fact that I love football and have followed the Socceroos for quite a few years certainly helped the enjoyment as there is a lot of technical talk.
Tim speaks about himself very clinically, facts not ego, which I find freshening.
Hats off to Bek, being married to Tim would have been very challenging to say the least.

[Cody Shorter · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.5 out of 10

Who’s it for?

While it can and should be enjoyed by any footballing fan, I recommend you give this to young boys and girls who have aspirations to play football professionally.

Review

The book is very easy to read with many page-turning stories from Tim’s early footballing days in Western Sydney to dressing room banter with footballing icons. While the book is a good read, I found myself wishing I received this sort of message when I was 13 and wanted to play professionally. To encapsulate Tim’s message, I’ve picked this quote from the book:

It’s a hard truth: reaching the pinnacle of anything requires not only talent, and good fortune, but also a single-mindedness towards those things you can control – if you’re disciplined enough.


Some interesting tidbits
• During youth football, Tim always played up at least 1 age division.
• For all those who want Tim’s recipe for heading success: Heading well takes a combination of vertical leap, anticipation, intuition, and a healthy dose of improvisation.
• The first person Tim met when he was on his first trial in England at Millwall was Paul Ifill (who later played in the A-league for Wellington Phoenix).
• When Tim signed for Millwall, one of the first-team starters was fellow Aussie Lucas Neill.
• Tim played in the 2004 FA Cup final, losing 3 nil to Manchester United.

[Spiros Koziaris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable book to read. Tim shares his very interesting life story.

[Texi Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tim Cahill is an absolute legend of the game and he burst onto the scene in the UK as a raw talent for an unfancied team. The book is his life story to date and is an entertaining account of his football career, mixed in with some insight into his personal life. The end of the book doesn't tie up nicely - the book was maybe premature, given that his career was still ongoing. Maybe there will be an updated version. Well done on a good book.

[Mingma Lama · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a good book about the life of Tim Cahill.
I liked how it told you about what he thought in moments of his life. This book allowed me to see what was going through his head during his life.
The things I've learnt is to always listen to feedback, always be aware of the hard work that your parents put to let you pursue your dreams and more.
It was a really good book and I would recommend it to any aspiring athlete.

[Sheva10 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how good it was. Very insightful, very knowledgeable and showed how much passion Tim has for everything about his life. The relationships he's developed with so many was very rewarding to read. I'd have given it 5 stars, but I felt it ended abruptly; he should've waited until his career actually finished; even moving into his Technical Director role now. Maybe Tim could add to the book, because it would be worth the read.

[Tom O'Keefe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always been a massive Tim Cahill fan. He's been one of my footballing heroes for as long as I could remember, however after reading this book I have a new-found respect and appreciation for him. A really easy read, but a really inspirational one.

[Fraser Matthews · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was random, i had bought it at the sydney airport years ago but only finished at a random date, over such a long period, i enjoy Tim Cahill, his services and his stories, however it wasn’t extremely memorable, perchance younger kids would appreciate it more

[Connor Mc Ginty · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book that gave a great insight on a spectacular career, A must read for sports enthusiasts

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I though this book was incredible. It gave me an inside on his life and was he did for his country and family.

[Zak · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is gooooood

[Marnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even if your not a football or even a sports fan Tim’s book is a must read.

[Flynn Mintern · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book on the life of Tim Cahill, one of the best players in Australia

[Paul McCormack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hoped for a bit more depth but what a guy and what a player. Will be welcome at Everton for ever more

[Henry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read and what a player

[Felix Curtis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely inspiring story with cool little football nods throughout. Every Australian into football should read.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The son of a Samoan mother and an English father, ‘Legacy’ is the autobiography of Australian footballer Tim Cahill. Known primarily in the UK for his many years spent at Everton, the book charts the beginning of his career in the country of his birth, to his arrival in England with Millwall and leads up to his time at current team Shanghai Shenhua.

One thing that can be said about this autobiography is that if you are expecting scandal then this is not the book for you. A lot of the book centres around how his great work ethic has propelled Tim from his humble background to, arguably, the most successful footballer in Australian history. Unlike a lot of autobiographies, this is not simply a recount of various dressing room tales but more of an account of how he got to where he is today.

His liking for all his previous clubs is apparent but it is his love for Everton that shines through; from the players and management to the backroom staff and fans, it is clear to see that Everton is in his heart. This is not just about club football, however, as much of the book is taken up with his international career – something which he is seemingly very proud of.

It will be interesting to see if he achieves his aim of buying an A-League club when his playing days are finally over. Any chance of a role at Everton first, Tim?!

[Sunny Flynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

An easy read. I read it because my fiancé was interested in his story (also a Samoan athlete): I read it so that we could both experience it.
He is in the middle of reading it now, but my personal opinion is that although the first few chapters were amazing, somewhere around half way through, it just changes to a personal account of his sporting success: rather than a personal account of his life (which is my favourite things about autobiographies). There was hardly anything written about his wife or children or hardships with friendships or 'feelings' in general about how he dealt with failure or success. This book focused solely on his sporting achievements and not on his life (to make it personal) which was disappointing to see from such a high achieving, Samoan athlete who could inspire many more.

[Bryony · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a good read, and very easy to read. it has a nice flow. I'm an Evertonian, so it was interesting to hear about his time at Everton. He mentions most of his memorable EFC games, but not all. Quite a bit about Australia, but it's interesting to see the techniques he used to make it as a pro, despite being Tiny Tim. If you want to be a footballer, read this book.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read this one, even though it at times could provide a bit more detail. There's a fair bit more to Tim Cahill behind the scenes than I ever realised, with his family background and the hard road he took to a top line career. Need to see Timmy have a year in the A-League to round off a remarkable career.

[Billy Vasiliou · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing autobiography for any football fan, football player, and aussie sports follower. It truly is an inspiring book from the hardworking heart of Tim Cahill. A very easy read for practically anyone to accomplish. So any Soccerroos fan, this is a must cop.

[Daniel Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone who is a fan of Tim Cahill should read this, I learned about one of my heroes, things I never knew before and I respect him even more than I already did for his honesty, love of football and hard work to get to where he is today. A really great autobiography.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book for 2020 that I have completed and I have really enjoyed it from cover to cover. Very well written and easy to follow, I thoroughly got to understand Tim Cahill as a person much better. I highly recommend this book

[Trev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book but not really a must read. My view of Tim is now tarnished by his statement that he views Alan Jones as a mentor.

[Andrew Johnston · Rating 2 out of 5]

Footballers books eh? pretty much all them are shite, yet I keep on reading them. This was no exception.

[Thomas Magarelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked how he talked about his childhood