Thierry Henry might be the ace of the Red Bulls, but Tim Cahill is increasingly becoming their heart. Henry, the World Cup-winning French superstar, is the team’s captain, but the hard-working Aussie is clearly their talisman.
Cahill scored the fastest goal in MLS history in Sunday’s 3-0 win at Houston, which set up the biggest game in Red Bulls history this Sunday: a season-ending home game against Chicago with the Supporters’ Shield on the line.
“For me, it was a special goal and I’ll never forget it because of the meaning of what it meant to our team and our football club,’’ Cahill said afterward.
Chicago’s Mike Magee might be the league MVP favorite, but rookie Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke had no problem defining exactly how valuable Cahill was to his club, unbeaten in its last seven.
“Invaluable,’’ Petke said succinctly. “A player like Tim is invaluable and a player like Thierry Henry is invaluable. You can debate for whatever reasons. But talking about Tim Cahill, he’s a guy cut from my cloth. To give him respect, perhaps I’m a guy cut from his cloth.’’
Cahill has a team-high 11 goals, but –- as Petke repeatedly said during the Australian’s earlier scoring drought — he does more than just score.
Yes, Cahill stole the playoff-clinching point with his stoppage-time equalizer two weeks ago vs. New England, and earned the shorthanded Red Bulls a huge road point in Seattle when Henry didn’t play on the Sounders’ artificial turf. But he also provides industry in the midfield, box-to-box play and tough tackling.
He wins header after header, whether putting them on frame or clearing opposing corner kicks. Whatever needs to be done, he’ll not only do it willingly but well.
“This guy will do anything,’’ Petke said. “The guy’s played through severe injuries, limped around the field. He’s a guy I could go to him tomorrow and say, ‘I think you’d be a good left back.’ He’d smile and say, ‘Let’s talk tactics.’ If I came to him tomorrow and said I think, ‘you’d be good as a goalkeeper,’ he’d smile and get out the goalkeeping gloves.
“He’s a guy if I see a young guy who needs either a kick in the ass or needs a hug around the shoulder, he’s three steps ahead of me. He has the pulse of the locker room.’’
An example was in last year’s playoffs, when Kenny Cooper missed a crucial penalty and Cahill — a relative newcomer but already well aware of Cooper’s mild-mannered nature — shielded him from the media.
Cahill’s burgeoning popularity with the supporters is no shock. He came to the Red Bulls after stints in England with Everton and Millwall, both known as workmanlike teams with vocal and rabid fans. The Aussie often has said if he couldn’t replicate the same relationship with the Red Bull supporters, he had no interest in coming to New York.
With those fans already wondering if he has reached legend status with the club and pondering songs to sing in his honor, consider that a job well done.
“From the fans, the appreciation, [songs], statues, all that stuff is legit. He’s earned the respect of the fans because he’s one of them,’’ Petke said. “If you had a roster full of Tim Cahills, it’s easy coaching.’’
Certainly Cahill has made Petke’s job easier in his rookie season on the sideline. And a win Sunday over red-hot Chicago — or a tie, should Sporting KC lose or draw on Saturday vs. Philadelphia — would clinch the Red Bulls’ first meaningful silverware in their trophy-less history.
“It means a lot,’’ Cahill said. “We were controlling our own destiny [last Sunday] before the game. If you want to win something then it’s there for us to take and for us to throw away. We didn’t put too much emphasis on putting pressure on ourselves. This week, midweek, it was very light. We had a three-team tournament.
“We weren’t thinking too much about the Supporters’ Shield and what the game meant. …We haven’t put too much pressure on ourselves. We went out there and enjoyed the game and you could tell by the result. We worked hard and worked for each other. It’s a big moment for us to be in this situation.’’