Walk-on part completes long journey for Cahill

He was just 14, invited over from his home in Sydney to play in an Oceanian under-20 tournament for Samoa, the native country of his mother Sis.

To a teenage boy, it was just a chance to visit his poorly grandma while on an exotic holiday. Only the holiday became a footballing prison sentence when he tried to further his ambitions to play for the nation where he had been born and brought up.

One small mistake froze him out for nine years.

His dad, lawyers, leading officials, journalists, his agent, Australia's national team manager Frank Farina

. . . you name them, everyone fought to get this ridiculous ban overturned.

Cahill, who'd come to Millwall at 16 to try his luck, just kept blossoming here, but the news back home got no better. It was Samoa (not the "Samosa" beloved of David Pleat) or no-one, he kept being told.

"Everyone thought I was dead and buried and some people laughed when I said I'd play for Australia one day," he recalled.

This only further brought out the bloody-minded determination and commitment which is also a mark of his football.

"I wasn't a crusader, but I did always think if some other player benefits and doesn't have to go through the pain that I did, then it would be great." Okay, so maybe he wasn't a Aussie Bosman, he figures, but he does believe that his passionate fight "for common sense to defeat an obvious injustice" was instrumental in prompting FIFA to finally introduce the new, more flexible eligibility rules for players with dual nationality.

This allowed, for instance, Freddie Kanoute to turn out for Mali in the African Cup of Nations.

So, Cahill is probably public enemy No1 at Spurs.

During his eligibility battle, Ireland, from where his grandma hails, had hoped to bring him on board but Cahill simply vowed that he could only "play where the heart belongs - and that's Australia."

His Socceroo team-mates like Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka - "great guys" - could see that passion last night and made a special presentation to him in the changing room afterwards.

Mind you, Cahill admitted, they couldn't resist teasing him about this international transformation from Samoan "coconut" to Aussie " kangaroo".

Well, on Sunday, it will be back to his best impression of Millwall's workaholic "lion", the one which has been attracting Premiership suitors like Everton.

Dad and the others will be staying on to cheer him on against Sunderland in the Old Trafford semi-final.

"Then, hopefully, they'll have reason to stay on until Cardiff," he smiled. For the Cup final? Or the play-offs?

Nothing seems to be able to halt the 24-year-old's inspirational charge at the moment.

He'd picked up a knock to his back last Saturday, but even a couple of days on the treatment table weren't going to stand in the way of last night's debut.

"Because I've waited so long, tonight feels like a massive dream come true," he shrugged. "It already seems like an amazing week for me."

With dreams of Europe, the Cup final, United or Arsenal, it could get rather more amazing yet.