Club: Everton, England

Position: Midfielder

Australia midfielder Tim Cahill has the handy knack of turning up in dangerous positions and scoring important goals. Equally effective with his feet or his head, he will be crucial to the Socceroos’ hopes as they contest only their second FIFA World Cup™ finals in Germany. Born in Sydney in 1979, Cahill began his footballing education with Sydney Olympic juniors before moving to Sydney United. He left Australia at the age of 16, however, to pursue his dream of becoming a professional footballer in England, the birthplace of his father.

He was taken on by Millwall and made his debut in May 1998, going on to make more than 200 league appearances for the south London club. In the 2003/04 season he underlined his scoring threat by scoring 11 times, including the winning goal in the FA Cup semi-final against Sunderland, which earned the Lions a final date against Manchester United - a match they lost 3-0. Cahill subsequently stepped up a division to the Premiership with a transfer to Everton, who paid around £2million for his services. He began the season late due to his involvement in Australia's run to the quarter-finals of the Olympic Football Tournament in Athens, but for Evertonians he proved well worth the wait.