While football in Australia is under siege by violent hooligans and protesting fans, former Socceroo Tim Cahill continues to live his best life in Qatar.
The former Everton and Australian striker is an ambassador for the FIFA World Cup and lives in the gulf nation with his family, working as chief sports officer at Aspire Academy where the Socceroos stayed and trained during the World Cup.
Tim Cahill and his daughter spend time with former football superstars Diego Simeone and Zlatan Ibrahimović
Shortly after flares were thrown, the pitch invaded and players and officials were assaulted in Melbourne, Cahill was living the high life at the World Cup final between Argentina and France.
The Aussie expat shared images of himself and daughter Sienna enjoying the company of superstars of the game including Bora Milutinović, Diego Simeone and Zlatan Ibrahimović.
But it was one specific image that showed just how connected Cahill is in Qatar.
Cahill and daughter Sienna share a selfie with Serbian legend Bora Milutinović at the FIFA World Cup final
As the two teams lined up at Lusail Stadium for their national anthems, the players were paired up with junior footballers, as is tradition in soccer matches – and competition for those spots would have been fierce.
One of the children was none other than Cruz Cahill, the 10-year-old son of the Socceroos great.
Cahill shared an image of the big moment on his Instagram Stories, including the caption ‘proud dad’ and a love heart emoji.
Cahill shares an image of his son Cruz who was one of the juniors that got to line up with Argentina ahead of the World Cup final
If all that wasn’t enough, Cahill was also invited to play in the FIFA All-Stars match on the World Cup rest day alongside some of the greatest players to ever lace up the boots.
The match was a way of saying thank you to the workers at the stadiums, with a select few chosen to take the pitch alongside the legends of the game.
An estimated 6500 migrant workers died constructing the stadiums for the World Cup.
Former Brazilian international Roberto Carlos coached the winning side in the All-Star match that included Italian legend Alessandro del Piero and Portugal’s Nuno Gomes.
Other players in the side included Mexico’s Jorge Campos, Italy’s Marco Materazzi, Spain’s Michel Salgado, Netherlands’ Clarence Seedorf and several stadium workers.
Their opposition included the likes of Cahill, Italian Christian Vieri, France’s Claude Makelele, Portugal’s Deco, Argentina’s Javier Zanetti, England’s John Terry and Cafú. FIFA President Gianni Infantino made his debut as a referee.
Cahill also lined up for East Tigers against the Northern Bears during the FIFA Legends Cup match at Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex during the World Cup.
Cahill, left, lines up with some of the legends for the Workers and FIFA Legends friendly match at Al Thumama Stadium in Doha
The match was a way of saying thank you to workers at the World Cup, despite an estimate 6500 migrant workers dying to construct the stadiums for the tournament
‘Look I am lucky enough to live in Qatar and see the growth and the delivery of this World Cup,’ Cahill recently told Goal.
‘I have been a part of it as an executive, as an ambassador and also as a fan. When you look at this World Cup, you see how connected everyone is. You see two, three games in a day, you see logistically it’s been unbelievable.
‘You see the stadiums, you see the state of the art. The one thing for me is I have never seen better training facilities ever.
I have played in four World Cups. The high performance, the detail, the fan experience, the stadium experience, the fan zones, the events, and the acts.
‘You don’t know it until you come here and you see it, you feel it and you are part of it. You are like ‘Hey I am coming back to Qatar’. I am probably going to bring my family, I have really enjoyed it. It is the safest country in the world. It has been amazing. The hospitality, the culture, the food, the experience.
‘And so that’s what part of the legacy is. The legacy is the way people live here and appreciate the level of detail of what’s going on in this World Cup.’