Melburnians, you're going to love this. In fact, this might be pretty much your dream story, because if there's one thing that really hits Melbourne in the sweet spot, it's Sydney people who fall in love with Melbourne. Right? Right.
So this is a story about Tim Cahill, our greatest ever footballer. Cahill, now 36, grew up in Sydney. But he was whisked away overseas on his football journey as a teen, and has pretty much lived away from Australia ever since. He's now playing for Melbourne City in the A-League and living in Melbourne for the first time. And lovin' it.
Well, except for one little thing...
The Huffington Post Australia caught up with Cahill this week. As a husband, dad of four, professional footballer and businessman who plays an extremely active role managing his Cahill+ menswear brand, we wanted to know about his weekly routine. How does he handle the work/life balance issues with which we all contend. These are his thoughts.
FIRST, TELL US THE STUFF THAT PEOPLE FROM MELBOURNE ARE DYING TO READ...
"I'm loving living in Melbourne. The food, the culture, the fashion. I love seeing the styles, and what I really love about Melbourne is how people embrace every event. I've been to some great events since I've been here and I'm sure I'll get to go to a lot more."
MORE, TIM. MORE LOVE FOR MELBOURNE!
"Well they call it the sporting capital of the world and it is. It's fantastic. They've got everything here for the sporting fanatic -- AFL, rugby league, the football, the races. Even though I'm not such a big fan of horse racing, it was amazing to see everyone travel down from Sydney. I guess the only thing about Melbourne is the weather, but I lived in England 15 years, so it's not so bad."
ANY SMALL, NIGGLING LITTLE ISSUES WITH MELBOURNE, TIM?
"Hook turns [where you turn right from the left lane so you don't block trams]. People turn on the red and I'm not comfortable with that. Do you know what? I nearly attempted one the other day but I struggled. I find it easier to keep driving straight and then turn left [and left again, and again, till he approaches the intersection from a new direction]."
WE FEEL YOUR PAIN. SO TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR DAILY AND WEEKLY WORK AND FAMILY ROUTINE IN YOUR NEW HOME CITY.
"First I have breakfast with my wife and family, and we sort out the kids. By 7:30 I am out of the house. I get in to training pretty early and do my isometric training [a type of strength training] with some loads on my Achilles [which has been injured]. We have a 9:45am video session where we review the weekend game. Then we have pre-activation [warm-up] and go out to train. Training is always tough and when it's done, there's a weights session where some boys do pilates. Then it's ice baths and hot baths and then we have lunch together."
BUT LIKE ANY REAL MAN, YOU SPEND PLENTY OF TIME WITH HIS WIFE AND FAMILY, RIGHT?
"Rebekah and I normally meet on my way home from training and have a coffee together, then go and pick the kids up. We're moving from a serviced apartment to a home, which will be great. At home the family always has dinner together, then often we chill out and watch a movie with kids. We also play a lot of sport together. At home [the Cahills had a backyard when living in America, as pictured below, and soon will again], our life revolves around table tennis and football. My boys are 11 and 13 and they're very competitive. We also play FIFA [the video game]."
TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR DIET. WE UNDERSTAND YOU'RE 75 KILOS, THE SAME WEIGHT AS YOU WERE IN YOUR FIRST PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL SEASON NEARLY 20 YEARS AGO. HOW HAVE YOU MANAGED THAT?
"I'm probably 75.3 or a bit more now. The lighter you are, the less injuries you have which I think I've proven over 20 years of football. As far as diet goes, I take great pride in what I eat. Everyone always says 'what's your magical diet?' but I eat in moderation and I exercise. As long as there's meat and a couple of carbs and something green on my plate, I'm all sweet. You've got to know that if you eat carbs, they're going to stay around if you don't exercise.
MELBOURNE CITY HAS A FANTASTIC NEW TRAINING FACILITY IN MELBOURNE'S NORTH AND AN AMAZING, VERY INTERNATIONAL SQUAD THIS YEAR. HOW ARE YOU ENJOYING ALL OF THAT?
"I can't be thankful enough for the squad and the club and the way we train. I am loving my football at the moment. The calibre of players is fantastic, they're all about working and running and helping teammates out and it seems to be going really well. The way we're playing is very attacking and we're not going to change our style. We know we're not going to win every game but we've had some great wins so far [Melbourne City has currently won 4 and lost 2 in 6 games] including two wins in the local derby over Melbourne Victory. Those are the ones that matter."
WHAT ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS COMMITMENTS -- WHERE DO THEY FIT INTO YOUR WEEK?
"I put a day aside a day off when I can. We locked ourselves in my apartment on Melbourne Cup day working on Cahill+. Then we watched the race, and spent the rest of the afternoon working on my scheduling for the next three months -- everything from my public appearances to my charities and so on."
OOOH, ANY UPCOMING PUBLIC APPEARANCES FANS SHOULD KNOW ABOUT?
"There's an in-store event at Culture Kings in Melbourne on November 25. It's going to be sick. There will be a few personalities there, maybe some FIFA, maybe a singer, some sports stars, some Cahill+ clothes. I think the place will rock."
SOUNDS LIKE THE PLACE TO BE. THANKS FOR TALKING TO US, TIM, AND GOOD LUCK FOR THE REST OF THE SEASON.
"Thanks."
OH, AND BEFORE WE GO, WE ASSUME YOU SAW TIM'S AMAZING GOAL IN HIS FIRST GAME FOR MELBOURNE CITY THIS YEAR. HERE'S THE LINK IF YOU MISSED IT. KNOW WHAT? IT REMINDED US OF ANOTHER FAMOUS GOAL HE ONCE SCORED FOR THE NEW YORK RED BULLS. ENJOY.