Sydney, February 19

Socceroo star Tim Cahill has blasted Football Federation Australia for its lack of vision towards the A-League competition, as he searches for a new club, a report said on Friday.

Cahill was sensationally dumped by Shanghai Shenhua this week just three months into his new contract and he said finding another team was a priority amid indications he will remain in China at least for the next six months. The former Everton and New York Red Bulls star, 36, said he has not closed the door on a return to Australia, but was deeply critical of the FFA’s failure to capitalise on past opportunities to advance its domestic competition. “I’ve seen the record with short-term goals of going back to the A-League and the destruction that it’s had on top (Australian) players’ careers who have come back to finish there,” he told Sydney’s Daily Telegraph newspaper. “A guest stint for anyone can only harm you and coming back without any sort of plan and substance is always a recipe for disaster,” he added.

He said he also had real concerns about how the competition had failed to make the most of its past marquee stars Alessandro Del Piero, Shinji Ono and Dwight Yorke. “Del Piero was one of the biggest things to ever happen to the (local) game, but also the worst because it wasn’t capitalised on,” he said of the former Juventus striker’s two seasons with Sydney FC.

Since his contract with Shanghai was terminated there have been calls to get Cahill back to Australia and he said he understood the frustration from fans that it hasn’t happened yet. “The biggest impact I make is with the Socceroos. Every time I go back it’s mayhem and you don’t understand how that makes me feel, but at the moment the game is in a bit of a rut where it’s caught in a crossroads,” he said. “When I look at it, I know exactly the impact the A-League will make, but for some people short-term is better, a quick highlight, but it’s never been that. I’ve always wanted long-term and it’s never come into fruition at all.”