‘Special case’: How Tim Cahill kept his World Cup dream alive at 38

St Polten: Much of Australia has spent the past 12 months finding reasons why Tim Cahill shouldn't be on the plane to Russia.

At 38, his age is the basis of that argument. Then there his lack of first-team football, playing only 212 minutes in club football all season, only 63 of those in the crucial six months before the tournament. His goal ratio doesn't look good either, having not scored outside of internationals in a year.

When a promotion from the Socceroos' principle sponsor featuring Cahill coincided with his selection for the preliminary World Cup squad, those doubters cried "conspiracy".

Almost drowned out by the white noise from those detractors was the most crucial voice of all. "He is a special case," Australia coach Bert van Marwijk said at the preliminary squad announcement. "He is special with everything."

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It was a glowing endorsement from the opinion that mattered most. However, Cahill seemingly appeared nonplussed about van Marwijk's support.

"That's because Bert would have seen my data," Cahill said.

While Cahill's playing statistics this season don't make for great viewing, his data on fitness analysis programs monitored daily by the Socceroos' strength, conditioning and physio staff looks to have defied the process of ageing.

"My experience working with Tim over the last four years post-2014 World Cup is that his fitness has not declined one bit," Socceroos sports scientist Dr Craig Duncan said. "If anything, its better than when we started – thats incredible if you think age is an issue."

Some players in the Socceroos' golden generation that Cahill came through were blessed with speed. Others had endless stamina. There were those who relied primarily on their technical ability more than physical strengths. Amidst all those traits is Cahill's longevity.

"Hes an exception," Socceroos' physio Les Gelis said. "Hes not necessarily been the most outstanding athlete weve had. Hes not necessarily been unbelievable in one particular area but what hes got physiologically is this collective unit thats very durable."

The forward has hit the physiological "sweet spot", according to Gelis, with the key being balance. The basis for this is partly genetics, matched by his notorious ambition, tireless work ethic and meticulous preparation.

"You have to have high professionalism, you have to be focused," Cahill said.

While the saying is 'healthy body equals a healthy mind', the case of Cahill looks to be in the opposite order.

"Hes an intelligent player but hes also intelligent with how he looks after his body," Gelis said. "Its also his attitude. Hes always got such a positive attitude all the time. An obstacle is something he can just overcome and hes realistic enough not to delude himself."

Stemming from his iron will is his famed discipline. He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke. He never wavers from a well-balanced diet and has used his experience to manage training loads to his body's limitations. He's learned the danger of fatigue, values rest above all and mentally avoids the perils of stress.

While uncontracted between November and January, he went through a daily training program monitored by the Socceroos' staff. At his most recent club, Millwall, Cahill would be in the gym at 8am doing prehab before his teammates arrived. He offered to play in every reserves' game possible and after Championship games he would play a minor role in, he would undergo individual post-match training.

"Tim is unique, he works very hard. Hes shown time and time again that hell perform when we need him to perform. He has worked very hard pre-Millwall with us and then again at Millwall," Dr Duncan said.

However, as his performance suggest, it's within the national team environment where Cahill is nurtured best.

"Here is where I work the best because I spend 24 hours on my body and doing what I love," Cahill said. "We have a well-oiled machine of physios, fitness coaches, computers – you name it. Youll know how far youve run, what your high intensity isn… Les, Craig theyve been exceptional over the last four years to get me here to where I am now."

That duo, alongside massage therapist Luke Atwell, have been Cahill's first port of call when it comes to fitness and recovery. Whether in England, the United States or China, that team would monitor and assist Cahill – as they do with other players – to ensure his club was managing him well.

"I've had the luxury from the head of the national teams, Luke Casserly, to go out and see the clubs and visit, exchange information, do testing in front of them and show them our protocols and they will exchange information back to us," Gelis said.

It was in the latter years of his career where this constant dialogue became more crucial.

"Between 2004 and 2011 he was playing Premier League football, he went to the Olympics with us and played a high volume of games … he didnt get a break for about six years," Gelis said. "His 30s coincided with a decision to go to a different league -the MLS – and from then came a whole new strategy; 'look after him'."

It meant club and country tailored training and recovery for Cahill with full knowledge of every sprint made and weight lifted. These years of highly lucrative and often controversial moves to New York, Shanghai and Hangzhou helped extend his career. It is unlikely that Cahill would still be playing if he hadn't stepped away from a high frequency of games in more physical leagues in his 30s.

"Every decision I've made up until now has been for this camp and getting to Russia," Cahill said. "Ive put all my eggs in this basket."

That's why Cahill is indeed thankful of van Marwijk's public show of faith. Not solely for the backing but the acknowledgment of his fitness data opposed to the statistics that question his club form.

"He would have seen everything and I want to make sure that here in camp, everything that hes backed up until now is backed up by my physicality and mentality," Cahill said.

He won't know until June 4 whether that's enough to become the first Australian to play in four World Cups but already he's proven that he's a very special case.

Dominic Bossi is a football reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.

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