IF you walked up to an Aussie and started talking football, there’s a good chance you might not be on same page as him. That is unless you too are referring to the one that involves 18 players on either side instead of 11, and tackles can be made using hands as well as legs. Oh, and then he’ll correct you saying, “It’s footy mate, not football.”

But over the last couple of weeks, it hasn’t mattered what you call it. Football, footy or soccer, all of Australia has been tuned-in to the telly cheering on the Socceroos, and the most inspirational Roo of them all, Tim Cahill. Soccer has never really suffered an identity crisis here. But if not an ignored cousin, it’s always enjoyed the status of being a distant one — as compared to cricket, footy, rugby league and tennis that is.

But yet, the 2015 AFC Asian Cup has been on everyone’s lips ever since it kicked off for the first time on Australian soil in the second week of January. That the Socceroos’ journey to the semis — they face UAE in Newcastle, in the outskirts of Sydney, on Tuesday — and the organisation of the event has been literally flawless has played its part too. And the tournament has held its own despite having to face competition from the Australian Open, the cricket tri-series as well as the build-up to the footy season.

The support for the Socceroos has been incessant and the country has been swept by a sea of yellow whenever their team has been in action. The stadiums have been choc-a-bloc and so have the pubs, with many offering ‘happy-hour’ discounts. The Roos’ only setback came in their final league encounter against South Korea. And with rain washing out the SCG ODI, the focus shifted to the ANZ Stadium in Sydney, where the Koreans beat Iraq 2-0. The whole of Australia is still lamenting about the many missed chances that cost the Socceroos in their previous meeting, and there’s already talk of Cahill’s army exacting revenge.

Australia sure knows to idolize its sporting heroes. And while he’s always been the biggest soccer star to emerge from these parts, Cahill has been turned into a national icon this month. He’s not let his countrymen down either, scoring three goals in the tournament, including both—which included a bicycle-kick—in the 2-0 quarterfinal win against China. With the 35-year-old on his last legs, they’re already talking about cloning his DNA to ensure that the Roos can make do without him once he calls it a day. “Tim Cahill’s a hero? Definitely, definitely…” read a headline in The Sydney Morning Herald a couple of days ago. And Australia is set to remain awe-struck as Cahill tries to herald a new era for the Socceroos as they aim to become the ‘football’ champions of Asia.