George Weah Jr.

Last updated
George Weah Jr.
Personal information
Date of birth (1987-08-27) August 27, 1987 (age 36)
Place of birth Monrovia, Liberia
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
2003–2007 AC Milan
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
2010 Wohlen 10 (0)
2010 FC Meisterschwanden 8 (2)
2010–2011 Baden 11 (3)
2011–2012 Wangen bei Olten 8 (0)
2012 Kaliakra Kavarna 12 (0)
2013 Lausanne-Sport II 3 (1)
2015 Paris Saint-Germain B 2 (0)
2016 Tours II 4 (0)
2018 La Chaux-de-Fonds 10 (1)
Total68(7)
International career
2004 United States U20 2 (2)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

George Weah Jr. (born August 27, 1987) is a former professional soccer player who most recently played as a midfielder for La Chaux-de-Fonds. He is the son of former Ballon d'Or winner and president of Liberia George Weah. Born in Liberia, he represented the United States at youth level.

Contents

Early life

Weah is the son of Ballon d'Or winner [1] and former Liberian president George Weah [2] and Jamaican-born wife Clar Weah. [3] He was born in Liberia but raised in the United States. [1] He was one of three Weah children to show an aptitude and interest in soccer at a young age. While his sister Tita chose to return to school studies, both he and his brother Tim pursued professional careers. [2]

Club career

Weah began his career in the youth team of AC Milan at the age of 14 but was released in 2007 after long series of injuries shortly prior to turning 20. [1] [2] In October of that year, he joined Slavia Prague on trial, [4] but he was not offered a contract. Coach Karel Jarolím explained that the team were looking for a "different type of player" than Weah. [5]

Weah briefly played for CS Romontois in Switzerland before moving within the country to Wohlen. [6] In 2011, Weah joined Baden. [7] On February 3, 2012, Weah joined Bulgarian club Kaliakra Kavarna on a one-and-a-half-year deal after a successful trial. [8]

On May 17, 2014, Weah made his debut for Paris Saint-Germain's reserve team in the Championnat de France Amateur, coming on as an 87th-minute substitute in 2–0 defeat to Lens II. [9] He went on to play two games in total for the PSG reserve side. [1]

International career

When he was active, Weah was eligible to represent both the United States and Liberia. [1] [10] He played in two friendlies for the United States under-20 side in 2004. [11] [12] More than a decade later, he was called up by the Liberian senior side for a 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Togo in June 2015, despite not having played for a club in nearly a year. [1] He was named to the bench as Liberia lost 2–1. [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foreign relations of Liberia</span>

Liberian foreign relations were traditionally stable and cordial throughout much of the 19th and 20th centuries, with a significant relationship with the United States, sharing close relations until the 1970s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIFA World Player of the Year</span> Association football award

The FIFA World Player of the Year was an association football award presented annually by the sport's governing body, FIFA, between 1991 and 2015 at the FIFA World Player Gala. Coaches and captains of international teams and media representatives selected the player they deem to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballon d'Or</span> Annual association football award

The Ballon d'Or is an annual football award presented by French magazine France Football since 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Weah</span> Liberian politician (born 1966)

George Tawlon Manneh Oppong Ousman Weah is a Liberian politician and former professional footballer who served as the 25th president of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. Before his election for the presidency, Weah served as Senator from Montserrado County. He played as a striker in his prolific 18-year professional football career, which ended in 2003. Weah is the first African former professional footballer to become a head of state, and the only African Ballon d’Or and FIFA World footballer of the year winner in history. He won the African footballer of the year 3 times and is widely considered one of the greatest strikers of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liberia national football team</span> Mens national association football team representing Liberia

The Liberia national football team, nicknamed the Lone Stars, represents Liberia in men's international football and is controlled by the Liberia Football Association. Although the nation produced the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year, George Weah, its football team has never qualified for the FIFA World Cup and has qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations just twice—in 1996 and 2002. It is a member of both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

Aly Dia, commonly known as Ali Dia, is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a striker. In November 1996, Dia convinced Graeme Souness, then Southampton manager, that he was the cousin of FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or winner George Weah, which led to him signing a one-month contract with Southampton days later. Dia played only one match in his short spell at the club. He came on as a substitute in a league game, but was then himself substituted. He was subsequently released, 14 days into his contract.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">African Footballer of the Year</span> Award

The African Footballer of the Year award, presented to the best African footballer each year, has been conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claude Le Roy</span> French association football player and manager

Claude Le Roy is a French football manager and former player, who gained prominence at international level as coach to the Cameroon, Senegal and Ghana national teams. He was most recently the manager of the Malaysia under-23 team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luis Fernandez</span> French association football player and manager

Luis Miguel Fernández Toledo, known as Luis Fernandez, is a French football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder.

James Salinsa Debbah is a Liberian professional football manager and former player who played as a forward. He was the manager of the Liberia national team from 2013 to 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CAF Awards</span> African football awards

The CAF Awards is an awards evening held to honour the best African association football players. It is conferred by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neymar</span> Brazilian footballer (born 1992)

Neymar da Silva Santos Júnior, also known as Neymar Júnior, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a attacking midfielder for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal and the Brazil national team. Regarded as one of the greatest players in his generation, he is renowned for his flamboyant style of play, passing abilities, and two-footedness. Neymar has scored at least 100 goals for three different clubs, being one of a few players to do so, and is the highest-scoring Brazilian player in Champions League history. Neymar is also the top goalscorer of all time of the Brazil national football team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Ballon d'Or</span> Award

The 2007 Ballon d'Or, given to the best football player in the world as judged by an international panel of sports journalists, was awarded to Kaká. This was the first year in which players from clubs outside the UEFA federation were eligible for nomination; this change also led to an increase in the voting pool to include journalists from outside UEFA countries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FIFA Ballon d'Or</span> Award for association football players

The FIFA Ballon d'Or was an annual association football award presented to the world's best men's player from 2010 to 2015. Awarded jointly by FIFA and France Football, the prize was a merger of the FIFA World Player of the Year award and the Ballon d'Or, the two most prestigious individual honours in world football. Unlike the Ballon d'Or awarded by France Football, the FIFA Ballon d'Or, was not awarded based on votes from international journalists, but votes from national team coaches and captains, who selected the players they deemed to have performed the best in the previous calendar year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timothy Weah</span> American soccer player (born 2000)

Timothy Tarpeh Weah is an American professional soccer player who plays as a winger or right-back for Serie A club Juventus and the United States national team.

Jester Weah is a former American football wide receiver. He played college football at Pittsburgh and was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clar Weah</span> First Lady of Liberia from 2018 to 2024

Clar Marie Duncan Weah is a Jamaican-American businesswoman, philanthropist and advocate who was the first lady of Liberia from 2018 to 2024. She is the wife of George Weah, the 25th President of Liberia. Clar established the Clar Hope Foundation in 2018, with the goal of improving the livelihoods of the least privileged in Liberia.

Events in the year 2022 in Liberia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Liberian general election</span>

General elections were held in Liberia on 10 October 2023 to elect the President, House of Representatives and half of the Senate. Incumbent president George Weah was eligible for a second term. No candidate won a majority in the first round, with Weah narrowly placing first over opposition leader Joseph Boakai, which meant both advanced to a runoff held on 14 November 2023. Boakai defeated Weah by just over one percentage point in the closest runoff in Liberia's history, and Weah conceded the election peacefully.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "George Weah junior gets Liberia call-up for 2017 qualifier". BBC Sport . June 9, 2015. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 Aminu, Abdulkareem Baba (October 11, 2016). "'Why I'll Become President in 2017'". Daily Trust. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. "No Weah, Jamaica!". jamaica-star.com. April 28, 2017.
  4. Gleeson, Mark (November 13, 2007). "Like father like son in Africa". Reuters . Archived from the original on November 16, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  5. "Slavia Praag geeft Weah Jr. geen contract Lees meer op" (in Dutch). voetbalzone.nl. October 19, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  6. Juillard, Patrick (July 22, 2011). "FC Wohlen : Weah Jr embauché" (in French). Football365.fr.
  7. von Beat Hager, Mendriso (March 6, 2011). "FC Baden gewinnt dank Cleverness". Aargauer Zeitung. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  8. "Джордж Уеа подписа с Калиакра" (in Bulgarian). Winner.bg. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved February 2, 2013.
  9. "PSG II vs. Lens II 0 - 2". Soccerway. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  10. "Weah Jnr keen on Liberia". July 16, 2004 via news.bbc.co.uk.
  11. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 18, 2007. Retrieved November 18, 2007.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. "US call up Weah Jnr". March 1, 2004 via news.bbc.co.uk.
  13. "Togo 2-1 Liberia". CAF Online . June 14, 2015. Retrieved November 23, 2016.