Fulfilling his father's dream: Liberia President George Weah's son Tim Weah delivers on big stage for USA
“My Dad wanted to do it with his country, but he didn’t have the opportunity to do it. Now he’s kind of living through me. I think it’s a blessing. It’s just amazing to be able to represent my family on this stage,” Timothy said a few days ago.
Tim Weah relished the chance to play on the one stage his famous footballing father never graced when he took to the field for the United States at the World Cup. The son of the current President of Liberia and the winner of the Ballon d'Or 1995 scored the opening goal against Wales in the Group B encounter at Ahmet bin Ali Stadium, and that too with his parents present at the stadium.
George Weah's Liberia never got to play at the World Cup. Liberia was overrun by civil war during the height of his playing days, and the closest he ever came to delivering his country a World Cup berth was in 2002 when it missed out on qualifying by one point to Nigeria.
But his boy Timothy did play on the biggest stage of the game - albeit for another country.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
The 22-year-old fulfilled his father's ambition of appearing in the most prestigious football tournament. The only problem, so to say, is that it won't be in a jersey of Liberia - but the United States of America.
"My Dad wanted to do it with his country, but he didn't have the opportunity to do it. Now he's kind of living through me. I think it's a blessing. It's just amazing to be able to represent my family on this stage," Timothy said a few days ago.
"I think it's gonna mean the world to him," Tim Weah told FOX Sports.
"Seeing his son on a stage and following in his footsteps is dope. If I had a son or a daughter and I was watching them play in a World Cup, I'd be happy, too."
Weah would have been eligible to play for Liberia or Jamaica, where his mother originally is from, as well as France. Being born and raised in New York, however, the idea of playing for another country never crossed his mind.
George is one of the greatest players to come out of Africa and is still the only African to win the Ballon d'Or. He played as a forward for Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Chelsea, and Manchester City during an 18-year club career. His final appearance for Liberia was in September 2018 when he made a surprise appearance in an exhibition game against Nigeria at the age of 51, a year after he'd been elected president of Liberia.
And watching your son star in the biggest football show must be pretty cool - even if it's under a slightly different flag than you'd wanted.
