If you were to ask me, “What do you know
about soccer,” I would respond, “I know George Weah.” What else is there to know about soccer than
to know everything about the legend out of Liberia? I know that his “no guilt, no shame, no
blame,” philosophy gives him the confidence to get out of his comfort zone and
step into the big play in politics.
1.
Name: Tawlon George Manneh Oppong
Ousman Weah (George Weah)
2.
Born on the 1st of October 1966 in
Monrovia, Liberia, Weah is a member of the Kru ethnic group.
3.
He grew up with his grandmother in
the Clara Town slum, near the capital Monrovia.
4.
He had job as an engineer with the
national telephone company before his career took off.
5.
He was an amateur at Barolle Mighty
and Invincible Eleven.
6.
Weah left his home and moved to
Cameroon to Tonnerre Yaoundé, which was one of the strongest teams in the
continent. With his new club, the exceptional striker attracted the attention
of top European clubs and aroused their interest.
7.
In 1988, after only one year in
Cameroon, he packed suitcase and moved to Europe to AS Monaco.
8.
When he was discovered at 21, the
coach and discoverer, Arsene Wenger said, "Weah was a real surprise. For
me it was like a child discovering a chocolate bunny in his garden at Easter. I
have never seen any player explode on to the scene like he did".
9.
He played his first professional
game on August 17, 1988 against AJ Auxerre.
10. He
transferred to PSG in 1992.
11. In
1994 he became French champion, won the cup in 1993 and 1995, and won the
League Cup in 1995. With outstanding performances in the Champions League, he
catapulted into the position of "world-class striker", and was the
first ever African to be elected Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player.
12. In
1995, Weah was signed by Italian giants, AC Milan, and the fans of the
"Rossoneri" saw the African as the legitimate successor to Marco van
Basten.
13. In
his first season (1995/96), he won the championship (Scudetto), but at the
international level, the club could not build on the successes of previous
years.
14. He
took part in the 1996 and 2002 Africa Cup of Nations.
15. During
the winter break of the 1999/2000 season he was loaned out to Chelsea in
London. After a year there and the following as short stint at Manchester City,
he switched to French Club Olympic Marseille before hanging up his boots in
2003.
16. He
never succeeded in qualifying for the World Cup finals—a fate he shares with
exceptional players like Ryan Giggs and George Best.
17. He
is on record for being the only African football player to have won the FIFA
World Best and the European Best player awards back in 1995 and was inducted in
to the world football governing body, FIFA Hall of Fame on Sunday, November 10th,
2013 in Mexico.
Come on folks, let give it up for
the man.
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