George Weah turns 50: A look back at career of one of most iconic footballers of 1990s
Former AC Milan and Chelsea striker was first African Ballon d'Or winner and scored one of game's most famous goals
THE great George Weah turns 50 today — and we take a look back at one of the true modern football pioneers.
He is the only ever African player to win the Ballon d’Or and the Fifa World Player of the Year awards and scorer of one of the most iconic goals of all-time.
Weah made his name at Paris Saint-Germain in the early 1990s, but it was at AC Milan — at a time when Serie A was the strongest league in the world — that he really shone.
Born in Liberia, it was Arsene Wenger who brought him over to Europe, when he was manager of Monaco in 1988.
A year into his stint with the French principality, he won his first African Footballer of the Year award.
Weah won the Coupe de France again in 1993 and 1995 with a league title sandwiched in between.
The striker helped the club reach the semi-finals of the Uefa Cup (1992-93), the Cup Winners’ Cup (1993-94) and the Champions League (1994-95) — finishing the campaign as top goal scorer in the latter.
It was in 1995 that Weah enjoyed a real ‘Golden’ year.
Milan brought him to Serie A that summer and he grew from strength-to-strength under Fabio Capello.
A change in rules to the Ballon d’Or voting meant that non-European players could be nominated for the first time.
And Weah took full advantage — beating Jurgen Klinsmann and Jari Litmanen into first place.
He finished ahead of Paolo Maldini to win the Fifa World Player of the Year award.
Weah dedicated the award to Wenger, claiming it was the Frenchman who made him into a world class player.
He formed a stellar strikeforce with Roberto Baggio and Dejan Savicevic — and duly won the Scudetto.
And, in the following season, he scored a goal which will be remembered forever.
Milan were defending a corner, and Weah picked up the ball inside his own six yard box. He ran the entire length of the pitch and slotted it past the Verona goalkeeper.
Weah finished behind Ronaldo in the standings for the 1996 Fifa World Player of the Year standings.
The 1996-97 season was disastrous for the Rossoneri.
Weah received a six-match Champions League ban for elbowing Porto’s Jorge Costa, claiming he had been racially abused — and Milan were eliminated by Rosenborg.
While, in Serie A, they finished a lowly 11th — and year later, they moved up a place to tenth.
Alongside a new strike partner in Oliver Bierhoff, he and Milan enjoyed a renaissance — and finished the 1998-99 season as champions.
However, it would be his last with the club as he moved to Chelsea on loan.
George Weah's honours
Liberian Premier League (2) — 1985-86, 1986-87
Liberian Cup — 1985-86
Coupe de France (3) — 1990-91, 1992-93, 1994-95
Ligue 1 — 1993-94
Coupe de la Ligue — 1995
Serie A (2) — 1995-96, 1998-99
FA Cup — 2000
Ballon d'Or — 1995
Fifa World Player of the Year — 1995
African Footballer of the Year (3) — 1989, 1994, 1995
French Division 1 Foreign Player of the Year — 1990-91
Fifa XI: 1991, 1997, 1998
Uefa Champions League top scorer — 1994-95
IFFHS African Player of the Century — 1996
Fifa Fair Play Award — 1996
Arthur Ashe Courage Award — 2004
With the Premier League side, he scored five goals in 15 appearances and played 88 minutes of the victorious 2000 FA Cup final.
Boss Gianluca Vialli opted not to make Weah’s loan move permanent and he joined newly-promoted Manchester City instead.
He struggled and moved to Marseille midway through the season.
However, he reached the end of the campaign and moved to UAE side, Al-Jazira, where he retired at the age of 37.
Weah also did a lot of work off the pitch to combat racism. He wan several humanitarian awards and was named Unicef Goodwill Ambassador.
Following the end of the Second Liberian Civil War, he ran for president in 2005, forming the Congress for Democratic Change party.
Having been born in Liberia, he was never able to showcase his talent at a World Cup.
Wenger said of him: “I have never seen any player explode on to the scene like he did.”
While Weah also enjoyed a close relationship with the current Arsenal boss.
He said: "Every time I was going on the field, I was playing for Arsene Wenger."
Without doubt, one of the greatest players of the 1990s. A pleasure to watch.