George Weah Motivates Lone Star in Uganda

In football, sometimes not the best or most famous team that makes history. In this regard, history making is qualifying for FIFA’s foremost football event, the world cup finals.

Arguably, this current squad (Lone Star of Liberia) may not be the best in character and in performance. However, it could pull down what greater names did not do. This is the exact thoughts of legend George Manneh Weah, Africa’s football legend and former world best, currently with the team in Uganda.

Weah thinks the current squad of national players could just pull the feat Liberians have kept craving for many years, which is to qualify for the biggest of fiestas in football in Brazil 2014.

As head of delegation, Weah continues his one-on-one and group pep talks with the players from the RIA to Accra, to Nairobi, to Entebbe airport and then to the retiring point in Kampala at the Mt. Zion Hotel.

“You guys could just make history that we did not make; a lot of you are young (asking each player for his age) but you have to be focused on why you are here for. You need to listen to your coaches and be disciplined”.

Weah said discipline is the hallmark to every successful story in the world. “It was due to discipline that I and others were successful in our games; you need to work hard to make Liberia happy”.

Weah said as a young player back in the 1980s, he made the Lone Star squad to Brazil for training due to discipline and hard work. He said as head of the national team in early 2000, he denied his blood young brother, Clarence Weah, from donning the colors of the national team in spite of his speed and quality goal scoring ability due to indiscipline. “You got to be serious and push each other positively for success”.

Now Liberia Peace Ambassador, Weah, who is also the political leader of the Congress for Democratic Change-CDC, reminded the players and coaches that their performance will determine their future with the national team.

“Look, most of you are on probation and if you perform well, you will have a future with the team. Not only coach Jericho Nagbe and his deputies are on probation. If you do not do this job well, the Liberian people will demand your replacement.

“”As head of the committee to scout coaches and players for the team, I will always demand high competition in the interest of the many football lovers back home. We came here to win gentlemen, so we should be focused on that”, he further challenged the boys.

The players led by Captain Anthony Laffor are upbeat and euphoric for victory here in Kampala on Saturday June 8. Through the travel and during the first morning of training session, the players look happy and united.

The delegation also include four employees of the National Oil Company of Liberia or NOCAL (two females and two males), CDC Party Chairman George Solo and LFA VPA Musa Shannon. There are 21 players (Zah and Jabateh to complete the list today) a report from Richard Manuba of State radio/TV ELBC.

The host team is as well preparing having lost away to Libya 0-3 in a build up to Saturday’s match. In a report by a Kampala based Newspaper “New Vision”, Serbia coach Micho Sredojevic, who took over from Williamson following their 2-0 loss to Liberia, has made some changes in the squad.