28 January 2002 - Weah Has The Time Gone?

On 28 January 2002, former FIFA World Player of the Year George Weah ended his 19-year international career as Liberia bowed out of the African Cup of Nations.

Weah, considered my many to be the greatest player Africa has ever produced, was born in Monrovia in 1966. After starring for a handful of African sides, including Mighty Barolle, Invincible Eleven, Africa Sports, and Tonnerre Yaoundé, he joined the Liberian national team in 1988, the same year he moved to Europe to play for Arsène Wenger's Monaco side.

For the next 12 seasons, Weah established himself as one of the world's best strikers, playing for Monaco (1988-92), PSG (1992-95), and AC Milan (1995-2000). In 1995, he won a league and cup double with PSG, while taking them to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League as the tournament's top scorer. That year's performance earned him several individual awards, including the FIFA World Player of the Year, the Ballon d'Or, and his third African Footballer of the Year award (the previous two came in 1989 and 1994).

Despite his success at the club level, however, Weah never replicated it with Liberia. Like his namesake George Best, he is one of the most famous players never to appear at the World Cup--the closest he came was in 2002, when Liberia fell one point shy of qualification. His appearance on 28 January 2002 was his 60th for Liberia, who were eliminated from the Cup of Nations that day after falling to Nigeria, 0-1.

Weah retired in 2003 after playing for a series of different clubs including Chelsea (2000), Manchester City (2000), Marseille (2000-01), and Al-Jazira (2001-03). Afterward, he moved into politics, making an unsuccessful run for the Liberian presidency in 2005. He remains politically active, recently announcing his intention to stage another Presidential campaign in 2011.

23 November 1996 - A Lesson In The Value Of Having Caller ID

On 23 November 1996, Senegalese striker Ali Dia made his Premier League debut, coming on as a first-half substitute for Southampton in a 2-0 away loss to Leeds.

Dia had just recently been signed by Saints manager Graeme Souness, who had learned of the striker during a phone conversation with someone claiming to be Liberian legend George Weah, the 1995 FIFA World Player of the Year. The caller recommended Dia to Souness, saying that he had played for Weah's former club Paris St. Germain, as well as making 13 international appearances. On the strength of that recommendation, Souness signed Dia to a one-month contract, sight unseen.

Although Dia was unimpressive during training, Souness included him on the bench for the match against Leeds and subbed him on in the 33rd minute for midfielder Matt LeTissier. It became readily apparent, however, that Dia was not the talent Souness had been led to believe and the manager pulled him after 20 minutes. Leeds went on to win the match with two late goals from Gary Kelly (82') and Lee Sharpe (89').

Shortly afterward, it was revealed that the call to Souness had not been from George Weah, but was actually from Dia's agent and that none of the purported facts stated during the call were accurate. Although Dia himself denied any knowledge regarding the call, the Saints released him from his contract after two weeks.

Souness resigned at the end of the 1996-97 season, citing differences with club chairman Rupert Lowe.