United States Winger Weah Signs 5-Year Deal with Juventus

US player Timothy Weah arrives for medical tests in Turin, Italy, 29 June 2023, before officially completing his transfer from French club LOSC Lille to Juventus Turin. (EPA)
US player Timothy Weah arrives for medical tests in Turin, Italy, 29 June 2023, before officially completing his transfer from French club LOSC Lille to Juventus Turin. (EPA)
TT
20

United States Winger Weah Signs 5-Year Deal with Juventus

US player Timothy Weah arrives for medical tests in Turin, Italy, 29 June 2023, before officially completing his transfer from French club LOSC Lille to Juventus Turin. (EPA)
US player Timothy Weah arrives for medical tests in Turin, Italy, 29 June 2023, before officially completing his transfer from French club LOSC Lille to Juventus Turin. (EPA)

United States winger Tim Weah completed a transfer to Juventus on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Weah, who is the son of former FIFA Player of the Year and current Liberian President George Weah, signed a five-year contract with Juventus on the day the transfer market opened in Italy.

His father also played in Italy, for AC Milan.

Juventus will pay Lille 10.3 million euros ($11.3 million) — in two installments — plus up to 2.1 million euros ($2.3 million) in bonuses.

Weah has played for Lille since 2019. Before that he was on loan at Celtic from Paris Saint-Germain.

He won three French league titles with PSG and Lille and also helped Celtic to the Scottish title.

Weah has played 31 times for the United States, scoring four goals. He was part of the squad that reached the last 16 at last year’s World Cup in Qatar.

Weah was welcomed by about 100 enthusiastic Juventus fans when he arrived for his medical test on Thursday. Some were also waving American flags.



Champions League Semis: Barcelona-Inter Revives Memories of 2010 Epic and Arsenal Hosts PSG 

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)
TT
20

Champions League Semis: Barcelona-Inter Revives Memories of 2010 Epic and Arsenal Hosts PSG 

Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho, of Portugal, reacts after a Champions League semifinal match, second leg, between Barcelona and Inter Milan, at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on April 28, 2010. (AP)

The free-flowing attack of Barcelona comes up against the rugged, smothering defense of Inter Milan in the Champions League semifinals.

Ring any bells?

Go back to 2010 — when Lamine Yamal was not even 3 years old and Lionel Messi was close to his prime — and Camp Nou was the scene of one of the most memorable matches in Champions League history, between the same teams going head-to-head there again on Wednesday.

Protecting a 3-1 lead from the first leg, Inter — coached at the time by Jose Mourinho — delivered a defensive masterclass against Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona to survive with 10 men for more than an hour and lose just 1-0 to progress to the title match.

Memories will come flooding back ahead of the rematch this week, especially with the two protagonists owning the same traits as 15 years ago.

Barcelona is back in the Champions League semifinals for the first time since the 2018-19 season, on the back of by far the best attack in the new-look, 36-team league stage. With Yamal, Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski up front, Barca scored 28 goals in eight games — and has netted nine more goals in eliminating Benfica and Borussia Dortmund in the knockouts.

Then there’s Inter, the Italian champion, which conceded just once in eight games in the first stage and held on grimly to oust Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

Inter won the 2010 final, against Bayern, for a third European Cup title so its run toward the final this season has echoes of that title-winning campaign.

Arsenal vs. Paris

Saint-Germain While the Barcelona-Inter Milan semifinal is awash with history, this one seems relatively fresh.

Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain have met just three times in the Champions League and never in the knockout stage. One of those occasions was this season, when Arsenal won 2-0 at Emirates Stadium.

And it’s at home that the Gunners play on Tuesday in the first leg, hoping to reproduce the exploits that saw them beat defending champion Real Madrid in both legs in the quarterfinals.

Their opponents, however, are aiming to eliminate an English opponent for the third straight round, after seeing off Liverpool and — less impressively — Aston Villa.

With its “galacticos” — Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Messi — long gone, PSG is bidding to win a first Champions League title by going with talented up-and-coming players instead.

Arsenal is also striving to become European champion for the first time, having not reached the semis since 2009.