NEW DELHI: Tim Weah is only 17 but he knows a thing or two about two about shadows.
He grew up under a big one, that of his legendary father, former FIFA Player of the Year George Weah. That couldn't have been easy. But now, as he hovers around the cusp of a professional career, he has even bigger ones to escape from — that of Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Edinson Cavani. Those are names he will have to dislodge if he is to rise from PSG's second string, where he currently plays.
Tim hasn't exactly set the U-17 World Cup alight, but he hasn't needed to. As the US assured qualification to the knockouts with two wins out of two, Tim quietly played the role he's been handed. That of a nuisance up front, of creating stuff for Josh Sargent. But it's not that he is not good at finding the net. This is the boy who scored a hat-trick in the UEFA Youth League last year. It was not for nothing that PSG tied him to a deal until 2020.
But delve a bit deeper into his psyche and Tim is still a kid, someone who remains in constant awe of his father, of the big names he plays with, yet someone who possesses that quiet confidence found rarely in players his age. In the same breath, he can talk about FIFA 18 — he plays with PSG and Arsenal on it — and about his father's plans to run for president in Liberia.
Tim moved to the US when he was two and that shielded him, to an extent, from all the hype that surrounded his father.
"Growing up in America was different because people there don't really watch soccer," he remembers.
"But when I first came to France at 14, I really saw who my dad was. We actually watched an Arsenal game and they were like 'if we had George at that time, we probably would have been unstoppable'. "
Strangely enough for the son of someone who Pele named in his list of top 100 footballers ever, there was hardly any talk about football at home.
"We watch football, but don't really discuss it," Tim says. "We usually just talk about my mom's cooking, about how much I play video games. Just regular stuff."
But George did have a bit of advice before his son jetted out to India. "He just told me to play your game and not think about it too much. Be comfortable in your own skin."
Once he is done with the World Cup, Tim will return to Paris. Once there, he will go back to being like any of the dozens of youngsters there, hoping to catch a glimpse of their idols.
"I haven't met Neymar yet, but I hope I get to meet him, because he is my idol," Tim says.
"I've trained once with the senior team and it's just a different world. Over in the reserves, we do a lot of childish things. But there, everything's different. There is a sense of urgency to the passing and everything's faster, much more serious."
Breaking into the most expensively-assembled team in world football will be tough for anyone, but Tim is not daunted. "The talent we have there is amazing," he says. "I don't think I'm at that level yet. But I feel playing alongside them in training will help me get where I want to be.
"I dont feel pressure at all," he says.
"I know that even when I don't play good and people say 'he's George Weah's son, he's at PSG, he needs to play better', I am still developing. There is so much to be done. But hey, it's coming."
vishnu.prasad@newindianexpress.com