Football BaBe
- Gomez questions player-coach dynamic
- Notes the manager’s disciplinarian approach
- Lalas says Weah could play in 2026 World Cup
Analyzing Timothy Weah’s transfer to Marseille, former USMNT star Herculez Gomez questioned whether the U.S. international can thrive under coach Roberto De Zerbi’s management style.
“I’ll tell you where he won’t be comfortable and that’s with Roberto de Zerbi,” Gomez said on the Futbol Americas podcast. “Now, this is a very stern, very firm coach… He’s going to be a firm hand, but I actually think that serves Timothy Weah some good right now. This is Timothy Weah, who goes to Juventus and was a wing back – and all through those moments you would see ‘Wow, pretty good assist. Wow, very good play. Wow, pretty good goal’.
“So, he doesn’t have a lot of mileage in those legs. In the last couple years, since Qatar, at the club level, Timothy Weah has been non-existent… Do what it takes day in day out, and training field to earn your spot. Every single weekend, be an impact player with Marseille. This is going to be one of the defining moments in Timothy Weah’s career. He’s in a place that, because of his father, the limelight will be on him. He’s in a place right now because of the World Cup where it’s do or die for this player – and he still has much to prove to Mauricio Pochettino.”
Gomez said the move could be career-defining, especially since the USMNT has a new manager with new expectations.
“We can no longer keep that same stance or that same bar with these players, because Mauricio Pochettino has proven, he doesn’t care,” he said of past performances. “He’s proven that he’ll go with MLS player, go with the player who proves it to him in that training session. So, if I’m Timothy Weah, this has to work out because there are a lot of players right now. If the biggest player in USMNT pool, in their orbit, Christian Pulisic, is in doubt… what do players, like, Timothy Weah, have to look forward if they’re not on? What do they have to look forward if they’re not playing well?”
Former USMNT star Alexi Lalas also offered his assessment of the move to Marseille, and remained optimistic that Weah’s place in the starting lineup still holds.
“So yes, he’s versatile,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “I still will argue that he, over the last cycle, was the most consistent and most dangerous and uniquely dangerous player from an attacking perspective over there on that right hand side. And that’s kind of where I want to see him now. The fact that we still haven’t found somebody up top, who knows, maybe Pochettino gets creative?
“But ultimately, if Tim Weah is playing on that right hand side and doing good things, I think it’s going to be hard for a Diego Luna or anybody else to come in and take that spot.”
Weah has signed for Marseille on loan from Juventus, with the move set to be made permanent at the end of the 2025-26 season. The American spent two years at Juventus, making 78 appearances for the Old Lady, contributing to 14 goals.
Upcoming friendlies against Korea and Japan will provide Pochettino an opportunity to evaluate all attacking options.
