ST. LOUIS - Of all the members of the U.S. men's national team, Weston McKennie is the best to ask for insight on Tim Weah. As a player, as a teammate, as a person, McKennie knows Weah better than most. The two spend significant time together playing for club and country, and that gives McKennie a unique perspective into who Weah is - and as important, who he isn't.
From McKennie's perspective, the world has gotten a meaningful glimpse at the real Weah with Juventus this season. Resilient, resourceful, flexible, dynamic - those are the qualities that, in McKennie's view, make Weah who he is.
"Flying. He's flying," McKennie says. "I'm happy for him as well, because, last year, he was more in a defensive role. It takes a little bit away from his characteristics. Wingers aren't the ones that are normally used to running so much, but he held up his role last year. I think, this year, we can see a little bit more of the true Tim in an attacking position, taking players on or getting across the box. It's amazing for him. I'm happy for him."
If that's indeed the true Tim Weah, the one that the world saw in a rare, remarkably unfortunate moment over the summer was someone else entirely. It was a brief, split-second lapse is judgement, an egregiously bad decision that caused many on the outside to forget the true Tim. His red card in a group stage loss against Panama in the Copa America, ultimately, derailed the USMNT's tournament and Gregg Berhalter's tenure, leading to what is a new era for the USMNT.
Weah is now finally a part of that new era. After missing the first two post-Copa America camps, Weah is now back in the team for the first time under Mauricio Pochettino. He, like everyone else will be eager to impress the new coach. He'll also be eager to play a part in getting the USMNT to the Nations League semifinals - a task that will require a result against Jamaica in Monday night's quarterfinal in St. Louis - and potentially somewhere beyond that.
But, most of all, Weah is eager to finally put the summer behind him and remind people that, as a player and a person, he isn't that guy from this summer - now or ever again.
"It was hard because it played a pretty negative role in how the rest of the tournament went," Weah says, looking back at that moment in late June. "Obviously, no player wants that to happen. No player wants to be the reason why his team gets knocked out - not exactly the reason, but it played a huge factor in why we didn't go on.
"It was a moment, and I think I've kind of accepted it and matured in a way that it'll never happen again. You just have to move on and focus on the positives and what you can do leading up to the next big major tournament."