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Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Juventus players befuddled by visit with Trump at White House: 'I just want to play football, man'
President Trump speaks to the press June 18 in the Oval Office of the White House as members of Italian soccer club Juventus (from left, Timothy Weah, Weston McKennie, Daniele Rugani, coach Igor Tudor and Dusan Vlahovics) stand behind him. (Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images) Members of the Italian soccer team Juventus visited with President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon. Exactly why the gathering took place remains largely a mystery. Six of the team's players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti, Teun Koopmeiners and Dusan Vlahovic), their coach Igor Tudor, a handful of team executives and FIFA president Gianni Infantino stopped by hours before Juventus' FIFA Club World Cup game against United Arab Emirates' Al Ain that night at Audi Field. Advertisement Trump was presented with a Juventus jersey and one for next year's World Cup, which the United States will be co-host with Canada and Mexico. But as Trump took questions from the media for about 15 minutes during the event, very little soccer was discussed. Instead, the players stood behind him patiently — fidgeting now and then, their faces mainly expressionless — as Trump answered questions that mostly related to the potential of U.S. involvement in Israel's war against Iran. Later that night, speaking to a different group of reporters after his team's 5-0 victory over Al Ain, Weah called the White House experience "a bit weird" and implied he and the other players weren't given the option of declining the visit. Read more: Hiltzik: How Trump could sabotage L.A.'s World Cup and Olympics Advertisement 'They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go," said Weah, a U.S. men's national team member whose father George is a past winner of the prestigious France Football Ballon d'Or award and was the president of Liberia from 2018-2024. "So [I] showed up.' FIFA declined to comment. The White House and Juventus did not respond to requests for comment from The Times. While Weah said he thought his first White House visit "was a cool experience," he added that 'I'm not one for the politics, so it wasn't that exciting.' 'When [Trump] started talking about all the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football, man,' Weah said. Advertisement Fellow USMNT player McKennie had made critical comments about Trump during the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020. Juventus players Weston McKennie, left, and Tim Weah take a selfie outside the White House after they and other team members met with President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday. (Alex Brandon / Associated Press) 'I don't think that Trump is the right one for the job as the president," McKennie said at the time. "I think he's ignorant. I don't support him a bit. I don't think he's a man to stand by his word. In my eyes, you can call him racist.' Still, during his introductory comments, Trump briefly singled out Weah and McKennie as "my American players" when he mentioned that night's game. "Good luck," he said while shaking both of their hands in what had the potential to be an awkward moment. "I hope you guys are the two best players on the field." Advertisement Read more: Hernández: Dodgers visiting Trump's White House goes against everything they represent That's not to say, however, that there weren't any awkward moments. Because there were — none more so than when Trump brought up "men playing in women's sports," then looked over his right shoulder and asked: "Could a woman make your team, fellas? Tell me. You think?" When no players answered, Trump said, "You're being nice," then turned to face the other direction and asked the same question. 'We have a very good women's team,' Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied. Advertisement Trump asked, "But they should be playing with women, right?" When he got no response, Trump smiled and turned back toward the reporters. Read more: With FIFA World Cup one year away, fans and politicians still aren't sure what to expect "See, they're very diplomatic," he said. Trump made a couple of other attempts to involve the soccer contingent in the discussion. At one point, the president used the word "stealth" when discussing U.S. military planes, then turned around and remarked, "You guys want to be stealthy tonight. You can be stealthy — you'll never lose, right?" Advertisement The players did not seem to respond. For the final question of the session, a reporter favorably compared Trump's border policy to that of former President Biden and asked, "What do you attribute that success to?" Trump looked behind him and stated, "See, that's what I call a good question, fellas." Once again, the players did not appear to respond. Read more: FIFA Club World Cup: Everything you need to know about all 32 teams Get the best, most interesting and strangest stories of the day from the L.A. sports scene and beyond from our newsletter The Sports Report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
10 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Juventus players befuddled by visit with Trump at White House: ‘I just want to play football, man'
Members of the Italian soccer team Juventus visited with President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday afternoon. Exactly why the gathering took place remains largely a mystery. Six of the team's players (Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Manuel Locatelli, Federico Gatti, Teun Koopmeiners and Dusan Vlahovic), their coach Igor Tudor, a handful of team executives and FIFA president Gianni Infantino stopped by hours before Juventus' FIFA Club World Cup game against United Arab Emirates' Al Ain that night at Audi Field. Trump was presented with a Juventus jersey and one for next year's World Cup, which the United States will be co-host with Canada and Mexico. But as Trump took questions from the media for about 15 minutes during the event, very little soccer was discussed. Instead, the players stood behind him patiently — fidgeting now and then, their faces mainly expressionless — as Trump answered questions that mostly related to the potential of U.S. involvement in Israel's war against Iran. Later that night, speaking to a different group of reporters after his team's 5-0 victory over Al Ain, Weah called the White House experience 'a bit weird' and implied he and the other players weren't given the option of declining the visit. 'They told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go,' said Weah, a U.S. men's national team member whose father George is a past winner of the prestigious France Football Ballon d'Or award and was the president of Liberia from 2018-2024. 'So [I] showed up.' FIFA declined to comment. The White House and Juventus did not respond to requests for comment from The Times. While Weah said he thought his first White House visit 'was a cool experience,' he added that 'I'm not one for the politics, so it wasn't that exciting.' 'When [Trump] started talking about all the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football, man,' Weah said. Fellow USMNT player McKennie had made critical comments about Trump during the Black Lives Matter movement in June 2020. 'I don't think that Trump is the right one for the job as the president,' McKennie said at the time. 'I think he's ignorant. I don't support him a bit. I don't think he's a man to stand by his word. In my eyes, you can call him racist.' Still, during his introductory comments, Trump briefly singled out Weah and McKennie as 'my American players' when he mentioned that night's game. 'Good luck,' he said while shaking both of their hands in what had the potential to be an awkward moment. 'I hope you guys are the two best players on the field.' That's not to say, however, that there weren't any awkward moments. Because there were — none more so than when Trump brought up 'men playing in women's sports,' then looked over his right shoulder and asked: 'Could a woman make your team, fellas? Tell me. You think?' When no players answered, Trump said, 'You're being nice,' then turned to face the other direction and asked the same question. 'We have a very good women's team,' Juventus general manager Damien Comolli replied. Trump asked, 'But they should be playing with women, right?' When he got no response, Trump smiled and turned back toward the reporters. 'See, they're very diplomatic,' he said. Trump made a couple of other attempts to involve the soccer contingent in the discussion. At one point, the president used the word 'stealth' when discussing U.S. military planes, then turned around and remarked, 'You guys want to be stealthy tonight. You can be stealthy — you'll never lose, right?' The players did not seem to respond. For the final question of the session, a reporter favorably compared Trump's border policy to that of former President Biden and asked, 'What do you attribute that success to?' Trump looked behind him and stated, 'See, that's what I call a good question, fellas.' Once again, the players did not appear to respond.
Metro
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Metro
Timothy Weah reveals Juventus stars forced into 'weird' Donald Trump meeting
Juventus star Timothy Weah has revealed he was forced to attend a 'weird' meeting with Donald Trump at the White House. The Italian giants are in the US as part of the Club World Cup, getting their group campaign off to a winning start with a 5-0 victory over Al Ain in the early hours of Thursday morning. Before the game, the squad and staff visited the Oval Office, lining up behind Trump's desk in front of the press. What followed was a series of awkward exchanges as Trump grilled the squad on a number of issues, including the subject of transgender women in sport. Juve midfielder and USA international Weston McKennie was seen looking to his countryman Weah for help after being asked 'could a women make your team, fellas?' McKennie was rescued when Manuel Locatelli broke a brief period of uncomfortable silence saying, 'Yeah.' Weah, son of the legendary George Weah, later revealed he did not want to attend the 16-minute summit. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video 'It was all a surprise to me, honestly — they told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go so I showed up,' Weah told reporters after the 5-0 win later that day. 'I was caught by surprise, honestly. It was a bit weird. When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football man.' His Juventus and USA teammate McKennie meanwhile has previously criticised Trump during his first term following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. 'I don't think that Trump is the right one for the job as the president,' he told Bild. More Trending 'I stand by these words. I believe he doesn't understand the responsibility he has for the entire country. I think he's ignorant. I don't support him a bit. I don't think he's a man to stand by his word. In my eyes, you can call him racist.' Trump signed the controversial and hugely divisive 'Keeping Men Out of Women's Sports' executive order in February after campaigning heavily on the issue in 2024. The order prompted the National Collegiate Athletic Association to change its gender eligibility policy to only permit biological females to compete in the women's category. MORE: Ellen DeGeneres shares rare look at sprawling UK home after leaving US over Trump MORE: Kylian Mbappe in hospital after missing Real Madrid's opening Club World Cup game MORE: Trent Alexander-Arnold tells Liverpool fans how long he's been learning Spanish after Real Madrid debut
Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Juventus star breaks ranks and speaks out on awkward Donald Trump visit
Juventus players were invited to the Oval Office for a meeting with Donald Trump on Wednesday, with the US president proceeding to discuss the Civil War and the escalating crisis in the Middle East Juventus star Timothy Weah admitted the team's meeting with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday was ' weird '. It is not clear exactly why Juve were invited to the Oval Office to meet the 79-year-old. The Serie A giants are currently competing in the Club World Cup and kicked off their campaign with a dominant 5-0 win over Al-Ain in Washingon DC on Wednesday night. Before that game, they were called for an audience with Trump. But rather than discuss Juve's hopes of winning the tournament, the president instead decided to speak about a potential attack on Iran, whether the U.S. Civil War could have been avoided, his administration's travel bans and transgender athletes. It made for an uncomfortable atmosphere in the White House meeting, which lasted 16 minutes. The Juventus delegation included owner John Elkann, chief executive Maurizio Scanavino, general manager Damien Comolli and director of football strategy Giorgio Chiellini. American players McKennie and Weah, as well as Dusan Vlahovic, Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners, Federico Gatti and the team's head coach Igor Tudor were also in attendance. And Weah was less than complimentary about the meeting. 'It was all a surprise to me, honestly — they told us that we have to go and I had no choice but to go,' Weah said. 'I was caught by surprise, honestly. It was a bit weird. When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it's kind of like, I just want to play football man. 'I guess it was a cool experience, obviously, being in the White House… as the first time, it's always wonderful, but I'm not one for the politics, so it wasn't that exciting." FIFA president Gianni Infantino also attended the meeting, which Trump kicked off by making introductions. He told journalists that there was going to be a game in D.C. on Wednesday evening. 'It's totally sold out,' Trump said. 'Of course,' Infantino replied. Despite those claims, only 18,161 people attended the game out of capacity of 20,000. Trump then turned to the two American players in Juve's team, McKennie and Weah. 'We have two great American players. Where are you, my American players? Fantastic, so good luck,' he said, shaking their hands. 'I hope you're going to be the best two players on the field.' Trump then asked the Juventus players: 'Could a woman make your team, fellas?' When he did not receive a response, the president turned to general manager Comolli. The Frenchman said Juventus have a very good women's team. Trump continued: 'But they should be playing with women.' Comolli did not answer. Trump interjected: 'They're being very diplomatic." The conversation then moved on to the situation in the Middle East. Trump said: 'I hate to see so much destruction and death." He then said that the U.S. Civil War could have been solved without losing 600,000 people. The president also invited questions, encouraging journalists to ask about the World Cup, though instead almost all were about the escalating crisis between Israel and Iran. After being questioned about evacuations, he was then quizzed on his plans for a regime change. He said he had a plan for everything and that he would see what happens. He then admonished the Iranians for not making a deal with the United States. Throughout all of this, the Juventus players were stood behind him. Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Canada wins Concacaf Nations League third place, putting USA at a crossroads
After winning four consecutive matches under new coach Mauricio Pochettino, the United States faces a crossroads 15 months before it joins Canada and Mexico in playing host to the World Cup. Canada took third place in the Concacaf Nations League tournament with a 2-1 victory at SoFi Stadium. The defeat, which came 72 hours after a 1-0 loss to Panama in Thursday's semi-finals, forced the United States to finish fourth in a competition it had only won in its three previous editions. The result raises questions about the immediate future of the US program, and rewarded Canada for a more adventurous gameplan that saw them generate more socring chances more consistently throughout the 90 minutes. Jonathan David scored the winning goal, breaking a 1-1 tie in the 59th minute. David received Ali Ahmed's pass in the penalty area, took one touch to his left and unleashed a curling shot that settled inside the left post far beyond goalkeeper Matt Turner's reach. Related: Canada's Jonathan David: 'If people say I'm the best in Concacaf it makes me proud' After the loss to Panama in the semi-final, Pochettino replaced five starters from that match's lineup and used a different tactical formation. Instead of using a three-man backline with two wingbacks as he did against Panama, Pochettino started Cameron Carter-Vickers, Mark McKenzie and Max Arfsten along with Joe Scally as a flat back four. Scally was the only defender who started against Panama. In the midfield, Diego Luna entered the lineup and played in front of holding midfielders Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, with Patrick Agyemang serving as the lone striker in front of attacking midfielders Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah. As a result, the United States played at a more deliberate pace, building slowly from the back. Canada suffered a significant loss when Bayern Munich left back Alphonso Davies left the match in the 12th minute after colliding with Agyemang and Weah in the first 10 minutes. Nevertheless, Canada took the lead when Tani Oluwaseyi scored in the 27th minute. Related: Canada 2-1 USA: Concacaf Nations League third-place game – as it happened Ahmed began the scoring sequence with a cross from the left side of the penalty area to David, whose 13-yard shot deflected off McKenzie. The ball fell to Oluwaseyi, who poked inside the right post from the edge of the 6-yard box. Agyemang tied the score in the 35th minute. McKennie started the play with a long ball to Weah on the left flank, who avoided three defenders. Weah passed from the left side of the penalty area to Luna, who poked a short left-footed pass to Agyemang. The striker's 11-yard shot deflected off goalkeeper's Dayne St Clair's right leg. Gio Reyna, considered one of the United States' most dynamic players, entered the match in the 69th minute but made no impact.
