Weston McKennie is enjoying his best season yet at Juventus and says it was his mental toughness that got him through tough times in Italy.
“My time at Juventus has been a rollercoaster,” McKennie told The Cooligans this week. “I’ve always felt at home here. I’ve always felt like I belonged here. I’ve always stood up for what I believe in and ultimately I believe in myself more than other people. I think that’s been a lot of my motivation in my career.
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“Coming here, it taught me a lot. Mentally, it taught me a lot, to have my back against the wall, to move forward, to put my head down and work. Also, in general, just maturity. This is the Italian culture – elegance, maturity, expressiveness. I think I have grown. [in that aspect] as well as. “
The 27-year-old midfielder has scored eight goals in all competitions this season, second-highest among Serie A teams. His coach Luciano Spalletti moved him into a more attacking role and it paid off. McKennie’s four goals in the Champions League came in the club’s final six games.
Weston McKennie passes the ball during the second half against Ecuador during an international friendly match at Q2 Stadium. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
(John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images)
McKennie found success in Europe while playing internationally for Team USA. He has 62 caps for his country and will be part of Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup squad this summer when the final squad is announced at the end of May.
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The United States co-hosts the World Cup with Canada and Mexico, and expectations are growing after a successful series of international friendlies in the fall. Pre-match testing won’t get any easier when it comes to games against Belgium and Portugal later this month, and Senegal and Germany in late May and early June.
Since reaching the quarterfinals in 1990 and 2002, the men’s team has advanced to the round of 16 just once. While expectations are high for the USMNT this summer, McKennie has kept all the noise under wraps.
“I’m not a overthinker guy, I’m a day-to-day, game-to-game guy,” McKennie said. “I wouldn’t say I have expectations on what we should accomplish because ultimately our goal, like any team in this tournament, is to go out there and try to win games. As athletes and competitors, that’s what we’re going to go out there to try and do.
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“I think our expectations as a team are probably higher than what other people are expecting of us. Because we’ve been together so long, there are new faces, new members, but as a team we know what we’re capable of and we know the game better than anybody and what’s going on when we’re on the field. So I think our expectations of ourselves are high and we’re not really trying to let outside criticism or outside rhetoric affect us because ultimately it’s going to be like this 26-man roster and the staff that’s going to be out there and ultimately the 11 on the field. All players have to make a difference and external words cannot do that.
“So, you can say whatever you want, but it depends on how you put it into practice.”
Check out the full conversation on “The Cooligans” podcast – and subscribe Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Youtubeor No matter where you listen.
