Weston McKennie wants to prove he is worthy of Juventus and their fans.
He joined the 36-time Italian champions for the 2020-21 season, saw his next season cut short by a broken foot, then was loaned to Leeds United last January and was unable to help the English club to avoid relegation.
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McKennie returned to Juventus this summer as a teammate of fellow American Timothy Weah, featured in the first two games as a substitute and made his first start last weekend in a 2-0 win at Empoli .
“Coming back to Juventus was not easy,” the 25-year-old midfielder said Thursday during a press conference at the US national team camp in St. Louis. “I left the club in times of crisis, I guess you could say.
“And so coming back, I felt like I was starting from scratch, but it’s a challenge that I’m always up for, a challenge that I think I needed at this point in my career to prove to people I still have it. »
Juventus were penalized 10 points in the standings last season for financial violations, causing them to miss the Champions League this season, and then banned from all UEFA competitions due to the irregularities. A team that won its ninth consecutive title in 2019-20 has not won another since.
American players Weston McKennie, right, and Tim Weah are now teammates at Juventus. Getty Images
McKennie got used to changing teams, saying his nomadic upbringing was preparation: his father served in the US Air Force.
“I could befriend the rock if I needed to,” McKennie said. “And that’s just because wherever we moved, I had to make new friends. I had to adapt to new cultures, adapt to new situations and new environments. And so, obviously, evolving in teams and moving to different countries, starting very young. age is definitely benefiting my situation now. ”
Weah, son of Liberian President and former FIFA Player of the Year George Weah, joined Juventus from Lille in July. Both started all four appearances for the United States at last year’s World Cup and, although Weah, 23, is a winger for the Americans and McKennie, a central midfielder, both have played out of their position in Italy.
“You’re looking at starting right winger and backup right winger right now,” McKennie said with a grin as he started to laugh. “As we are able to play in so many different positions and adapt to so many situations and roles, I think that’s a good quality. I don’t think we really insist on that. »
Weah was first moved to the winger position by Lille last November due to injuries.
“It was still a learning phase for me,” he said. “I think Juve were more of a defensive side last year and they definitely got me into a more attacking role, coming out at the back, which is what I like to do, running errands behind the defence, just apply pressure. »
They are part of several groups of club mates on the current US roster, including Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah at AC Milan, as well as Sergiño Dest, Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman at PSV Eindhoven.
“I understand how he plays. He understands how I play. So our chemistry is really good,” Weah said of McKennie. “Now that we’re on the same team, practicing every day is just going to make things even better.
“Off the court, I can sometimes be a little too much for Tim,” McKennie joked. “But on the pitch…we understand each other well and when you get to camp, it’s nice to have a travel partner. »
Saturday’s game against Uzbekistan will be Gregg Berhalter’s first match in his second coaching term. Berhalter led the side to the second round of last year’s World Cup before a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands, then was replaced by interim coaches from January to July.
“It’s just about picking up where we left off,” McKennie said.
2023-09-08 01:53:08
#American #Weston #McKennie #prove #Juventus #return #Reuters
