“I felt like it’s what I needed, because it was like I was starting at square one again”
Weston McKennie’s return to Juventus currently seems to be going well enough, but heading back to Turin came with no guarantees.
The U.S. men’s national team midfielder opened up on Tim Ream’s The American Dream podcast, describing a rather frosty reception at Juve upon the end of his loan to Leeds.
“Whenever I came back, obviously in my head, I’m thinking ‘Okay, man up, do your job, you’re here for the team. What they need you to do, you’re gonna do,'” explained McKennie. “I won’t say that I wasn’t welcomed with open arms, but obviously, I understand where they’re coming from.”
McKennie’s temporary departure from Juventus resulted in an ultimately sour experience with Leeds. The USMNT regular also happened to depart Juve just as the club was handed a 15-point penalty in the Plusvalenza scandal. While Juventus eventually had that penalty reduced by five points, it was an awkward time to leave.
“You’re a starting player for one of the biggest clubs in the world, and you decide to leave [that] club at a time of crisis, you know?” said McKennie. “It’s pretty natural. I came back and I felt like nobody really cared.”
Asked by Ream if that included players, McKennie specified that the cold reception came from fans and the club itself, rather than teammates.
“I didn’t feel it from the players,” said McKennie. “[The] players — at a young age, especially — where you go, they become your second family. And that’s how it always was with my teammates.
“Obviously, fans, higher ups, you kind of — after that decision that I made and then came back, you have to win over everybody. You’re starting from scratch.”
McKennie explained his rationale for leaving one of Italy’s institutions for a side like Leeds, who at the time were mired in an ultimately unsuccessful relegation battle.
“Honestly, it was a bit weird, the situation,” said McKennie. “I left Juventus initially, in the beginning, because I was starting to play out of position. I was playing right wingback, like towards the last four or five games before I left for Leeds.
“I don’t want to be remembered as someone that’s good at many positions, I want to be remembered as someone that’s great at one. I want to be, if people are in talks like ‘who’s one of the best eights to play the game?’ I want to be someone that can come up in conversation. But if I’m playing other positions, like a jack of all trades, then it’s a bit difficult to try and say that still. And I want to master the position, that takes time.”
McKennie: Juve challenge ‘what I needed’
Having to regain a foothold at Juventus has not been a straightforward affair for McKennie. Reports swirled that the club was going to freeze him out in an effort to convince him to leave this summer, and transfer rumors pointed to a move elsewhere.
However, McKennie stuck it out, battling his way back into the mix under manager Max Allegri. He may not be playing his preferred position — McKennie has largely been rotating with USMNT teammate Tim Weah as a right wingback thus far in Serie A play — but the Texas native says he’s embracing the challenge of winning the club over again.
“I feel like that’s honestly what I needed at this time in my career,” reasoned McKennie. “I don’t care what any player says, there becomes a time in your career where you feel a little comfortable, and I felt like that that’s what happened to me.
“I came back, I felt like it’s what I needed, because it was like I was starting at square one again. And I felt like I needed to prove to people…that I can play here still. Prove to people that I can become a starter and make it [here], and that I deserve to play at this level, and I can. So it was kind of like another chip on my shoulder, like how I arrived. I think that’s whenever I thrive best is whenever I have a chip on my shoulder, and I feel like I have to prove something, not only to people, but to myself.”
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