Juventus, who has won the Serie A championship for 9 consecutive seasons, has not been able to continue the domineering spirit of the past many years under the coaching of young coach Pirlo this season, coupled with the rebirth of Inter Milan, AC Milan and other teams, so that the team can only rank 3rd in the league list, and the 10 consecutive championships in Serie A have been severely tested. Although many of the main players in the squad have declined, there are also surprising players, and American midfielder Weston McKenny, who has just been officially bought out by the team, is one of them.
Weston McKenny, 22, was born in Texas in the south-central United States and grew up with his family in the southwestern German city of Kaiserslautern at the age of 6 after his father, who was sent overseas as an officer. In order to make it easier to make new friends in the new environment, Weston McKenney's parents decided to let their son learn to play soccer, and Weston McKennie gradually fell in love with this sport, and watched the international friendly match between the United States and Germany in the local area, and after the game, he won the signature shoes of the star Langdon Donovan, and he was determined to become a professional player who could represent the United States in international competitions.
As a young man, Weston McKenny returned to the United States with his family and began his football career, joining his hometown team Dallas and gradually becoming an extremely efficient midfielder; with his outstanding performance, Weston McKenny attracted the favor of Bundesliga side Schalke 04, and returned to Germany in the summer of 2016 to join the bundesliga team's youth team. With a steady performance in the youth army, Weston McKenny was promoted to the first team a year later, and was given more and more opportunities to play, and gradually stabilized a main position in the midfield. Last season, despite the team's poor performance, Weston McKenny was one of the few people in the squad to receive positive reviews, playing 28 games for the team in the league, scoring three goals, and was selected as last year's American Footballer of the Year.
His outstanding performance in the Bundesliga attracted the favor of many European powers, and as a result, he was loaned by Serie A champions Juventus last summer, including a 25 million euro buyout clause, becoming the first American player in Juventus' history to be introduced.
At first, many people thought that it was not easy for this American player to gain a foothold in the team's regular selection lineup, but with his hard work on the field, he successfully won the appreciation of this season's new manager Pirlo, who was selected to play at the opening of the home game against Sampdoria, and did not hesitate to run in midfield, assist and defend, providing the team with a high efficiency of offensive and defensive operation, so although he did not score any goals and assists, the team won the opponent 3-0 lightly, and Weston McKenny's performance was still very praised. After that, he got more and more opportunities to play, and gradually became the main member of the team's midfield, although he was unfortunately infected with new crown pneumonia at the beginning of the season, but he quickly gained a stable playing time after his comeback, and scored his first goal after joining the team in the derby battle against the city's sworn enemy Turin at home, helping the team to catch up with the draw, and the team finally won 2-1 against the opponent.
At present, Weston McKenny has played 32 games for the team in all competitions, scoring 5 goals and giving 2 assists, helping the team to beat Napoli and win the Italian Super Cup; his performance has also been recognized by the team, so he was bought out by the team in advance and officially became a part of the "Zebra Corps".
Since debuting in the United States in the United States in a friendly against Portugal in November 2017, Weston McKenny has become an indispensable midfielder for the national team, and the midfielder scored his international debut goal in this battle, becoming the third youngest player in U.S. history to score for the first time for the national team.
Weston McKenny, a midfielder with a height of 1.85 meters, his body shape and physical confrontation ability are not bad, his playing style is strong, he has a wide range of coverage on the field, and he has a good sense of defense, the courage to make interceptions, and the offensive ability is also good, which is a typical Box-to-Box midfielder with abundant physical fitness. Weston McKenny's presence can bring great efficiency to the Juventus midfielder, while also liberating the offensive organization of Adrien Rabiot, Rodrigo Bentancourt and even Aaron Ramsey, whose constant running can also create open attacks for teammates, and if the American midfielder can be used well, it will be one of the key elements of Pirlo's ability to lead the team to win the championship.