Weston McKennie can do it all.
But just because the United States and Juventus midfielder/attacker/fill-in defender is able to play just about any position on the field doesn’t mean he doesn’t want to specialize.
The Texas native says that while he’s happy to do what his club and national team managers ask, he aspires to be one of the best at one position.
“Being as versatile as I am, I think it's a blessing and a curse at the same time,” he told USA TODAY Sports. “I always tell people, ‘Yeah, it's amazing and it's a talent to be able to do it.’ But I don't want to be ‘good’ in many positions. I want to be great in one. And the only way you can do that is by playing the position that you feel most comfortable in and having repetitions in it.
“But at the end of the day, whatever, I've always been a type of player, whatever the team needs me to do, I step up to the plate and then try to execute it the best I can. That's always been my mentality because at the end of the day, what matters is if the team wins. And if you can be a part of that, I mean, who wouldn't take that opportunity?”
The skillset will take him to a second career World Cup this summer when he is going to be a key part of Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. national team, playing in front of home fans. It also has made him indispensable at Juventus, no matter how many managers initially try to leave him out of the squad. He has convinced coach after coach he should stick around and now has convinced the club of the same, signing a deal that will keep him in Turin through 2030.
Fans often laugh about the fact that McKennie has played every position on the field except for goalkeeper. So, in an emergency situation, would McKennie put his hand up to pull on the gloves?
“If there was a red card situation, I think I would offer myself up to play goalkeeper. One, because I'm pretty good. I played American football growing up and have pretty good hands to catch everything,” he said. “Then, also just for the giggles of it, just so I can actually say I played every position.”
McKennie certainly won’t be in net for the U.S. this summer, but his talents are much more a blessing than a curse for the national team. He can comfortably play as a defensive midfielder, a playmaker or even a wingback for the U.S., and might be asked to do all three in a game depending on other personnel and the game plan. But his path to a home World Cup this summer had a few more twists and turns than he hoped.
While McKennie’s position never felt in doubt, the 27-year-old was a surprising omission for two of the three fall camps the U.S. conducted, playing only in October friendly matches against Ecuador and Australia during the Americans’ series of six fall matches. Pochettino said before the September camp that he’d seen what he needed to see from McKennie, but that didn’t make it easier for the player to miss out on suiting up for the U.S.
“Not going into the camp, it was obviously difficult for me because I want to be around the guys, to be able to represent my country and every game that you play with the country is always important because it's another opportunity that you have to represent,” he said. “At the end of the day, I kind of looked at it as my club situation as well. Whenever maybe I'm not called upon or maybe I'm not viewed as someone that might be important or anything, I just put my head down and work and go back to the basics. That's what I feel like I've learned how to do quite well throughout my career.
“Every year that I've been here, I've had some bumps along the way and had to overcome them. And I try to do that to the best of my ability by putting my head down and working.”
Those efforts led to a boost in minutes with his club, as Juventus relied on the FC Dallas academy product to get into the UEFA Champions League knockout phase. Once there, he put in one of his traditional polyfunctional performances in a two-legged series against Galatasaray that saw him play all over the field and push the series to extra time before The Old Lady fell to Galatasaray.
He also has helped Juventus push for a UEFA Champions League return, racking up minutes as Luciano Spalletti’s team looks to stay in the top four.
McKennie returned to the national team once again in March, starting both of the U.S. friendly matches as Pochettino again showed his faith in McKennie, knowing his adaptability allows him to line up the team in several different formations.
“Me and Pochettino, we've talked, and we have a normal relationship,” McKennie said. “(He) gives me advice, gives me tips on what I need to do better, what I'm doing good, what I'm not doing good. And at the end the day, we're there with a common goal: We're there to win games and to progress and to build the game of soccer in America.”
While McKennie had good showings in the March matches, they were overall disappointments for the U.S. as the Stars and Stripes fell 5-2 to Belgium and 2-0 to Portugal in Atlanta. The pre-World Cup friendly matches also pit the U.S. against top opponents, with (debated) AFCON champion Senegal and traditional power Germany serving as the final contests before the long-awaited World Cup opener against Paraguay.
Ideally for Mckennie and Co., the U.S. looks great in those games and goes into the tournament on a high. There also is the chance, however, the U.S. will be entering its most important tournament ever on the back of four consecutive losses. Either way, McKennie said, the World Cup will be the standard the team is judged by.
“You want to win those games, and of course it plays with your confidence a little bit if the results don’t go the way that we want them to go, but at the end of the day … the World Cup is its own little thing. It’s one game at a time and anything can happen,” he said. “If we go into camp and the results are amazing for us, we’re going to go in with confidence to the World Cup. If the results don’t go the way we want to, I think we’re still going to go in with confidence because you just have a new energy, a new thing to be excited about and a new challenge.”
A challenge that McKennie will approach with vigor and intensity, trying to become a great while being good at a lot of different things.
McKennie spoke to USA TODAY Sports as part of the launch of Purina’s National Pet Kit, which the company says is the first-ever pet jersey modeled after the USMNT’s official kit.
The U.S. star has three dogs, Skye, Lola and Roxy, and said that while caring for his pets means a significant investment of time, it’s one that is worth it as they help him cope with the pressure of performing on some of the biggest stages.
“It’s a lot of things that you have to think about, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. At the end of the day, they’re family for me. They’re my emotional support system, McKennie said. "I come home from a bad game, and they’re here with unconditional love and always energy to cheer me up."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Weston McKennie can do it all, but does USMNT midfielder want to?
