Leeds: Weston McKennie on his love for NFL and Harry Potter – and why his dogs are celebrities
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Had it not been for a quirk of fate, Weston McKennie could easily have donned a football shirt tonight instead of a Leeds United one.
The affable American international flies from Italy today to complete his loan from Juventus, a deal that could become permanent for £30m.
Yet if McKennie’s father, John, had responded to a different calling 18 years ago, the young Texan has always believed he would have made a career in the NFL instead of being one of the most talented football players in his country. .
Juventus star Weston McKennie is close to completing a £30m move to Leeds United
John McKennie, a staff sergeant in the Army, had to change stations permanently. They considered Alaska, but the family settled on Germany and Ramstein Air Base, located about 10 miles outside of Kaiserslautern.
It was there that McKennie was first introduced to soccer.
“Germany was the starting point – I never knew football was a sport before,” McKennie said. “Sometimes I would cross the street to play with my brother and that’s when I met my first coach.” Pushed to think about what he would have become otherwise, McKennie doesn’t hesitate. ‘He’d probably be playing football, sitting here like 200 pounds and beefy.
“I played that before I moved to Germany because my father was in the army. That’s one of the reasons why I started playing soccer, because there in Germany there were none for my age.’
McKennie was first introduced to soccer 18 years ago after his father, a staff sergeant, moved the family to Germany.
Schalke called in 2016, when he saw him turn down MLS and a college scholarship.
It may not sit so well with the investors from the San Francisco 49ers’ Leeds United, but McKennie even impressed watching the Cleveland Browns’ coaching staff after he put on a virtuoso quarterback display after practice in one of the US Gold Cup training camps. Not satisfied with textbook spiraling 60-yard throws at all angles, he finished it off with some 50-yard field goals.
“I think I could have made it to the NFL if I had stayed with her. I’m one of those guys that, whatever I do, I try to give 100 percent,” says the Washington Commanders fan. “So if that was football, I would have stuck with that and given it my all as well.”
McKennie joined his first soccer club, FC Phönix Otterbach, when he was six years old in 2004. Led by his mother Tina, who was eager to channel her boisterous nature elsewhere, he made a good first impression, not with its unorthodox khaki color. short, but by scoring eight goals in his first game and he was hooked.
When his father was sent back to the US a few years later, McKennie continued to develop with FC Dallas while keeping an eye on football, but when called upon by Schalke in 2016, he turned down MLS and a college scholarship favored by his father. to bet on a return to Germany. He has never looked back. “I made the right decision and I don’t regret it at all.”
It takes character to take such a leap of faith and those close to McKennie say he has that in spades. What makes the decision he made at that crossroads in his life even bolder was the fact that some US coaches had told him he wasn’t going to be good enough. The setbacks mentally drained him and he considered quitting. Instead, he used his words as motivation.
The American has carved out a career for himself across Europe in the Bundesliga and Serie A.
Ultra-competitive, his first coach, David Mueller, says that “some of his teammates didn’t want to play any kind of game with Weston.” It was that annoying.
Such a hatred for losing was forged from his formative days following his older brother John Jr. The two soccer-loving brothers often put each other to the test. In fact, Weston sports a scar under his left eye from the day John “tackled him and slammed him into the TV.”
Bubbly in the locker room, he’s quick to show off his dance moves and likes to kick back in a flashy adidas cheetah-print tracksuit, but McKennie turns serious when kick-off arrives just the same.
His talent was also confirmed when former Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo, Italy’s renowned midfield maestro, decided to sign him to Juventus in 2020.
However, a demanding Pirlo warned him to get serious and ‘more professional’ amid concerns about his fluctuating weight. He is now focused and is more professional than he was when he arrived. He has lost weight and that is something we had to deepen in his mindset,” Pirlo said. “He has to be 100 percent professional, not 50 percent.”
Lessons learned, McKennie was entrusted with various roles at Juventus, including attacking ‘mezzala’, and began adding more goals to his game. He scored the fastest hat-trick in US men’s history, netting three in 13 minutes against Cuba and few goals were more memorable than his scissor kick for Juventus in their Champions League win over Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Harry Potter fan McKennie adopted an imaginary magic wand as his goal celebration
Providing that bit of magic is perhaps inspired by his passion for JK Rowling’s little wizard Harry Potter. McKennie has been an avid fan since his grandmother bought the books for him when he was six years old. He even adopted an imaginary magic wand as his goal celebration.
Not shy about entertaining, she’s already made her big screen debut, appearing alongside the animated cat ‘Puss in Boots’ to promote the studio’s latest Dreamworks film last November to coincide with the USA’s participation in the World Cup. World.
His profile has risen so high in Italy that even his beloved American Akitas, whom he hopes to bring to Yorkshire, have become celebrities.
“Juve are the biggest club in Italy at the moment, so every time I go into the city, which I don’t do that often, I get stopped probably every 10 meters,” McKennie said. “In Italy, people will follow you like 200 yards and go into the stores you go to, corner you and take pictures, which I feel is part of the profession, but it’s also one of the things I just want to be in. alone, just enjoy a walk or walk my dogs.
His profile has risen so high in Italy that even his beloved American Akitas, whom he hopes to bring to Yorkshire, have become celebrities.
“Even my dogs in Italy are recognizable now, so it’s a bit hard to just go out.”
Juve are Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani’s boyhood club, so bringing McKennie, a player long linked to some of Europe’s elite, from Turin to Elland Road has added luster.
It’s a bold but reasoned move on Radrizzani’s part knowing that McKennie is already close with potential teammates Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams.
The dream is that McKennie can help Leeds achieve their goals, although the newcomer has not yet given up on the possibility of one day switching to that other code of football.
‘Who knows,’ says McKennie. ‘Maybe I’ll go pro one day, but as a kicker.’