Weston McKennie is glad he experienced a flop at Leeds United because it felt like he had to prove himself at Juventus all over again and warns ‘it’s time to bring the Scudetto back to Turin.’
The midfielder was forced to pull out of international duty with the USMNT, but should be fit to start against Inter on Sunday evening at the Allianz Juventus Stadium.
“I had struggles in the past four weeks after the game against Torino,” McKennie told Sky Sport Italia.
“All the players in the team are banged up a little bit, have problems here and there, but at the end of the day we have to do our jobs and sacrifice everything that we have to get wins at the weekend.
“So we’re all just doing everything that we can to get results every weekend.”
Juventus-Inter is known as the Derby d’Italia and represents one of the biggest, most bitter rivalries in all of Italian football, so even when it is not a head-to-head showdown at the top of the Serie A table, there is always going to be pressure.
While Max Allegri and the Juventus directors remain adamant that Inter are the Scudetto favourites, McKennie breaks ranks.
“It’s really big, obviously the competition in all games in Italy is high and against Inter as of now is the most important game of our season.
“If we can get the win on the weekend, then I think it’ll put us into a good position. The whole problem is that if we do win, then every game after that is just as important, because you get the lead and have to keep it.
“This team is up for the challenge, we’re ready for that and it’s early, but it’s time to bring the Scudetto back to Turin.”
This has been a transformative season for McKennie, who had been loaned to Leeds United in January and seemed set for a permanent transfer in the summer, yet has now become a key figure for Allegri.
“I left Juventus after the winter break last year and went to Leeds. It didn’t go as planned, obviously, I didn’t have the best performances and I felt like I let certain people down.
“At the end of the day I think it was important to have an experience like that at this moment of my career, because when I came back, it felt like I was coming here for the first time.
“When I first came to Juventus, nobody knew who I was, everybody doubted me, everyone against me. It put the chip back on my shoulder and that is when I perform best, when I prove that I can do it and I do belong. So it was nice to come back and have that feeling again.”
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, so how will McKennie celebrate the classic all-American holiday?
“It’s not the best way to celebrate Thanksgiving, because I don’t have my family here, but Juventus is like my family away from my real family.
“I just celebrate it at home, maybe FaceTime some people! My friends Patrick and Charles will be there, they are like my family too.”