USMNT star Weston McKennie believes Italian's didn't think Americans could flourish in Serie A – and he's proud they have proved them wrong.
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- McKennie fires away over Italians' thoughts on Americans
- Says he's proud of their success in Serie A
- 'Americans can play football' not just basketball
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WHAT HAPPENED?
On the alongside Juventus teammate Moise Kean, McKennie called out 'close-minded' Italians for not believing Americans could play top-level football in Italy. The USMNT midfielder added that he is one of six with players currently craft their trade in the country and all are successfully doing so.
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WHAT MCKENNIE SAID
“I like it because everyone [in Italy] thinks Americans only play baseball, basketball and so on. When I arrived three years and a half ago everyone was asking who I was. ‘An American? Can he play football?” he said. “Now, there are [Christian] Pulisic and [Yunus] Musah at [AC] Milan, Tanner Tessmann and Gianluca Busio in Venice, and Timothy Weah at Juventus. Now everyone knows Americans can play football.
“There are other players from Germany and Spain, but as I said before, in Italy, everyone is a bit stuck in the head like this, and maybe they didn’t know we [Americans] can also play football, not only basketball.”
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
In addition to the likes of McKennie, Pulisic, Weah and Musah, Gianluca Busio and Tanner Tessman also craft their trade in Italy – with the recently relegated Venezia FC. However, the Venice side are in a good position to be promoted at the moment, sitting in second place behind league-leaders Parma. Essentially, Americans – as per McKennie – have arrived in Italy and proved their doubters wrong.
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WHAT NEXT FOR JUVENTUS AND MILAN
Juventus take on Jose Mourinho's Roma on Saturday, while AC Milan host Sassuolo in a Serie A clash. The USMNT will take center-stage in Italy, with Weah expecting to start alongside McKennie and Musah alongside Pulisic.