It has been a banner year for Americans winning silverware in Europe and Weston McKennie added to the impressive run with his own trophy-winning performance.
McKennie started and delivered an assist to help Juventus defeat Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, posting a 2-1 victory to secure another trophy following the Italian Super Cup win earlier in 2021.
McKennie set up the opener in the 31st minute of the game played at the Mapei Stadium Citta del Tricolore, hitting a lateral pass to the right that Dejan Kulusevski curled to the top far corner with a one-timed effort.
Kulusevski curls it to the corner with ease 😍
McKennie picks up the assist! pic.twitter.com/833P5I5amF
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 19, 2021
Atalanta responded quickly with an equalizer from Ruslan Malinovskyi 10 minutes later, but Juventus found a winner through Federico Chiesa in the 73rd minute.
McKennie lined up as a right midfielder in the title game, and the 22-year-old American both started and went the distance. The victory gave McKennie a second piece of silverware since joining Juventus on loan from Schalke in a move that has since been made permanent. Wednesday’s win marked the first time in three years Juventus captured the Coppa Italia trophy, and 14th title overall.
McKennie has enjoyed a strong first season with the Italian powerhouse. He has started 25 times in 45 matches across all competitions while scoring six goals.
McKennie and Juventus now turn their attention to a crucial Serie A finale against Bologna. Juve is currently in fifth place in Serie A and will need either Napoli or AC Milan to drop points while also defeating Bologna in order to secure a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League.
I really hope he goes somewhere else next year. He had a great year for learning, but he seemed to lack the proper coaching and direction, and he played for an awful club with an awful owner and awful fans. I’d really love to see him at any top-half club in the Premier League. I think the English game suits his attributes, and as opposed to Italian fans, I think the English fans would love what he brings to the table. As much as I think this was a good — and successful — step for him, I don’t see it as any kind of long-term destination.
What? You don’t think a top 5 team in the world is a long term destination? Baffling. This was a transition year for Juve, I hope he’s there for a long time.
There’s absolutely zero reason for him to move after this season. This second season with Juve is crucial and a chance for him to win his spot in the starting 11
Not to pile on, but Weston should stay where he is. Pirlo stated he wanted a midfielder who would put in the dirty work to help the team and Weston has done just that. What most Juve fans didn’t understand at the time was the off the ball work ethic of Weston and his presence in the attack (especially in the box). Juve will make some changes this summer and will continue to push for the championship. This was an off year
Personally I’d drop off some of their CMs (Arthur and Ramsey were ghosts), find some way to use Dybala consistently, pick up a winger, and move Weston back into the center of the pitch.
I hope that ESPN or some general broadcaster gets better rights to the Serie A so that we American fans can more easily and more regularly watch teams like Juve. Juve – like Bayern Munich in Germany won 9 titles in a row before a bit of a downgrade this year. Juve has a relatively new stadium and a tradition for fans. this is a great spot for a young American. Just a bit of a transition for a team that has won, year after year after year.
@midwest ref, I’ve been able to watch every Juve game on the ESPN+ app. $5 got me championship, B.1, MLS, and Serie A. Not a bad deal, but I thought Serie A was heading to Paramount+ or was the B.1?
what?….smh…..
TBF I have espn+ as well. You can also watch USL games, bundisliga. I motley watch MLS and USL though. You can also replay games if you miss them. So it is an option if you don’t want to pay for exta ty channels which prob won’t have the team you want to watch anyway.
Uneven match for him. I’d give a 5 or 6 out of 10. Some absolute bonehead passes with one that nearly led to an Atalanta goal. As always, ran himself ragged defensively.