Although Borussia Dortmund’s winger Christian Pulisic is grabbing the majority of the headlines, United States men’s national soccer team has another rising young star that plays in Germany; Schalke’s midfielder Weston McKennie. After spending the majority of his youth career with MLS’ FC Dallas, McKennie decided to make an unexpected decision in 2016 and join Schalke, instead of singing Homegrown Player contract with Dallas.
According to the 19-year-old, who spoke on Friday with Associated Press, this was the right decision since it made him tougher.
“It definitely gave me tough skin. I’ve always been mentally strong. I think that’s one of my strengths. I don’t let a lot of stuff get to me,” – said McKennie. “Not a lot of outside factors can influence my decisions and how I live my life, and how I play the game, as well. You just learn many things and learn quickly, and you have no choice but to learn quick. Otherwise, the train moves on and you’re left behind.“
He also discussed his decision to join Schalke, explaining that he wanted to play on a higher level.
“It was a hard decision for me, of course, because I’d been at Dallas so long. And you can’t just be like, ‘Oh, here comes Schalke. It’s a big club. Let me just throw out Dallas right now,’” – he said.”I’ve never said anything bad about the MLS, but it’s not at that level yet, obviously, and many people, maybe they’ll be like, ‘Oh, he’s bashing the MLS.’ But it’s the truth. The Bundesliga is one of the top leagues if not the top league of teams in the world.“
McKennie already established himself as a part of Schalke’s rotation and played in 23 Bundesliga games in the last season. This also earned him a call from USMNT’s interim coach Dave Sarachan, who made him part of the team that faced Portugal in a friendly on November 14, 2017. The youngster responded accordingly, scoring a goal in his debut and showing that USMNT future is brighter than some people think.
