Weston McKennie is in Dallas this week for what should be a display of some of the best athletes in the world.
If all goes according to plan, McKennie will return to North Texas in the summer of 2026 with some similarly talented individuals. And if he does, he hopes to find a state and country that has better embraced the sport he expertly plies and the cultural diffusion it brings. The Texan has traveled all over the world and has seen how different cultures embrace soccer as a sort of ambassador and equalizer.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from, it doesn’t matter who you are, it doesn’t matter what color you are, it doesn’t matter any of that stuff,” McKennie told The Dallas Morning News last week. “It’s just a time to have fun and be able to express yourself. It’s kind of just like an art.”
It’s a game. It’s fun. But there are still problems. McKennie has spoken about that before.
More on that in a bit. But first, the pressing matter of what’s going to happen at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Cotton Bowl: Juventus vs. FC Barcelona, an exhibition between two titans of European soccer.
Some quick background: McKennie is a 23-year-old midfielder and household name in parts of Europe. The national team mainstay grew up in Little Elm. He has a tattoo of Dallas’ skyline on his elbow, and even though it was done in Germany, he still likes to tell people Dallas is “home.” He’s the son of an airman, spending his formative youth years in Texas before moving to Germany’s top tier of soccer with FC Schalke 04 as a teen and transferring to top Italian side Juventus in 2020.
He’s back in Dallas this week for an exhibition between his current club, Juventus of Italy, and Spain’s FC Barcelona, the most valuable soccer club in the world, according to a 2021 Forbes ranking (the Cowboys rank first among every sporting franchise in the world).
So it’s a Texan returning to Texas to dazzle the locals and help both clubs show off some fancy new signings, including Polish striker Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona) and Argentinian winger Angel Di Maria (Juventus).
It’s all part of the Soccer Champions Tour, a five-game display featuring five international soccer teams playing across the United States. International soccer exhibitions are frequent this time of year as the largest European clubs prepare for a grueling season that will run from August through the end of May. There’s a monthlong break in November and December for the years’ most important matches: the 2022 men’s FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
As a world-class athlete, McKennie, has been exposed to other cultures and great experiences most can only dream of. He speaks fondly of trips to Poland and Belize when part of FC Dallas Academy as a youngster, seeing the passion from those who might not have the same advantages he had.
As a Black American, he has seen the other side, too: the target of racism and unfair expectations and stereotypes. He wants to come back to the U.S. in 2026, when all eyes will be on North America’s joint World Cup, to a country that embraces all of the other cultures represented.
“I experienced [racism] whenever I was in Germany,” he said. “I had monkey noises made at me, a lot of things. But I think the biggest thing for me is just being in 2026 hopefully Americans will just be welcoming, make it a warm welcome for all countries that come in.”
Together with you, @WMckennie, we are #ReadyforChange! 💪@adidasfootball pic.twitter.com/6gbkHYlVzG
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) October 12, 2020
Back to Tuesday’s match: Juventus and Barcelona in the Texas heat with a Texan on display. McKennie will have fans and family in attendance. He fielded questions from a few reporters about the specialness of playing at the Cotton Bowl, what it’s like to be in Texas, how pumped he is for the World Cup, what kind of food he suggests his Italian teammates eat while in Texas -- you know, hard-hitting stuff.
For the record, McKennie told The News that he wants his Juventus pals to try Cane’s and Chick-fil-A.
But after McKennie leaves on Tuesday, he knows he will be back.
McKennie, who overcame a season-ending injury in February, says he is 100% fit. He’s been linked to moves away from Juventus, but his coach recently said he’s a key part of the team.
And he wants to be back in 2026 as part of the United States men’s national team vying for World Cup glory. North Texas will be part of the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States. While it’s still TBD on how many matches Arlington’s AT&T Stadium will host (and the stakes), the World Cup is returning to North Texas for the first time since 1994.
FC Dallas owner Dan Hunt sums it up best when he says each match has the impact of hosting the Super Bowl. It’s a phrase he says often, and hey, it’s a great soundbite. McKennie, one of the top American players in the world and a key first-team player at Juventus, often has trouble explaining how big his team is. He will rattle off names to help folks understand the scope of a Juventus or Barcelona playing in little-old Dallas.
But he wants things to be different in 2026. He knows how important it is to the future of soccer in this country.
“It is the biggest sport in the world,” he said. “There’s no reason it shouldn’t be top three in America, or No. 1. Obviously it’s not always offered to everyone and in certain areas in America, and that’s something we want to do is change that.
“... Soccer is a sport that helps you understand world culture, other cultures. It’s not just a game. Soccer is a lot bigger than that.”
