USMNT’s Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie thriving in Italy

They stuck gum on a palm tree, wondering if the wad would still be there next time they were in camp. (It was.)

“Yeah, that is exactly how it started, him being as annoying as he is and me just putting up with it,” Pulisic said, smiling. “We were drawn to each other from a young age.”

They have grown into cornerstones of the senior national team and key figures on Italian rivals who will collide Saturday in Milan. Six weeks before they reconnect at U.S. camp for the start of Copa América preparations — a major precursor to the 2026 World Cup — Pulisic’s AC Milan will welcome McKennie’s Juventus to San Siro stadium for a Serie A showdown.

For three decades, U.S. players venturing to Europe to further their careers have landed in Germany and England. Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Belgium are also popular spots. Few have thrived in Italy, one of the continent’s big-five soccer countries boasting hallowed clubs with global followings.

Pulisic and McKennie have gone against the norm. After leaving English side Chelsea last year, Pulisic has revived his club career in Milan with personal scoring bests in league play (10 goals) and all competitions (13). He is also among the Serie A assists leaders with six.

Eighty-eight miles west in Turin, in his fourth season at Juventus, McKennie has posted seven assists — one off the league lead — and made a career-high 28 league starts. (Including Italian cup matches, he has 10 assists in 34 appearances.)

The 25-year-olds sought breakthrough seasons after Pulisic fell out of favor at Chelsea following four seasons and McKennie logged inconsistent playing time and performances at Juventus.

Pulisic said he had “lost” self-belief.

“It’s normal. It comes and goes at times in players’ careers,” he said. “We both needed to find that again and luckily we have.”

McKennie echoed those thoughts, saying, last preseason: “I looked at myself and realized I lost a little bit of belief in myself. The confidence was kind of low. Coming back, I know what I do best is work.”

McKennie said Juventus Coach Massimiliano Allegri told him, “Wes, you’ve got to start running now and you stop running at the end of the season.”

McKennie added, “So that’s kind of what I’ve been doing and just try not to be super-selfish and put the team first.”

Finding themselves on the same trajectory in Italy aligns with the deep Pulisic-McKennie bond.

Pulisic is the attacker from small-town Pennsylvania (Hershey), McKennie, the midfielder from greater Dallas (Little Elm) who spent part of his youth on a military base in Germany. They were born three weeks apart in 1998.

McKennie is a free spirit who says almost anything on his mind, while Pulisic is careful with his words, though he is much more open and expressive than he was when, as a teenager, he rocketed to fame with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund and the national team.

When Serie A arranged a Zoom call last week for the pair to answer questions from U.S.-based reporters, their banter playfully illustrated their friendship.

McKennie: “What up, CP?”

McKennie: “Mine[craft] later?”

Pulisic: “I’m still thinking about that double yesterday.”

After McKennie relayed the stories about their first time together at U.S. youth camp, Pulisic laughed and said, “Yeah, I mean, I wasn’t the kind of guy who would share stories like that but I’m glad Wes now put them all out there.”

Asked what American foods he misses living in Italy, McKennie said, “Ranch dressing or Cheez-Its.”

A reporter soon visiting Milan said she would pass the crackers along to Pulisic to give to McKennie.

“You can’t give the Cheez-Its to Christian. He’ll kill ‘em,” McKennie said.

“That is such a lie!” Pulisic responded.

When Pulisic was asked about AC Milan’s tactical approaches this season, McKennie interjected, “What tactic are you going to use against us?”

Pulisic deadpanned, “We’re not going to chat about that.”

With their club clash approaching, Pulisic was noncommittal whether he prefers playing with or against McKennie.

“I think we just enjoy competing,” Pulisic said. “We’re looking forward to this.”

McKennie did not hesitate.

“I have more fun playing with him, so I don’t really have to worry about him.”

They agree on their degree of satisfaction this season.

“It’s been a great test for me, but it just comes down to being given the opportunities here,” said Pulisic, who has started 27 Serie A matches after making eight for Chelsea last season. “I’ve had a lot of time on the field to show what I can do and been given a creative role and a lot of freedom, which has been a huge part of getting that self-belief back and growing that confidence.”

McKennie said Pulisic has “found a place he can call home.”

While McKennie and Pulisic are employed by rival clubs, they have gained additional comfort from having teammates from the national team: Winger Tim Weah (26 matches, nine starts) has been with third-place Juventus since last July and midfielder Yunus Musah (27 matches, 10 starts) joined second-place AC Milan from Spain’s Valencia in August.

“He sleeps over my house sometimes,” McKennie said of Weah. “He sits in my massage chair and knocks out.”

With all four having started at the 2022 World Cup, U.S. soccer has gained a foothold in Italy.

“Having the seasons we’ve had and establishing ourselves in Italy definitely opens up eyes back home and people here in Italy to want to follow — at least I hope it does,” McKennie said.

Before signing with AC Milan, Pulisic gained assurances from Manager Stefano Pioli.

“He saw me fitting in right away, and that was important for me,” he said. “I wanted to feel like it was the right place for me to go and I’d be able to come here and get that opportunity.”

Aside from Serie A, Pulisic scored once in the UEFA Champions League and, following Milan’s drop into the second-tier Europa League, he scored twice.

McKennie has taken a four-year journey after arriving from Schalke in Germany, where he and Pulisic crossed paths in the Bundesliga.

“In Germany, I was the workhorse and I was running everywhere and trying to get into everything and maybe running 60 yards when I only need to run 20 and get the same job done,” he said. “So Italy definitely helped me out that way because this is very tactical league and a very defensive league as well.”

This weekend, he and Pulisic will mix it up as both clubs seek to strengthen bids for places in the 2024-25 Champions League. At least five will advance. Inter Milan ran away with its 20th Serie A title, clinching Monday with a 2-1 victory over AC Milan.

On matchday, Pulisic and McKennie will not text or chat on the phone. During the week, though, “we game when we game, we talk when we talk,” McKennie said.

Reflecting on the evolution of their careers, McKennie said, “It’s pretty funny how it worked out, but I guess it’s the universe keeping us close.”