Juventus was getting frustrated by PSV Eindhoven’s gritty defending when Weston McKennie broke the deadlock in style in their Champions League playoff.

The defender moved to Tyneside on a free last summer but, with only a handful of games to his name, will end the season at the Turin giants

That American was none other than Weston James Earl McKennie, the son of a U.S. Air Force officer, who spent a good portion of his early years growing up in Germany, where he honed his footballing prowess and even turned down a scholarship offer to play at the University of West Virginia. Surely he knew that his time to go pro was closing in fast.