GOAL caught up with the American defender to discuss a summer full of change and what comes next
This summer was a turning point in U.S. international Mark McKenzie's career. There is so much changing for the 25-year-old right now, for club, for country and in life.
On the club side, McKenzie recently made his debut for Toulouse, having made the big move to Ligue 1 this summer. The centerback accomplished all he could with Genk in Belgium and, heading into the summer, he knew it was time for a step up. After a busy transfer window, that came this month, and just days later, he found himself starting in Ligue 1 – a 1-1 draw against Nice. It was a big step and a quick one.
Internationally, though, the U.S. men's national team defender is also reckoning with a bittersweet summer. He was called into the Copa America for one of the biggest moments of his career, but could only watch on as the USMNT crashed out. After not playing at the tournament this summer, McKenzie is one player that can benefit from a fresh start and a clean slate, and, with Mauricio Pochettino reportedly incoming as manager, that's starting now.
With less than two years remaining until the World Cup, McKenzie's vision board is put together. He wants to be there when the USMNT is one of the hosts of the world's biggest sporting event and he wants to make his mark, too. How does he get there? Well, that's what this summer was about: taking that first step towards proving himself and kicking down that door.
In the Wednesday Convo, a weekly Q&A with central figures in the American soccer scene, GOAL caught up with McKenzie to talk about his big transfer, his new life off the field and his USMNT hopes…
How have these first few weeks at Toulouse been?
McKenzie: I landed here two Fridays ago, and, from there, I really had to hit the ground running. You've got physicals, you've got testing. On Saturday, I trained finally. Sunday, I was with the team for the first game against Nantes. Then from there, it's building into this past week and you start looking at it and preparing to start.
When you get that word, in the back of my head, I hadn't played in a couple of months. At the Copa America, I was disappointed I didn't play a lot there, I didn't play at all at the Copa, and then coming into this season with Genk, we kind of knew where I was at with things, and possibly wanted to make a move and take a step in my career, so I'm training with the team, but we're not sure when if it'll happen. You get the call that it's happening and you get that moment of, 'I've worked hard to get to this point.'
AdvertisementWhat were your emotions like when you made your debut against Nice?
You still get the emotions of excitement and those butterflies a bit, you know? It's my first game in a big league, and I want to make sure my teammates know I'm ready. You go, 'How fit am I?' I want to make sure that I can play as long as possible but it's also been a couple of months, so I've got to get my fitness.
All that being said, I really just bungled it into 'Just be simple.' Play simple, do your job, be reliable, be trustworthy, and grow into the game. Play what the game gives you, and from there, you'll find comfort. My teammates and the coaching staff have all been exceptional in welcoming me into the group and allowing me to implement my style into what they've already grown here.
What's it like dealing with the transfer market?
To be honest with you, it's one of those things where you can't really prepare because you don't know. There are no guarantees in the game. You just have to be ready. You know, in your head, that you want to take a step, and I wanted to do this for my career, but I can't bank on it happening either because we see how many times in the transfer window deals look like they're going through and they're at 98 percent and then bang, it falls through. That's where my head was at through this whole process of wanting to take a step.
There were lots of conversations with the agency saying, 'These are possible landing spots, this is
what the different leagues look like, so how can you now slide into this team and implement your style with what the league is? How can you be dominating your position within the club and assert yourself?'
You lay all those things out on the table, and then from there, it's like, 'Alright, well, I know what's out there, I know what the possibilities are, let me just focus on doing all the things I need to do.'
It's about building on the foundation that I've already put in place and doing all the things that have gotten me to where I am. That was my mindset going into the whole transfer window.
In your unveiling, Toulouse went with a McDonalds theme and they even named a sandwich after you. What was that all like?
It was more of a promo thing, to be honest with you. The league is sponsored by McDonald's. I get to the league and they're sponsored by McDonald's, I'm American, As soon as they got word I was coming, they sent over an idea. Originally, we went through a few repetitions, but, with my French, I couldn't get the full sentence in French. I ended up saying part of it in English.
I got it in the beginning, but then I started thinking too much, and they said, "We'll just leave this part in English and it'll be alright".