Juventus had a fine debut at the FIFA World Cup, where they destroyed Al Ain by a result of 5- 0. However, after that match, the team with two USMNT stars had a brief visit to the White House to meet Donald Trump, the president of the host country, as part of their trip.
The United States remains at the center of global soccer attention as it hosts the FIFA Club World Cup, drawing high-profile figures from the sport to American soil. Trump has previously welcomed FIFA President Gianni Infantino on multiple occasions. This time, it was Italian giants Juventus who had the opportunity to visit, further highlighting the nation’s growing role in the international football landscape.
Inside the Visit: What Happened at the White House
The Juventus Team arrived before the match against Al Ain at the White House with the whole squad, the owner of the team, Maurizio Scanavino the CEO of the team, general manager Damien Comolli, and Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA, with John Elkann, owner of the club who is also the holder of Ferrari.
The team posed for a photo group with the president, and the leader of the country responded to some questions. In addition to this, the club had a gift for Trump that was a jersey with the No. 47 on its back.
2 Stars of the US National talked after the visit to the White House
Juventus has on their roster team big names of the soccer world, like the Italy internationals Manuel Locatelli and Federico Gatti, or the Serbian striker, Dusan Vlahovic. But in that team, there are also two former American players like Weston McKennie and Tim Weah. These two last had some weird moments with President Trump.
It was all a surprise to me, honestly. They told us that we had to go, and I had no choice but to go, so I showed up.” Told Weah in an interview during the media day at the Italian club. Weah also said that President Trump made the meeting strange when he started discussing politics and questions regarding the Iran-Israel conflict.
“I guess it was a cool experience being in the White House for the first time. It’s always wonderful, but I’m not one for politics.” Weah continues, “I was caught by surprise, honestly. It was a bit weird. When he started talking about the politics with Iran and everything, it’s kind of like, I just want to play football, man.
It is also to noting that McKennie has criticized the labor of President Trump in his first term as president. This happened during the pretest of Black Lives Matter in 2020, which was eclipsed by the death of George Floyd, when the star of Juventus said, “I don’t think that Trump is the right one for the job as the president. I stand by these words. I believe he doesn’t understand the responsibility he has for the entire country.”
The last sports teams to visit President Trump in his second presidency era at the White House were the former champion of Super Bowl champions, the Eagles of Philadelphia, and the Los Angeles Dodgers.
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