For soccer players around the globe, the ultimate goal is to play for the biggest teams in the biggest competitions in the world. Part of that dream is also to play the professional game in Europe. This continent attracts the biggest and best talent. Not only are the best European players there and succeeding but also the best players from other continents, including players from the USA and other North American nations.
One of those Americans who decided a few years ago to test the European waters is central defender Mark McKenzie. The native of The Bronx made the jump just over three years ago when he signed a four-and-a-half-year contract with KRC Genk of the Belgian Pro League. He came over from the Philadelphia Union where he trained and played alongside three-time Gold Cup winner and two-time Belgian champion Oguchi Onyewu. The Genk man had nothing but respect for the big man, who is now the Vice President of Sporting for the United States Soccer Federation.
“Guchi is like a big brother to me,” the 25-year-old New Yorker told Yanks Abroad. “He was one of my mentors when I was over there in Philly. So a special shout-out to him for always pushing me and demanding that I rise to the occasion.”
Since coming to Belgium in January 2021, McKenzie has settled into his new environment rather quickly and that very same year was hoisting the Belgian Cup along with his teammates as Genk won the prize for the fifth time in the club’s history.
Although he feels that he made the right move to come to Europe and encourages other players to leave the familiarity of the USA and MLS, he also points out that it’s not an eye-opener.
“That’s the big thing to everybody who wants to come to Europe,” he said. “You have to be ready because it’s a different game.
“On a weekly basis, every team is fighting for every inch of the field. For every duel there is going to be a scrap (and if) you make mistakes you will get punished for them; lapses in concentration. So there is no easy game. And that’s the step I made; why I came over from the U.S.”
“The league is developing over in the MLS for sure, but in order for it to take the next step I think there has to be difficulty on a weekly basis, knowing that no matter who you play, whether they’re at the top of the table or the bottom of the table, it’s going to be a tough day whether you’re at home or on the road.”
Life off the field hasn’t been bad for the 13-times-capped USA international.
“Life in Belgium is not like the U.S. It’s not as fast-paced and especially not in this part of the country.”
The city of Genk is home to 66,000, a far cry from McKenzie’s home in New York City that boasts a population of 1.5 million. Genk is a sleepy city that became the home of thousands of coal miners during the early part of the last century. Coal usage eventually declined and the last two mines closed down in the late 1980s.
The good thing for McKenzie is that with not much going on in the area, “it allows me to focus on my football.”
“Life outside the lines is pretty simple and it allows me to focus on my game and every now and then I get a chance to travel when we have some free days.
“I’m in a central location so it’s only a couple hours’ drive to, for example, Frankfurt (Germany), which is only three hours away. Or I can get on a flight.
“There’s Eindhoven in the Netherlands, or I can go to Brussels. In reality, it’s a very good spot. I can travel to a lot of different countries by car or by plane or by train.”
Another way to travel around Europe, probably one of the most interesting is with his team in UEFA competitions. This season Genk took part in the European Conference League where they hosted and traveled to Serbia to take on FK Cukaricki, Fiorentina in Italy, and Ferencvaros in Hungary.
“It’s always nice to connect with guys playing away in European competitions.”
But the 6’0” defender reiterated why he came to Belgium.
“The reason I came over here was to challenge myself. The step that I wanted to take was to be able to compete on a weekly basis against players who are fighting to be on the pitch, players who are fighting to stay out of relegation, teams that are fighting to stay in European positions,” he said. “(Because of this) that level of intensity, that demand on a daily basis and a weekly basis is why I made the jump. So I’m glad I made the move and got to experience this over the last three years.”
With England, Spain, and Italy considered to be the top leagues not only in Europe but on the planet, McKenzie weighed in.
“People should (also) pay a lot more attention to Belgium (the league). There’s a reason why we have a lot of outgoing players; guys come to Belgium to challenge themselves and ultimately they go on to play at bigger clubs, on bigger teams.
“There’s a pool of talent here from leagues all around the world. You can hear it from me but you could also go check the fact sheet and see who (has come and gone in Belgium?)
“Belgium deserves a lot more respect than it gets, especially as a feeder for the top five leagues as well as how intense it is and how physical it is.”
McKenzie was just named to Greg Berhalter’s CONCACAF Nations League roster where the USA will look to win the trophy for the third consecutive year. Before then however, he’ll be meeting up with a pair of fellow countrymen, Bryan Reynolds and Griffin Yow when Genk travels to take on Westerlo in the last regular season game on the Pro League calendar.
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