Fourth of July Special: The Story of Christian Pulisic
Happy Fourth of July everybody! Being that today is Independence Day for the US, I felt it appropriate to write about everyone’s favorite American talent, Christian Pulisic.
Life in America
Christian Pulisic is a player that was nowhere near the minds and tongues of Bundesliga fans two years ago. Christian lived his early life in Hershey, Pennsylvania. His father Mark and mother Kelley both played soccer in college and immersed Christian in the sport as soon as they could. As a result, he fit right in. Even from a young age, his father Mark knew that he was something special.
Christian played at various junior levels for the club, and made several appearances for the United States U15 and U17 teams, as well as participating in the 2015 U17 World Cup in Chile.
Borussia Dortmund Signing and Debut
In 2015, Borussia Dortmund signed Christian and ushered him into the U17 team. After a few successful matches, Pulisic earned a promotion to the U19 team. Luckily for him, Dortmund had an injury crisis and needed more players for squad depth. So once again, after only a few matches, he was invited to train with the first team.
On January 30th, 2016, Pulisic made his Bundesliga debut in a game against FC Ingolstadt that ended in a 2-0 victory for Dortmund. Less than a month later, he would earn his first starting spot against Bayer Leverkusen.
He scored his first goal for the club in a match against Hamburg on April 27th, 2016. In an interview when asked about his goal, Christian said: “I was so excited I didn’t know what to do.” Former Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel typically started Pulisic on the right wing. However, he can play with both feet, and will often find himself on the left flank as well.
USMNT Debut
In March of 2016, Pulisic was called up the first team for the USA. It was then that he made his debut against Guatemala in the 2018 World Cup Qualifier match. He scored his first goal for the senior national team against Bolivia two months later to seal a 4-0 victory.
Former USMNT manager Jürgen Klinsmann and current boss Bruce Arena both deploy Pulisic as a central attacking mid. In doing so, his creativity is at better use. He is allowed to control the attack of the game and thrives when given that freedom.
His skill with dribbling has also paved the way for fans to nickname him “American Messi.” All in all, Christian Pulisic has collected seven international goals in 16 appearances.
Recent Season
Pulisic enjoyed a good season for Dortmund, scoring a total of 5 times for club and assisting eight goals, per WhoScored. He impressed many when Dortmund finished ahead of 12-time Champions League winners Real Madrid in the group stages of the competition.
Pulisic was also a second-half substitute in the DFB Pokal final where Dortmund edged Eintracht Frankfurt to bring home silverware for the first time since 2012. Christian fits into the team well and has a unique relationship on the pitch with Felix Passlack.
The two Dortmund academy graduates both have chemistry on the field, which turns into an opposition defender’s worst nightmare.
The Future
Christian Pulisic is one of Borussia Dortmund’s brightest young talents. He got a lot of playing time to develop under former mentor Thomas Tuchel.
My hope is that with Peter Bosz coming in, that trend will continue. I attended the Copa America Centenario opener (rooting for Colombia, but that’s beside the point). I constantly overheard USA fans raving about Pulisic, and the stadium went nuts when he was subbed on.
Thousands regard him as the next big thing for the USMNT and place that pressure on him leading the national team to success. He is an exceptional player, and I’m glad that we will have the privilege of watching him play for years to come.
Happy Fourth of July everyone!