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Christian Pulisic has cast aside any doubt about his commitment to the US national side, and wants to be seen as “the present” and “a leader” as USA look to rebuild after a disastrous World Cup qualifying campaign.
At 19, Pulisic has 70 games in the Bundesliga under his belt, as well as several Champions League appearances. With 21 international caps and nine goals already to his name, Pulisic has grown in quality as he looks to shoulder the weight of responsibility of the national side.
“I know what they say: the future, the wonderboy, the kid from Hershey. It’s nice, but it’s not really what I want to hear anymore,” Pulisic told ussoccer.com. “I don’t want to be perceived as the future, or as a boy, or a kid. I want to be seen as the present. I want to be known as a leader.” Out of context, these comments can easily be perceived as the arrogance of a teenager. But Pulisic has already proven at club level that he is the real deal, and the list of his admirers is growing.
“Christian Pulisic is the best American player I’ve ever seen,” former USMNT player Eddie Johnson told the Seattle Sounders Winging It podcast last month, “having played with Landon Donovan, having played with Clint Dempsey- where he’s at now, with his experience and how he sees the game and how he understands the game he’s miles and miles ahead of everyone else.” The praise for Pulisic extends past the excitement of his fellow countrymen. Jurgen Klopp, Pulisic’s first manager at Dortmund, has long held the young forward in high esteem, and after watching his old player score two goals as Dortmund beat Liverpool 3-1 in a preseason friendly, Klopp had only positives to say about him. “Pulisic is a smart player. Don’t put too much pressure on the boy.”
Klopp’s words highlight a serious issue. As the hype around Pulisic grows, so do the demands placed upon him. Pulisic will be reassured by a national side that is boosted by the emerging talents of several young players; in defense, DeAndre Yedlin and Cameron Carter-Vickers can provide serious Premier League quality.
The young Schalke pair of Weston Mckinne and Haji Wright are bound to improve as they are blooded in one of Europe’s toughest leagues, and midfielder Tyler Adams is catching eyes playing at New York Red Bulls after a string of impressive performances. At PSG, 18-year-old Timothy Weah will look to break into the starting side this season as the French title holders plot a path to the Champions League final.
Reality check
Despite the positives that a new-look US side will bring, the facts are stubbornly clear- there is not enough quality in the squad to compete with top international sides. The American public remain uninspired by a sport which has tried over and over to break the mainstream, and the pain of missing out on a World Cup place to Panama was a stinging blow to US soccer after years of trying to build the popularity of the game.
US Soccer and the MLS has massively invested to raise the profile of the game, but the problems run much deeper than the small fan-base attracted to games. American soccer culture needs to seriously toughen up to stand a chance on the international stage. The recent US soccer documentary RISING, centred around the emerging stars of the national side, chose to focus more on players' families and back stories than on their footballing ability, and this needless romanticism is seriously holding football back in America.
Take the unnecessary emotion out of the game; let footballers play football, and US soccer will start seeing some progress.
In Christian Pulisic, USA have a man that can lead them for over a decade. If able to withstand the pressure of the enormous expectations placed upon him and develop into a world class player, Pulisic will possess all the abilities to carry his team deep into the uncharted waters of the knockout stages of major tournaments, which could spark a revolutionary fever for the game back on home soil.
US soccer should count themselves lucky that Pulisic has appeared just as their talisman Dempsey looks set to retire, and in a deeply religious country out of love with football, Pulisic is a God-send. Inevitably, results in big games will be the key factor in swaying a begrudged American public. Time will tell whether Pulisic and his countrymen will find redemption in the red white and blue.
