Pulisic to get homecoming in Chester
CHESTER » Dave Sarachan’s summer plans aren’t what he’d hoped they’d be at this time last year. As the interim boss — though he detests that moniker — of the United States men’s national team, Sarachan is overseeing a player pool in generational flux, from a promising young crop sprouting up from the ashes of the last fall’s disastrous failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals.
Instead of a trip to Russia, Sarachan and company will have to settle for Chester in late May, where the U.S. will take on Bolivia in a Memorial Day friendly. At the very least, the local crowd will have a familiar face in Christian Pulisic to cheer.
Sarachan confirmed the German-based midfielder’s participation in the friendly at Talen Energy Stadium in a press conference Wednesday, as the next great hope of American soccer will play his first game since last October’s travesty in Trinidad that bounced the U.S. from the World Cup.
The players available for the Bolivia match, the first of three to be followed by European trips to Ireland and France within two weeks, are a mix-andmatch, befitting the state of the program. Falling outside of a FIFA international window, clubs aren’t required to release players, so Sarachan said he’ll work with MLS clubs to fill the training camp in the U.S. ahead of Bolivia, then rely on mostly European-based players at the end of a long season against Ireland and France.
Pulisic, who’ll be in the States for Borussia Dortmund’s friendly with Los Angeles FC May 22, will bridge the gap, the Hershey native returning to his home state.
Pulisic has endured a tumultuous season with Dortmund, which sits third in the Bundesliga and never posed a serious threat of dethroning Bayern Munich. Sarachan, named the interim boss after Bruce Arena resigned following the qualifying debacle, considered calling Pulisic for friendlies in November and March, but both times deemed it more important for him to settle into crucial junctures of the Dortmund season. Sarachan traveled to see Dortmund play second-place Schalke (which features several young Americans, including Weston McKennie) on April 15, a 2-0 loss for Dortmund.
“He’s a very serious young pro,” Sarachan said of Pulisic. “He’s in a real bubble over there with Dortmund. I saw him play Schalke, and he was pretty gutted after that game. He’s been through a lot through the year, personally. I know that there’s a lot of demands on a kid like Christian, he’s being pulled in a lot of different directions. … I’m trying to be helpful in the process of trying to give him a little wiggle room in terms of the national team.”
The 19-year-old has seven goals and eight assists in all competitions for Dortmund, and his future provides a steady supply of grist for the transfer rumor mill. Sarachan understands that for Pulisic to play the role the manager envisions in the national team, sorting his club future is vital.
“I think he’s a pretty sharp kid and understands what he’s about and what he needs,” Sarachan said. “… The only thing I would say, I would say to almost any player, the environment you go to has to challenge you, you have to be a part of it, you have to believe in the philosophy of that club and hopefully the manager trusts you.”
In a wide-ranging discussion with media, Sarachan said he’s unsure how long his mandate will continue — “I’m the men’s national soccer team coach until they tell me I’m not,” is how the 63-year-old former head man of the Chicago Fire put it. But he’s set forth a vision for expanding the player pool in the younger direction ahead of the U.S.’s next meaningful games in the 2019 Gold Cup.
That means the delegation to Chester in May won’t include mainstays like Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, Jozy Altidore or Michael Bradley, players Sarachan knows well and doesn’t need to see much of, at least not until the fall. The Union’s Alejandro Bedoya seems to be in a similar boat.
“I love Ale,” Sarachan said. “... He would be in that pool of guys that down the road could still offer something.”
The European leg of the tour could include youngsters like McKennie, Chelsea defender Matt Miazga (on loan to Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem) and highly touted 18-year-olds Josh Sargent (Werder Bremen) and Tim Weah (Paris Saint-Germain). Red Bulls midfielder Tyler Adams is one player Sarachan highlighted as excelling in MLS that would’ve been in the World Cup selection picture. Two players Sarachan coached as an assistant with the L.A. Galaxy, Sebastian Lletget and Columbus forward Gyasi Zardes, are also in the mix, as is Crew goalie and Downingtown native Zack Steffen.
“Zack is obviously with Columbus and has done a really, really good job,” Sarachan said. “... He’s had a taste of things with our national team and was a part of our game against Paraguay (in March) and did very well. He’s got very good presence in goal, his distribution is good, he’s pretty comfortable with the ball in his feet. All of the components that make up a good goalkeeper, his boxes get checked pretty well.”
All those changes, Sarachan hopes, are in service of his ultimate goal. He calls the point at which he took over pretty close to “rock bottom” for the program, a statement few in the MLS era of the national team would refute. Whether or not he adheres to the “interim” label, Sarachan’s objectives extend beyond results into benefits that he hopes will outlive his tenure.
“I like to think that there’s a little more hope with the program, the direction we’re going with the exciting young talent that is emerging,” he said. “And that makes me feel proud because I think the work kind of speaks for itself at this point, meaning, young guys are getting great minutes.”