Pulisic wants opponents to fear U.S.’s young talent
DAVENPORT, FLA. >> Christian Pulisic has a vision of a transformed U.S. soccer team, a red-white-and-blue power that gives opponents sleepless nights similar the nightmares that plague players on the eve of facing Brazil or Germany.
“I want them to fear them like a big team,” he said Tuesday, quickly acknowledging “obviously, we still feel we have a long way to.”
The midfielder from Hershey, Pennsylvania, is with the national team this week for the first time since he became the most expensive American player. Chelsea agreed in January to buy Pulisic from Borussia Dortmund for 64 million euros (then $73 million), then loaned him back to the German club for the rest of the season.
In their first training camp with new coach Gregg Berhalter, a trio of emerging 20-year-olds could start together for the first time: Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams.
“There’s a lot of things that we talk about, that we need to be leaders, we need to show everybody what we’re about,” Adams said. “A lot of times I feel that in the U.S. we talk about how many good young players we have and stuff like that, and there’s a lot of players that end up falling off or not being heard about again. And you don’t want to be one of those players.”
Pulisic was 17 when he made his Bundesliga debut in 2016 and became a regular with the national team. When the U.S. lost at Trinidad and Tobago in October 2017, failing to qualify for the World Cup, he was the image of defeat. Pulisic crouched on the field, steadied his body with his right hand and covered his face with his left. The emotional pain was intense.
“Ever since that happened, it makes you want to be in a World Cup that much more,” he said. “So, yeah, definitely it motivates me.”
A regular with Dortmund the past two seasons, he struggled with a torn calf muscle last fall and a thigh injury this winter. He lost his starting job to 18-yearold English winger Jadon Sancho.
Pulisic’s start against Hertha Berlin on Saturday was just his sixth in the league this season, but he scored as a sub against Stuttgart on March 9, his second league goal this season and first since September. He played in both Champions League round of 16 matches against Tottenham, though he struggled to be effective in the first leg.