You couldn’t ask for a larger stage and brighter lights than what Christian Pulisic will have for his Chelsea FC debut. The Blues will play at Old Trafford, the “Theatre of Dreams,” where they’ll take on Manchester United, the biggest soccer/football/futbol brand in the world.
Pulisic, the most expensive American born player in football history at $73,000,000 will try to do something that no Yank has ever done. We’ve seen USA internationals at big clubs before, but in lesser roles. We’ve seen USMNT members become stars in the English Premier League, but at much smaller clubs.
Now we’re going to see the most talented American in soccer history, playing for one of the richest and most powerful clubs in the world, and his very match will come against the biggest club on Earth.
Pulisic just needs to be himself, play his game, and the hype machine will do the rest for him. Over the course of the summer, we covered a lot of friendlies and tournaments in the United States, and along the way we interviewed a host of prominent names well connected to the programs close to Pulisic.
With that said, here is what those important football figures had to say about the Hershey, Pennsylvania native. We also included some of the more noteworthy takes on Pulisic that made the international media rounds.
These articles are all linked below:
Former Chelsea star Eden Hazard, Borussia Dortmund club legend Patrick Owomoyela, USMNT and Fulham legend Brian McBride, Current/Former BVB Coach Lucien Favre and Jurgen Klopp, USMNT Coach Gregg Berhalter, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard.
Reading those pieces should give you an idea of the expectations and hype surrounding the ex-Borussia Dortmund star, who made 127 appearances in BVB, scoring 19 goals and providing 26 assists.
Chelsea fans are hoping he will fill the void left by Hazard’s departure for Real Madrid. NBC Sports, who broadcast the Premier League in the United States, will see their fortunes basically intertwined with the 20-year-old.
NBC will hype up Pulisic as much as they can at every turn, and ultimately the footballer and the broadcast network will likely sink-or-swim together.
The early early returns are great, as Pulisic scored twice in a Chelsea 5-3 win over Red Bull Salzburg 5-3 in the penultimate game of its preseason.
So with all that said, tomorrow’s kick-off can’t get here fast enough. Let’s see what Christian Pulisic can do!
Chelsea FC at Manchester United FYIs
Manchester United Team News, Starting XI Prediction
Chelsea FC team news and starting XI prediction
Kickoff: Sunday, August 11, 4:30 pm, Old Trafford
Google Result Probability: Manchester United win 44%, Draw 29%, Chelsea FC win 27%
Score prediction: United 2, Chelsea FC 1
Summer Transfer Window Analysis/Season Previews
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Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.