There was a time when soccer in the United States was looked down upon by the elite leagues in Europe. A time when $73 million for a player from across the pond was unthinkable. My how times have changed.
From Christian Pulisic’s mega-money move from Dortmund to Chelsea to Gio Reyna turning heads in the Bundesliga, this week we’ll see us taking a look at the main American talents making a splash on the continent where the sport was born.
It’s the perfect time to do so as the United States Men’s National Team have a friendly against Wales on Nov. 12 (start time, 2:45pm ET) in Swansea at the Liberty Stadium. They will then play Panama on Nov. 16 in Wiener Neustadt, Austria to complete the pair of games they have scheduled this international break.
Due to COVID-19 outbreaks and public health precautions, the only previous action for the Stars & Stripes in 2020 was a Feb. 1 victory over Costa Rica by the score of 1-0.
What is there to be said about Christian Pulisic that hasn’t been said already? The crown jewel of USMNT has had an incredible career.
And he’s still only 22 years old! From his days as a high school sensation to teenage wunderkind at Borussia Dortmund and now truly one of the world’s elite, playing at one of the biggest clubs in the world, in arguably the best competition in the world.
Much in the same vein as some of the other talents, we have profiled in this series, both his parents have a history with the game. His mother and father played the game at a collegiate level for George Mason University.
His father went on to coach at a professional level after moderate success at various Indoor Soccer clubs as a player.
Pulisic spent a year as a youngster in England, where his appetite for the game was whet. He turned out for Brackley Town youth team whilst living across the pond.
A year later and his family moved to Detroit so his father could take the reigns of Detroit Ignition of the Major Indoor Soccer League. It was there where a young Christian learnt from the players in his father’s squad some of the skills and tricks that rocketed him to the upper echelon of European football just a few years later.
As the family headed back to Pennsylvania, his parents enrolled him with PA Classics. The local US Development Academy team.
It was there he remained until he made the big move to Dortmund in 2015 and the rest, as they say, is history. Along with his club achievements, Pulisic has made 34 appearances for the national side, scoring 14 goals along the way.
Making his debut under Jurgen Klinsmann in 2016, he broke a number of records including the youngest player in the modern era to score for the USMNT, the youngest ever to score a brace for the Stars and Stripes and the youngest player to start a World Cup Qualifying match for the United States.
Not content with that he went on to become the youngest player to captain the US men’s national senior team; aged just 20 years and 63 days.
And let’s not forget: he’s still only 22 years old today.
USMNT Golden Generation Profile Series
Christian Pulisic Gio Reyna Sergino Dest Weston McKennie Zack Steffen Tyler Adams
Stuart Kavanagh is an up and coming journalist from Melbourne, Australia. A student of sports media, his passion for the world game, in particular, shines through. Always keen to discuss footballing matters, you can follow him on Twitter @futbolislife8