The Certainty of Christian Pulisic

It sure does feel nice to have a good soccer player and know that he is really, actually good.

Jun 26, 2020

Like many others, I watched this game live, and like many others, I made audible noises with my mouth when this happened.

Bleacher Report @BleacherReport

Christian Pulisic with his second goal in two games 🔥 (via @NBCSportsSoccer)

The first noise I made was laughter, because goodness gracious that was some utter trash from Manchester City. Ben Mendy and Ilkay Gundogan just trotting along, both of them casually running towards the ball. And I do not know what, exactly, Mendy is thinking when he toe pokes the ball to the area Gundogan has just vacated, but I do know that as soon as Christian Pulisic gets to that ball it’s time to cue the clown car music.

Then the second noise I made was more laughter, this time mixed with a little surprise and anticipation, because Christian Pulisic did that thing again. There is one physical attribute that Christian Pulisic is world-class in: acceleration. His ability to change speeds both on and off the ball is up there with the best of them, and he used it to steal Mendy’s lunch money and throw his milk carton at the back of his head on this run. Pulisic isn’t the flashiest player in his dribbling. He doesn’t do a ton of step-overs or show off his ball skills whenever he can, although it happens on occasion. It’s the deceptive quickness that kills defenders, that slight hesitation that made Mendy think he could get a toe poke in on the ball before Pulisic just ran right past him, and in on goal.

The last audible sound I made was a word: “wow.” The finish wasn’t as picturesque as the first goal Pulisic ever scored on Ederson, in a Champions League tie between Borussia Dortmund and Benfica.

This one was less spectacular and climactic, more calm, composed, never in doubt. Ederson rushed out to meet him and Pulisic curled the ball past him perfectly, the ball gently spinning into the side netting and coming to rest. This was a little bit different than the other moments of brilliance we’ve seen from Christian Pulisic, the bursts and explosions where his talent looks so evident, only to recede, for Pulisic to take a seat on the bench or be satisfied with cameo appearances. It felt like this was always going to happen. Like Pulisic was inevitable.

The last time I was absolutely positive the United States Men’s team had a player on it that was good, and definitely good, good all the time, was Clint Dempsey. His career bore that out. He scored everywhere he went, was a threat everywhere he went. Didn’t matter if he was playing for Fulham and Chelsea came to town. Didn’t matter if he was playing for the USMNT and they were up against Portugal. Clint Dempsey was a good player, and I had confidence in that. It was a certainty.

Christian Pulisic has the talent to be the best USMNT player to ever play so far, but much of his career has felt far less of a certainty and much more of a “let’s hope so.” Yes, he’s proved how talented he is. I’m not saying he’s ever looked anything but talented. I’m saying that there’s been times when it’s felt like Pulisic hit a wall, and that maybe he wasn’t as certain as we once thought he was. When Jadon Sancho caught fire at Dortmund. When Pulisic started life at Chelsea. There were moments of doubt.

That’s gone now. Pulisic is thriving, and what’s more, he’s thriving as a focal point of Chelsea’s attack. He was far and away the best attacking player on the field for Chelsea against Manchester City, and Manchester City knew it. He was still cutting behind players, flicking the ball to his teammates, and flashing into the box for goalscoring opportunities. We’re finally seeing the version of Christian Pulisic that we’ve been wanting to see: the one who takes the focus on his shoulders, as opposed to the one who succeed’s most when a team’s attention is diverted elsewhere.

This is a lot of words to say that I feel excited as a USMNT fan, and possibly too many words to talk about a goal that was mostly Manchester City’s blunder. But for a few minutes, Christian Pulisic was a certainty. And that felt like releasing a breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding for five years.

It really helps me get over the fact that he still does TikTok dances.

Jaike🦁 @JaikeSiby1

This geeza really clinched the title for Liverpool 🤣 #CHEMCI #Pulisic

Better than Lewandowski!

Confirmed Heat

Sky Blue FC @SkyBlueFC

𝘓𝘐𝘎𝘏𝘛𝘕𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘏𝘈𝘚 𝘚𝘛𝘙𝘜𝘊𝘒 ⚡ 2020 Primary Kits Available at bit.ly/ShopSBFC

I like these, although I do wish that Sky Blue took one single picture of a player just standing up straight that doesn’t look like it was taken in Plato’s Cave. It’s yet another NWSL kit that breaks out of the “standard soccer kit” box and does it successfully, in my estimation.

Now if only Seattle or North Carolina got the memo.