Christian Pulisic

[Vesper 30,159]

Pulisic’s mentor on why Chelsea’s forgotten man can now thrive

https://theathletic.com/1866313/2020/06/14/pulisic-christian-chelsea-united-states-usmnt-dortmund/

Just like all the other times Hannes Wolf sensed Christian Pulisic was in some kind of difficulty, he decided to give the attacking midfielder a few words of encouragement.

“I told him, ‘Always love the game, work hard, believe in your strength’,” Wolf explains to The Athletic. “‘Even if it didn’t happen in this game, there is the next game. You have so much power and quality inside of you. Believe in it and it will come’.”

Wolf felt the need to reach out as Pulisic faced an early crisis in his fledgling Chelsea career. Bought for £57.6 million from Borussia Dortmund last year, he went nearly two months earlier this season without starting a Premier League game (between August 31 and October 26) despite being available for selection.

Sources have told The Athletic that Chelsea manager Frank Lampard felt the new arrival needed protecting from fatigue and injury, having not had much of a break that summer. Pulisic reported for pre-season training soon after representing the USA at the CONCACAF Gold Cup because of a desire to impress.

His ability was never in doubt as far as Lampard was concerned but that didn’t make the impact of being left on the sidelines on a regular basis any easier to cope with. Without any prompting from the player, former Dortmund youth coach Wolf decided to send Pulisic a message.

“I got in contact when Christian wasn’t playing for a few games,” Wolf adds. “The words I sent is what I have always told him and this was a moment to say it again. From time to time, I do it again so he doesn’t forget it!

“I have always thought if he is healthy, has his energy, he can play amazing football. But I don’t want it to sound like I was the one who helped him out (at Chelsea) — that would be wrong.”

There are few coaches in the game that know the Chelsea star better than Wolf. The German was in charge of the under-17s when Pulisic joined Borussia Dortmund in 2014 and also worked with him after being promoted to the under-19s.

Wolf also played a major role in Borussia Dortmund beating PSV Eindhoven, who had long coveted the young Pennsylvania native, to Pulisic’s signature. A scout from the Bundesliga club, Volker Propper, first spotted the 15-year-old while he was playing in an under-16s game between the USA and Norway during a youth tournament in Turkey.

It proved to be a battle between two No 10s that day. Pulisic was on the American side and Martin Odegaard, who is currently on loan at Real Sociedad from Real Madrid, was on the other.

It was Pulisic who caught the eye, though. Wolf says: “The scout came back and said, ‘I’ve seen something that was amazing’. Then I started to watch videos of Christian and it was clear very soon that we should fight for him to make sure he would come to Borussia Dortmund.

“What did I see that made Christian stand out? He was really small but fast. He played the numbers, so he scored and made goals, but there was something special in that he didn’t lose the ball in difficult situations.

“He made less mistakes. That’s key when you’re fast and play in the last third — you’re always a good passing solution. It made him really special. Physically, it was clear he wasn’t ready, that he wasn’t going to be tall. He was small and thin but you could tell he could develop amazing physically.”

What Pulisic achieved at Borussia Dortmund has already been well documented. Thanks to acquiring a Croatian passport — courtesy of his grandfather having Croatian roots — Christian was able to avoid FIFA statutes which prevent non-EU players from making such a move at that age. Even then, he couldn’t join in matches until after he turned 16.

Success came very quickly. Pulisic contributed six goals and five assists to help Borussia Dortmund win the Under-17 German championship in 2015. There were another four goals in the first half of the following season for the under-19s.

Such was the rapid progress, Pulisic was invited to join a senior training camp during the winter break in Dubai. First-team coach Thomas Tuchel was suitably impressed — it helped that he found the net in practice games against Jeonbuk Motors and Union Berlin — and he made his professional debut at home to Ingolstadt aged just 17 in January 2016.

Just a few months later, he earned his first international cap against Guatemala, becoming the youngest American to play in a World Cup qualifier. There have been another 33 appearances for the national team since then.

Why is all this relevant now? Wolf got to see how the youngster coped with so much expectation on his shoulders for club and country, the kind of situation he now faces at Stamford Bridge.

Wolf continues: “Christian is highly talented but his character, focus and mentality is very, very special. He didn’t need me to be hard on him. We helped him with some things — how to move, how to act on the pitch — but there were a lot of things already there in his game when he arrived.

“He understood from an early age that he wanted to be a complete player. A lot of young players who are talented don’t see the whole picture: all the running, the work, the defending that is required. I never had to tell him that he needed to do the defensive transition. A lot of other players don’t do this naturally. He did. That made him ready to play for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga and Champions League at 17. If you don’t do it, you can’t play at that level. He respects all the aspects of football.

“He is the kind of player that works on his game all the time. Under me, sometimes he worked too much! He really wanted to make it but sometimes, in that scenario, you can lose your creativity and the joy of playing. It’s about finding the right balance. It can’t all be about work when you are a creative player that likes to score goals. For us, it was about finding the right way. We didn’t have to push him. He was a really hard worker. His strength of character was clear.

“I saw the pressure he was under (from being seen as the big star for the USA at a young age), it was clear. But he wanted to go this way. It’s very important when you have so much pressure on you that you don’t lose your love for the game. It is what’s important for him now, that he still enjoys it and goes this way with all the passion and love for football.

“Even at Chelsea, from my perspective, he has had a good start. There were some moments where he was out of the team but how he came back, scoring goals; I saw amazing movements. I saw in his face that he was really ready and (in) the way he celebrated his goals. I’m really happy with this.”

This spell Wolf is referring too is when the now 21-year-old went on a run of six goals and three assists for Chelsea over just 10 appearances. A hat-trick in a 4-2 victory at Burnley was the clear highlight. Wolf was too busy in his role as manager of Belgian club Genk to watch Pulisic’s moments in full but what he saw, he liked.

Unfortunately, a serious groin injury halted Pulisic’s progress and combined with football’s postponement, he hasn’t played for Chelsea since January 1. It’s almost like he’s become the club’s forgotten man.

The three-month break in fixtures caused by the pandemic has given him the chance to recover and get fit again, though. There is a very good chance Pulisic will face Aston Villa in some capacity on June 21.

However, the American will do so once again under intense scrutiny. The signing of Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech for next season has understandably raised questions over his role in the side, while another attacking player, Kai Havertz, is also a target.

Wolf sees no cause for alarm, certainly as far as how Pulisic will respond to the increased competition is concerned. “Christian will keep on working,” the 39-year-old insists. “He knew when he went to Chelsea, making a step to this kind of club, there will always be more transfers and you have to fight to stay in the team, to get your minutes. This is what he will do.

“He will not react too much. Borussia Dortmund was not too different for him. This is business. It’s normal. You want good players around you because it’s the only chance to succeed. Werner is a good player but I believe Christian can be a very good player for Chelsea, too.

“The break in football has benefitted him. Now Christian can come back. People forget he is only 21. It feels like he is 25 because he has played at the highest level for four years already. He is still young. He has so much potential. It is very exciting.

“The most important thing is that he stays healthy. He has had a big injury this season. With the physical way of playing and powerful way he has, the amount of games and travelling, it is very important he is fit.”

While Chelsea have ambitions to compete for the Premier League in 2020-21, there is still a lot for them to play for this season. The possibility of qualifying for the Champions League via the Premier League and an FA Cup triumph is a realistic target.

Pulisic has played 23 times for Chelsea so far but Wolf has no doubts that the prodigious talent can make the difference for them now and in the future.

He concludes: “The only thing that should happen for him at Chelsea is that the numbers come consistently in terms of goals and assists. Everybody has seen his ability and speed to go into the box — he can do a lot.

“There were some weeks where the Chelsea fans really saw it. I wish for him to produce the numbers that are in him, over a season. If he is healthy, he can be amazing for them.”

[USATim 20]

Again, not in the starting lineup. Disappointing because he is supposed to be healthy. Time to find a new club in the offseason. Wasting time here.

[Fernando 6,585]

1 hour ago, USATim said:

Again, not in the starting lineup. Disappointing because he is supposed to be healthy. Time to find a new club in the offseason. Wasting time here.

He will be starting 11. Don't worry. 

It's going to be pulisic, werner and zyech in the attacking 11 as they are the best we will have next season. 

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Vesper 30,159]

PLEASE stay healthy my young yank!!!!!!!

[Vytis33 1,268]

He's easily the most creative player we have right now.  By a wide margin if being honest...

[Magic Lamps 11,692]

He is a weapon when healthy. He already would be a world class player if not for his constant injuries. One has to say that he usually comes back fit as the butchers dog from his lay offs. Some players learn quicker than others so he will still have a good career, like Robben who got so accusomted to frequent injuries that he always hit the gorund running when coming back so it never really halted his progress.

[Lutch 84]

Starting with the Burnley match, a goal every 105 mins in the league. He needs to stay healthy. 
 

Can not wait to see him w Werner and Ziyech. 

[USATim 20]

Pulisic was healthy today and didn't start. He comes in and the pace immediately quickened. Loftus Cheek looked like he had cement shoes on. There should be no question of Pulisic starting, yet he didn't today. Hope Lampard wakes up. 

[King Kante 1,643]

34 minutes ago, USATim said:

Pulisic was healthy today and didn't start. He comes in and the pace immediately quickened. Loftus Cheek looked like he had cement shoes on. There should be no question of Pulisic starting, yet he didn't today. Hope Lampard wakes up. 

To be fair, with today's selection I think SFL was being cute and trying to manage the squad for the City game. For that game, I expect Puli and Tammy to start.

[Jase 43,479]

6 minutes ago, King Kante said:

To be fair, with today's selection I think SFL was being cute and trying to manage the squad for the City game. For that game, I expect Puli and Tammy to start.

IIRC, we are gonna play like every 3-4 days till the end of July. So Lampard is definitely going to rotate and keep everyone fresh.

[Jase 43,479]

Already equaled his best goalscoring tally in a season.

Should get into double figures by the end of the season.

[Supermonkey92 1,428]

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic has been directly involved in seven goals in his last eight away Premier League games (five goals, two assists).




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[NikkiCFC 8,317]

Second best goalscorer, only Tammy scored more and sharing first place with most assists... And played 1000+ minutes less than Willian, Tammy, Mount... 

Our best player!

[King Kante 1,643]

Puli is proving to be a decent player. We really need him to stay fit as his injury record hasn't been the greatest. Hopefully, he can be like Robben who had a lot of injuries when here then seemed to stop picking them up.