Christian Pulisic - Youngstar - Goals & Skills | 2015/16
The would-be saviors traveled through the U.S. academies and national teams, shining brightly as props on commercials and magazine covers until proven fraudulent.
Eddie Johnson. Jozy Altidore. Bobby Convey. Juan Agudelo. Freddy Adu. They were studs who disappointed to varying degrees, none more stunningly than Adu (more on that later). Thomas Rongen coached them all.
In the latest phenom, a 17-year-old midfielder named Christian Pulisic, Rongen sees something different something substantial beyond typical American potential. The evidence is already there.
When its all said and done you dont want to put pressure on a kid like that, like Freddy Adu but I really think that Pulisic is going to be the best player the United States has ever produced, Rongen, the former longtime U-20 coach for the U.S., told the Daily News.
Pulisic has accomplished more than any American ever at his age, rising from a town (Hershey, Pa.) known more for its chocolate bars and amusement park. The son of a Long Islander already moved up to the senior team at Borussia Dortmund in Germany, becoming the youngest player in the history of the Bundesliga to score twice. Thats quite an accomplishment in a league thats 53 years old and, in terms of quality, one of the top-3 in the world.
So this Copa America tournament, with potential matchups against the likes of Lionel Messi, James Rodriguez and Luis Suarez, could serve as notice to the soccer world that finally, after years of would-bes and not-quite-good-enoughs, theres an attacking star from the U.S.
This certainly could be an introduction to a lot of people of Christian Pulisic, and we may look to this tournament and realize that, not necessarily that a star is born, but a star is realized, Alexi Lalas, a Fox Sports analyst and former U.S. National team defender, said. And that would be great. It would be great for him and it would be great for U.S. Soccer.
If a player could come out of the other side, especially at the age of 17, then were off to the races.
There is still caution from Lalas, though, and from Pulisics former U.S. U-17 coach Richie Williams. Neither were as bullish as Rongen when speaking to the News about Pulisic, if only because its too early for such conclusions.
After all, theres a long history of disappointments. And theres Adu.
I think everyone is guarded because we have at times hitched our wagon to young players with potential and it has flamed out, Lalas said.
Added Williams, Its still too early to tell because hes only 17. But you can see hes a talent. Hes already played in Bundesliga games and Europa Cup and played for the National team at an early age. So you can say hes made it already. Now is it going to be a consistent career where h**l play for the next 15 years at a high level, and play for a big club and a national team at a high level? From what I know being around him, I think he can be. Again, its so early. I dont think we should be putting him on a pedestal and saying hes the next great player. Lets see how it goes. We think he has all the tools and the personality.
To analyze whats in store for Pulisic, its relevant to examine what went wrong for Adu how a millionaire and sure-thing at 14 could fall so fast, so obscurely, without major injuries to explain it away.
The short answer, according to Rongen, is that Adu had the wrong attitude. And that manifested itself quickly after he signed with his first pro club at D.C. United.
Rongen, who coached Adu for many years with the U.S. Soccer academy and youth teams, said veteran D.C. players Ben Olsen, Jaime Moreno and Earnie Stewart justifiably lost patience with Adus arrogance.
They just said he walked in with bling, bling, million dollars, making more than anybody else, never kicked a ball in MLS, and they were over-the-top hard on him, Rongen said. They said, Who the f--k is this guy? That was a very tough learning curve for him. He didnt take that well, although years later he said the guys were right. I said, They were right Freddy, especially if you stand outside the bus after the game and all the guys are on the bus waiting to go back to the hotel and you take 20 minutes to answer all the questions. No wonder the veteran players are saying, Who the f--k is this young kid? Get him on the f---ing bus. Things like that he didnt learn. It was all about Freddy, unfortunately. And, yes, very hard for a 16-year-old to understand. He was being compared to Pele, million-dollar Nike contract, etc., etc., being talked about as the savior and the next Pele by MLS brass. Totally unfair to this kid. No wonder he went astray.
Adu then went to Portugal to play at Benfica a move driven by money and his career deteriorated. Today, at still just 26 years old, Adu is riding the bench on the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL, an opportunity given to him by Rongen, who coached the Rowdies until being fired last August.
Rongen acknowledged that Adus hopes for a career revival are probably finished.
Hes floating in obscurity again. This is the last gig I would think, said Rongen. I thought it would be a stepping stone for him. I wanted to help him get back in MLS; I wanted to provide him an opportunity.
The two big reasons why Freddy failed bad advice and not understanding what was reality, and what was fiction.
As Adus career fades to black, here comes Pulisic, who by all accounts is way ahead in terms of drive and maturity. At 15, he moved to Germany with his father, Mark, and quickly became fluent in the language. In the last five months he was capped by the national team and appeared nine times for Borussia Dortmund. U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said Pulisic was in contention to start the opening match of Copa America against Colombia. Playing professionally outside of America and still two years before the World Cup, Pulisic has operated under the radar, without the hype and attention that contributed to Adus derailment. Still, Pulisics career curve suggests a move in the coming years to a richer and more glamorous club a team like Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona or Paris Saint-Germain.
In this respect, Pulisic is also different from the best player in U.S. National team history, Landon Donovan, whose biggest drawback was that he never wanted to leave his narrow comfort zone. Donovan, like Pulisic, was plucked as a teenager by a team in Germany, Bayer Leverkusen, but struggled to adapt to life outside of California and returned home without making an appearance with the senior team.
Aside from ensuing short loans to separate teams in Germany and England, Donovan spent his entire professional career in MLS and California. It frustrated national team coaches, including Bob Bradley and Klinsmann, who thought he never reached his full potential.
Pulisic seems to have assimilated to Germany a lot easier, assisted by the company of his father. It certainly shows on the field.
Its not easy to try to succeed not earning a great deal of money early in your career. Its about respecting your environment and know what its like to make those steps and whats required to make those steps is each and every day, show up, Rongen said. Freddy didnt show up. Freddy showed up three times a week for six training sessions. You cant take a day off. You cant take a game off. You cant take a half off. You cant take a play off when youre 14, 15 or 16. You analyze every single day. It seems like Pulisic really gets that.
From a playing standpoint, hes fast, hes dynamic, which are two American traits. But hes technically and tactically very advanced as well. He is, Id say, with no disrespect to anybody on the national team, probably one of the top-3 players of his current team and Id be surprised if Jurgen Klinsmann doesnt start him.
Pulisic entered Wednesdays Copa America tuneup game against Ecuador as a sub in the second half, helping ignite a 1-0 victory on a late goal for Darlington Nagbe. During one impressive sequence, Pulisic, listed at just 5-8 and 139 pounds, dispossessed an Ecuadorian player and outmuscled two to maintain possession.
I think for a small and wiry guy he is still athletic. He has agility and moves well and is quick. I think hes going to be okay and I think hes still growing a little bit, said Williams, who coached Pulisic for two years with the U.S. U-17s. For me, for players who are attacking players, like a Freddy Adu, they always say hes so technical, hes so good with the ball, but is there an end product? Is there a result. And for me, with Christian, theres an end product. Hes not just out there to play. Hes going to get an assist, hes scoring to score. Hes going to put the other team under pressure, hes going to put them on their heels because hes going to be aggressive, hes going at you. Hes going to create for himself and his teammates. A lot of times with attacking players, you say, Oh he looks great, he has a good first touch, but he never creates. But Christian is different.
Thats the key word with Pulisic: different. The Americans are banking on that.
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