In the docuseries Pulisic, currently streaming on Paramount+, we’re getting to see a new side of the leader of the United States men’s national team, Christian Pulisic. From how he ended up at Borussia Dortmund as a young gem to meeting his athlete-girlfriend and everything in between, it’s quite a look into what makes Pulisic tick.
For someone who has always wanted to be the best soccer player in the world, the episodes so far have offered quite a lens, not only into what it takes to reach his level, but also some of the struggles that can be experienced while making his way to the top. Pulisic operates out of the public eye generally despite the stature that he has gained as a soccer player and this docuseries has been an unrivaled look into more of his background.
Let’s take a look at some of the top things that we’ve learned so far:
The best player on the field doesn’t play for Barcelona?
Playing youth soccer for the United States led to one of the moments that put Pulisic on the map. He was usually playing up a year on the youth national team and helped lead them to win a Nike friendlies tournament where he also was the MVP as the best player of the tournament.
During a tournament, talent scout Rob Moore sent someone to watch Pulisic play Barcelona’s team. When the scout reported back that Pulisic was the “best player on the field,” Moore was stunned as this was even while playing an academy with the history and stature of Barcelona. An undersized American was the best player on the field? This would lead to Pulisic spending some time training with Arsenal before his break came with Dortmund.
Even that was quite an adjustment leaving the United States for the first time but his dad, Mark Pulisic, making the move with him to Germany helped make it a smoother adjustment. His dad also challenged him.
“If it doesn’t work, you’re not enjoying it, we go home,” Mark Pulisic said.
“He knew what that would do to me. He would say, ‘Go ahead, quit, let’s go home. That didn’t sit right with me,” Christian Pulisic said.
Dealing with no longer being the best player on the pitch and adjusting to players from different backgrounds was quite a growth moment for Pulisic, setting the stage for him moving forward as a soccer player. He was even unable to play professionally early on at Dortmund due to his age, which he hated, and training until he was able to secure a Croatian passport via his grandfather was all he could do until being eligible. Dortmund would only be the start of what has been an incredible career for the American so far.
Meeting his partner
Pulisic even opened up on his dating history and how now being at a more stable point in his career, Instagram direct messaging ended up being the route to finding his girlfriend, golfer Alexa Melton. It all started on Instagram.
“I slid in the DMs as they call it,” Pulisic said while smiling from ear to ear.
“I got the DM and I was like who is this dude with eight million followers and why is he DMing me, and I scrolled through his whole Instagram, and I was like, ‘Oh, he’s a big-time soccer player,'” Melton said.
While golf is something that Pulsic also enjoys, the better golfer out of the duo.
Off the links, she has been able to get him to open up more to people while finding a balance between his social life and his career even down to pushing him to share his own feelings. Weston McKennie said it’s a bit of a return to reality for Pulisic since she sees him as who he is and not, “Captain America” like others can.
Mental health struggles
Pulisic also experienced highs and lows mentally especially with managerial transitions of being under Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel. This led to Pulisic not feeling the same joy that he was used to when getting up to play soccer every morning. Being someone with high expectations, Pulisic puts a lot of pressure on himself but sometimes that can be too much.
“I’m playing at a high level right now with some of the best in the world, but I feel like to stay on that level and to reach that level, you have to have this level of confidence that sometimes I feel like I miss,” Pulisic said. “I don’t know, I don’t have that constant cocky confidence that some of the best have, and that’s the next step. That’s the next step to get to the top.”
Being able to speak with someone about what he’s going through has helped Pulisic navigate those difficult times in his career especially while so much was going on with the pandemic and soccer in England being suspended. Isolated in London, Pulisic didn’t have the same access to family and friends that others would during that time.
Chelsea exit
Making the move from Dortmund to Chelsea where Pulisic would play a critical role in winning a Champions League title is quite a moment for him and American soccer as a whole. Being able to play at the highest level with the Blues is something that many players don’t ever get to do let alone doing it as an American.
Pulisic called scoring in the UCL semifinal against Real Madrid one of the best goals that he has ever scored but it didn’t make sense to start the second leg from the bench. According to his dad, club directors were writing to his agents that Pulisic was tanking in practice which was the beginning of the end. When Lampard took over the Blues, Pulisic’s playing time dropped as he came in and out of the XI.
“When people start saying negative things about you at the club, then it’s clear that you’re not wanted there anymore, and that’s not a good feeling. So, that’s when I knew it was time to move on,” he said.
He’s almost played for more managers than he could name at Chelsea and it makes it tough to adjust to everyone at the club when the club itself doesn’t have stability. He did his best to channel frustration with being forced to prove himself over and over at Chelsea but at a point, it was best to move on to his current journey at Milan. Chelsea were still a strong point in his career and every step along the way he has been able to mark.
Lazio death threats
March of last year brought about a wild incident where Pulisic helped draw two red cards for Milan in a tense match with Lazio, and he received death threats as a result.
After Milan scored in a 1-0 victory, Pulisic drew the second red, this one from Matteo Guendouzi, lashing out after a tactical foul. He received death threats on social media from fans after that match.
“After the game with the amount of things out there online and the death threats, people telling me how horrible of a sport I am, and even the guy that it happened to saying how unsportsmanlike behavior won today. I couldn’t believe it,” Pulisic said.
His dad encouraged him to use that moment as a way to respond the right way and use it as movitation, which was echoed by one of the game’s greats.
“I remember after the game he felt bad for what had happened. I said, ‘No, get used to this because this is Italy,” Milan legend and club advisor Zlatan Ibrahimovic said.
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