Born in the United States, making his name in Germany. So how did England play a part in Christian Pulisic’s development? Michael Hincks talks with Mark Pulisic to discuss his son’s journey from Hershey to Dortmund, via a little town outside Oxford.
Jurgen Klopp hardly needed a reminder of Pulisic’s talent. After all, he was in charge of Borussia Dortmund when the teenager joined the German giants three years ago. But he got one nonetheless on Sunday night.
The Liverpool boss could only watch on as Pulisic came off the bench to score twice and secure a 3-1 friendly win for Dortmund at the Bank on America Stadium in Charlotte.In turning the game on its head, Pulisic once more turned heads. Klopp himself admitted he’s a fan, while Real Madrid have become the latest club reportedly interested in signing the 19-year-old, with a figure of £60m accompanying the rumours.
Another club, another week, or so Pulisic’s father would tell you, having readily dismissed rumours of a move to the Premier League when talking to Sky Sports. Mark described links with Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United as “hogwash”, a nugget of a line within many when discussing his son’s development.
But what preceded talk of Christian’s future was discussions about his upbringing, of parenting a burgeoning talent, of knowing when he was ready to fly the nest. Somewhat poetically, this coming-of-age story begins in a little town outside Oxford…
One year in England
Against the advice of teachers and professors, Wikipedia was a first port of call when researching Pulisic’s background. ‘Considered by many to be the top American soccer prospect’, reads one line for Christian Mate Pulisic’s entry, but it’s below his picture on the right-hand side where two years and words stand out more than most – 2005-2006 Brackley Town.
This stay in Brackley – 22 miles from Oxford, though actually in Northamptonshire – allowed his father Mark to attain part of his UEFA A coaching licence at Lilleshall while wife Kelley was on a teaching exchange. It was a year which also ignited seven-year-old Christian’s love for football, in which he played for Brackley Town, currently in the sixth-tier of English football, and visited a whole host of stadiums.
“Of course we were football crazy,” Mark said. “We travelled all over and took in all the nuances of what English football is – the craziness outside the stadiums, the chanting inside and signing the songs. He really got a feel for what passion the Premier League and English people have. He remembers it to this day. For sure it had an impact in the short time we were there.”
There were visits to Anfield, where mark recalls a 1-0 win for Liverpool against Arsenal, a trip to Old Trafford for Manchester United against Spurs, and then games at White Hart Lane and Craven Cottage too. “It was a good time, good to look back on,” Mark added.
The Pulisics returned Stateside, and after a brief spell in Michigan, Christian spent the majority of his youth career at PA Classics in Pennsylvania. The club’s director of coaching, Steve Klein, told Bleacher Report last year when it comes to football parents, you have those who are overly critical, and those who take their kid for ice cream after the game. “Mark and Kelley are ice cream parents,” he said.
That certainly rings true during conversation with Mark: “I never put any type of pressure on him at all, to perform at a certain standard or to have to be the best – that was within him.
“I just made sure he wasn’t over-analysing things too much, because he had a drive and a passion that he was born with, so I just made sure he had fun. I didn’t talk so much about the game to him, I made sure he had other avenues, to enjoy life and other sports, and to just love the game.”
So why Dortmund? To aid Christian’s development, Mark would take him back across the pond to train with European clubs – including at Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy – to help him acclimatise to what was soon to become the inevitable.
Christian was destined for a future in Europe, but where exactly remained up for debate. At least until Dortmund came calling. “It was kind of a perfect storm,” Mark said. “He wasn’t ready to go anywhere, there were a lot of clubs I don’t even remember when he was 13, 14, but he wasn’t ready.”