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- Christian Pulisic is the fourth youngest player to score in the Bundesliga history, and the youngest non-German to achieve the feat.
- He came on as a second half substitute on 30th January against Ingolstdt to become the eighth youngest debutante in the Bundesliga history.
- In March this year, he became the youngest ever player to represent the United States of America in a FIFA World Cup qualifier.
These are some of the accolades that the United States international has achieved at just 17 years of age. Pulisic, son of professional indoor football player Mark, started his football education at Pennsylvania Classics, and caught the eye of Borussia Dortmund scouts to earn himself a transfer to the Signal Iduna Park outfit last year.
The youngster soon slotted into the reserve side of the Black and Yellows and was taken by the senior side to Dubai during this season’s winter break and caught the eye of first team manager Thomas Tuchel to earn himself a league debut against Ingolstadt in January. His progress has been rapid since. Playing as an attacking midfielder, he has gone on to make seven appearances thus far.
It is some achievement for a 17-year-old midfielder to earn himself a spot in a team that has players like Shinji Kagawa, Gonzalo Castro, Nuri Sahin and Ilkay Gundogan. He went on to make his full debut against Hamburg last week and capped off a great night with his first goal for the first team.
Talking about his inaugural goal for the first team, he says: “I am just happy. It’s a great feeling to have scored my first competitive goal. It’s just outstanding, we played a short corner. Mats [Hummels] sets me up perfectly. And I strike inside the near post.”
Playing Style
The youngster plays as an attacking midfielder, working as a link between the forwards and the deep lying midfielders to create chances as well as moving up to convert chances on his own. It is one of the most crucial positions on the football pitch and requires players with great vision to succeed in the role and the way he has been playing, things look bright for the future.
Future at Borussia Dortmund
He is undoubtedly a favourite of Tuchel. The number of chances he has been getting attests to the fact that the former Mainz manager holds the youngster in high regard. He is expected to become a mainstay for the club for a long time to come, if he continues progressing at the same rate. His playing time during the 2016/17 season will show a clearer picture about his role at the club.
Prospects with the national team
On the grounds of his father’s ancestry Pulisic was eligible to play for Croatia as well, but he has chosen represent the Stars and Stripes and the fact that Jurgen Klinsmann has already handed him his first team debut means that the German sees the youngster as someone who can make a difference to the team that has been struggling off late.
He will be expected to get a lot of playing time at the upcoming Copa America that the United States will be hosting.
Wasi is a keen fan with loads of knowledge about the game. He has written for some of the world’s leading soccer websites and is a major Barcelona and Pune City FC fan. He loves the Champions League and watches 200+ EPL games & La Liga games per season.