ESPN has an article on players being reluctant to change clubs this close to the Cup. Richard Motzkin has a quote that’s on point. https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...ay-some-mls-based-usmnt-stars-european-dreams I think we are all retrofitting how we as adults think, onto children. I remember my childhood. I played because it was fun.
I think Pulisic asked out of the Gold Cup because he was nursing nagging injuries and because he hadn't had a real, non-injury break since at least 2023 because of Copa América. He's not that robust physically, and I simply think he knows that both for Serie A AND for the World Cup, he really couldn't afford to try and play three straight years with no real break. That's tough physically and mentally, but Pulisic, especially, is prone to a breakdown.
I totally get it. .................and I was all in favor of giving Pulisic that break after playing ~50 games for club and country during the 24/25 season. He wanted a break to recharge prior to the 25/26 season. When I started being a fan, guys didn't ask out of USMNT events. Not that we knew of anyway. The USMNT was the pinnacle achievement for most of them. The first USMNT game I attended live was 1991, so its was just a different era. [By the way, at that game we lost to Bermuda.] This will be a continuing theme as we move forward as a national team program. That guys aren't going to risk their multimillion dollar careers to play against St. Kitts & Nevis at the Gold Cup. Its a risk/reward thing. Its just a different era. You see this thing all the time with nations like Spain. Many of the upper tier players found a reason to not go to their last camp after Turkey and Georgia. Yamine Lamal's situation was baffling to the federation. Lamine Yamal's 'abnormal' removal from Spain squad sparks Barcelona-Spain firestorm as boss responds It wasn't just Yamal. A bunch of other players found minor injuries, but of course then played right after the international window. Its the way it goes at the elite level.
Yeah, I don't disagree. I just think that the National Team is still very important to Christian and that part of the reason was truly to be more ready for the World Cup. Phrasing it that he asked out to prep for Serie implies that it was solely for Serie A and I don't think that's true. There's just too much soccer for someone playing continental club play and national team play, etc. The only other sport that really plays 10 months a year is basketball, and there's a reason Team USA only shows up for the Olympics and nothing else.
I know you are not hating on Christian, but in fairness, we also have never had a guy who is the focal point of one of the biggest teams in the world, AC Milan. That's a TON of pressure and a ton of physical exertion.
But see that mentality was so essential to our ability to punch above our weight in past generations. The USMNT was everything to those players. They'd fight tooth and nail to earn every single cap, even if it was a Camp Cupcake friendly. I don't care how much money those guys in Europe make or what fancy club they play for. I want those players who will fight for the badge, no matter the cost or risk. Those are the players who will give us the best chance to make a run and/or pull an upset.
Totally. I agree with all of that. Its these elite Champions-league caliber players like Pulisic who end up playing an exorbitant number of games for club and country. [I get that Pulisic won't have Europe at all this year.] The challenge is that even for the guys that don't play 50+ games, its the intensity with which the game is being played that's also the problem. That Sunderland-Man City game yesterday. Holy mackerel. Those Sunderland players went "ALL OUT" for 90 minutes. The pressing and work-rate of those players was off the charts. So its not just these guys that play for the "biggest teams." We see the consequences of this with what happened to Antonee Robinson last season. I think we're seeing that a little bit with Pochettino. Talent and club pedigree aren't everything to him. You have to want it. Diego Luna is sort of "exhibit A." A guy who WANTS to be there, and fights like hell for the jersey. Pochettino seemed to fall in love with him when he broke his nose but kept wanting to play. And he didn't break his nose against Spain in the World Cup and wanted to keep playing. He broke his nose in a meaningless January friendly against Costa Rica and wanted to keep playing. I think you see the exclusion of some players like Johnny and Yunus in this regard. Those are players that have asked out of events/camps in the last year and a half. There are players who aren't as talented as them that are going to make the World cup roster. They aren't having great club seasons. But those seasons are for Athletico Madrid and Atalanta. Not the Vancouver Whitecaps. Sebastian Berhalter is fighting to be there. I see no sign that Pulisic doesn't "Want it." He's our active goals leaders, assists leader, and caps leader. And, by the way, he only recently turned 27. Just so we're all on the same page regarding Pulisic's importance. He has 32 goals. You can add the goals of our next three active goalscorers (Pepi, McKennie, and Reyna) to get 33. Active being defined as guys who've been called up by Pochettino. Pulisic has more goals for the USMNT as a 27 year old than Brian McBride had in his USMNT career. Last I checked, Brian McBride was a center forward. Arguably, and perhaps its not much of an argument, the best center forward in the history of the program. Pulisic has more goals than McBride in fewer caps. His goals per cap rate is also better than Altidore and Donovan, by the way. We're really not going anywhere special at the World Cup without Pulisic at his best. Can we get a result against Paraguay without him? Sure. But we're not advancing past the round of 16 without Pulisic at his best. We're not beating Belgium if Diego Luna is starting instead of Pulisic.
The reality is that if we want to be anything more than a plucky underdog, we need to have both talent and commitment / fight / intensity / effort. The key is to get our best players to play with that fire, not to exile players quickly. There's a false dichotomy here, much like the old athleticism v skill debate. You may need to stop calling a player in at some point, but it shouldn't be a decision made early or too easily. Pochettino is a good coach for this, because Argentina has a lot of great players at high level clubs who still very much value the National Team. They also have many of the same issues with it that European players don't face -- namely the incredibly taxing travel schedule that comes with being a regular. It's even worse for them in some ways because the travel is far worse though they don't crowd the schedule like CONCACAF does. And the reality is that he recognized what was, I think, for most of the guys, a temporary malaise. Missing the Gold Cup isn't some sign of a permanent issue; even Messi, who clearly loves playing for Argentina, has quit the national team a couple of times. Guys like Pulisic and Adams clearly care. Despite what others have posted, I'd be willing to be both would pick a World Cup win over a UCL win (though Christian has done the latter, so it's easy to do). Do they get comfortable and perhaps take it for granted? Sure, and that's what Poch has been working on. Will there be guys who simply can't put in that commitment? Of course. We've had them before, and there's likely some now. At some point, you cut bait. But most of our very best players do care. If Christian has any issue, actually, it's that he cares a bit too much, I think.
I find it hard to believe any player who's played for the US in multiple youth games including U17, U20 WC's and / or the Olympics along with full team caps don't value winning the WC over everything else. They might think there's a better chance to win a Champion's League than a WC but that doesn't mean it's more important.
We don't know. But we can tell from comments and actions that the World Cup is important to these guys. Its a good assumption. The Gold Cup is another story. For several cycles in a row the message we'd sent to the players was "The Gold Cup is for the B team." Then we acted surprised that some of our players didn't prioritize playing at the Gold Cup. Pulisic apparently did want to play against Turkey and Switzerland, but not the Gold Cup. He hadn't played at the Gold Cup in 2021 and 2023 either. I think Pulisic was probably shocked by the backlash. Its like.................."I'm doing the same thing I did in 2021 and 2023. Nobody said anything then." As our national team advances the next 25 years, it will be interesting to see how our "star" Europe-based players treat these CONCACAF competitions. Cuz I don't think Pulisic's attitude will be considered all that uncommon. The European season is a difficult grind, and these guys do need a vacation. Even a guy not playing in the Champions league, like a Brenden Aaronson, is playing a lot of games in a very physical sport. He'll play over 2000 minutes this season. Pressing like a maniac for over 2000 minutes.
As a practical matter, I think this is crucial. Pulisic leading us to a title next summer would make him (and a bunch of other players) eternal legends. Because it’s America, because it would be our first, and we have no history to speak of sans 1930. Dutch might feel the same. But a guy playing for Germany might prefer a CL win, especially if he plays for Leverkusen, or a club at a similar level.
I'm not trying to start an argument but those two players are worlds apart. There's a reason the majority of top clubs are courting Wharton.
Indeed. And of course Tyler Adams is seemingly hurt a lot. I'm convinced we'd see more rumors about Tyler Adams if not for that. Of course #2, is that Tyler Adams has literally played in a Champions League semifinal. There's that. He's actually scored in a Champions League quarterfinal against Athletico Madrid. But whatever. Pulisic played in a Champions League final. Could have, should have scored to put that game away against Man City but missed the chance. Chelsea fans I've talked to really liked Pulisic. He just couldn't stay healthy. They cashed in and moved on. Didn't actually sell him for all that much considering his talent. Do I think Pulisic could get into the England squad? Maybe. But England wouldn't be calling him up over a Phil Foden or Cole Palmer. Over Rashford or Saka or those attacking players? Probably not. Central players like Bellingham and Rodgers? No. Eze? Pulisic or Eze? Hmmm...................very different types of players. But maybe. Pulisic is having a great season for Milan. But again, he missed a stretch with an injury. An annual event. If the USMNT has just the trio of Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, and Chris Richards all healthy for the World Cup it'll be a minor miracle. That's not even considering Antonee Robinson, who's missed a long stretch with injury.
I mean yeah, Wharton and Adams aren't like-for-like comparisons. Wharton is in the England squad largely because he has a very unique skill set (which is why big clubs like him so much). Adams' best qualities are off the ball for me. Fwiw I think Pulisic would get in the England squad (and start a good number of games), at least for me anyway. He's extremely well rounded and his output is too consistently high to be ignored. There's arguably only France and Brazil whose squad would be out of reach for him with their dense pool of LWs.
Yes. This post reminded me of a conversation I had with an uncle a few years back, wherein he indicated the importance, in his view, of providing experiences for his daughter (my cousin), disregarding what, as an adult, one might think of any specific experience. He said--and I think I agree with him--that it's crucial that parents provide the opportunities to experience that's most important in their kid's development. Kids will pick out their own most important moments for themselves, but you've got to provide the opportunity for them to choose.
Christian Pulisic’s left-fist goal called back Christian Pulisic‘s spirited but futile play in AC Milan’s 1-1 home tie with Genoa included a goal called back by a VAR handball ruling. Second-place AC Milan’s outing against the 17th-place foe would have been even more embarrassing had Nicolae Stanciu not blasted Genoa’s stoppage-time penalty kick over the crossbar. Watch (): The Pulisic goal called back Referee Maurizio Mariani did not caution Pulisic for the VAR-reviewed handball, even though the rulebook stipulates a yellow card. Gazzetta dello Sport player ratings: 1=low; 10-high. Gazzetta dello Sport on Pulisic: “Like Leão, it’s clear he’s not at his best. And yet he’s always there, even in moments of poor finishing or fatigue: eight shots were not enough to get his name on the scoresheet.” (Gazzetta dello Sport rating: Pulisic 5.5. 1=low; 10=high.)
i mean, Milan need a reliable center forward. Santiago Gimenez has been disappointing and then hurt. A 3-5-2 with Leao and Pulisic up top is a thing. Without Pulisic's goals they'd be in big trouble this season. The only Milan player nominated for Team of the Year. 2009272865019830640 is not a valid tweet id
Interesting, say more. It had been my impression that this happened in the 1980s or so, and we were trying to wiggle our way out of it, with slow but at least partial progress. What do we think went backwards in the early 2000s? Yeah, a lot of the low-hanging fruit like eg truly special talents not getting moved to better environments out of pure ego, has been picked, and the differences between us and the real elite systems are getting more subtle.
In the 80's and 90s development was the Wild, Wild West. Kids just played and randos just coached. Some well and some bad. In the late 90s it became organized and then outcomes were centered around team wins. Winning teams got players, attention and parent's money. US parents didn't know any better so they couldn't demand better. It took the USSF dumping some money and getting clubs to focus on development over wins. Now, there are a lot of soccer families and a lot of well trained coaches. There are still issues though but the structure and focus is better. Development clubs are also now older so they can point to players that were developed.
I have always suspected that an anti-immigrant backlash and the desire of immigrants to fit in and Americanize (which rose significantly over the course of WWI and the 1920s) had a lot to do with it as well. My father-in-law grew up in Fall River, MA, as the son of a Portuguese immigrant, played a bunch of sports and is a big sports fan, but had no connection to soccer--and also speaks hardly a word of his parents' native tongue (his mother was born here, but of recently arrived Portuguese parents, and spoke Portuguese) and has never visited their birthplace. (Meanwhile my wife and I have.) Fall River being such a historical hotbed of the sport (I think Billy Gonsalves is a distant cousin by marriage), I think if he'd grown up there 25 years or so earlier this might have been very different. Yeah, I think one's mileage varies significantly by where that kid comes from. I think for many European kids this is right, but Americans much less so.
Gazzetta dello Sport player ratings: 1=low; 10-high. Italy: Gazzetta dello Sport ratings (1=low; 10=high). 5 Christian Pulisic (AC Milan) 90 minutes (1-1 at Fiorentina)
I'm going to draw a line here, as the discussion is wandering into a more explicitly political area. Let's keep the focus on CP, please.