AC Milan was dead in the water. Down 2-0 in the second half to rivals Inter Milan, AC, which had entered the day as big underdogs to win the Italian Supercoppa, was staring up a mountain whose peak was obscured from view. That’s when American soccer star Christian Pulisic began to climb.
Pulisic, a native of Hershey, Pennsylvania, wasn’t even supposed to be in the game. Coming off a weeks-long injury that hampered what has been a revelatory season at Milan, Pulisic had only regained his health in the short weeks leading up to the Italian Cup final, played in Saudi Arabia of all places. As he did in the Semifinals against Juventus a week earlier, Pulisic found a higher gear not often attributed to American soccer players.
After AC found a goal to bring them within striking distance of Inter, Pulisic darted into the box, collected a bullet pass from French left-back Theo Hernández and smashed the ball into the right corner to even up the derby in the 80th minute. AC had life again thanks to the intrepid, bustling work of the American sharpshooter who is already being discussed as the greatest Yank to ever play the sport.
But Pulisic wasn’t done. With seven minutes of extra time to go, Pulisic picked up the ball on the right side of the pitch, darted into the center of the field and produced a sublime pass into the steaming path of Portuguese winger Rafael Leao, who steered it across the goal mouth for an easy tap-in that put AC on top for good. It was the sort of deft craftsmanship rarely produced by American players who have long been viewed by their European counterparts as effective grinders who lack a maestro’s touch. In Riyadh on Tuesday, Pulisic played Pavarotti.
It hasn’t been a linear path for Pulisic, who first burst onto the scene at 17 years old for the German powerhouse Borussia Dortmund. Dubbed a wunderkind for his electric runs and clinical finishes, Pulisic produced a string of goals and assists in big time games for Dortmund before winning a dream transfer to top Premier League club Chelsea for an eye-watering sum of $58 million. It made him the most expensive American soccer transfer of all time and expectations were sky high.
The one they call “Captain America” had anything but a superhero arc during 2 up and down years at the London club. Initially, things looked fantastic for Pulisic and Chelsea. In one of his first matches for the Blues, Pulisic banged in three goals, becoming only the second American—and the first since the Texas-born legend Clint Dempsey—to notch a hat trick in Premier League play. Pulisic was nominated for the Premier League Young Player of the Year after netting 11 goals and 10 assists across all competitions during a sterling 2020 season.
But then came the injuries. Pulisic struggled mightily with his hamstring. His lack of consistent health and Chelsea’s knack for purchasing talented, high-dollar recruits left Pulisic fighting for a spot on the pitch only a year after his big transfer from Dortmund. Chelsea, which once struck fear in the hearts of opposition under the brooding stewardship of Russian owner Roman Abramovich, was also mired in its own troubling cycle. Although Pulisic would find Champions League glory with Chelsea in 2021, another string of injuries and a shuffling of coaches left Pulisic to seek a move after only three years at the club.
Pulisic was still wanted by just about everyone. An American soccer player of his caliber is rare, and so too is the money in jersey sales that go along with an expanding U.S. fanbase. Pulisic chose Milan. It wasn’t the easy route. Though Americans have become a mainstay in the Premier League and the German Bundesliga, Italy’s top division of Serie A has, until recently, bucked the trend.
“There’s the old saying: ‘What do Americans know about soccer?’” explains Franco Zagari, who runs Milan’s fan club in New York City. That stereotype mostly kept Americans out of the league, with the only name-worthy Yanks finding success in its history being Michael Bradley and Alexi Lalas for only brief intervals.
But that’s all changing now. In a November match between AC Milan and Juventus, four Americans—Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Yunus Musah, and Pulisic—were named to the first-team squads. And another young American, Gianluca Busio, commonly features for the Serie A squad Venezia. Though they all play instrumental roles for their clubs, none have found the success of Pulisic, who has notched 17 goals and 12 assists in only 50 games during his first two seasons at Milan.
Pulisic’s success on the field is slowly changing the perception of American soccer players in Italy. But it’s been Pulisic’s off-the-field maneuvers that have won him even greater favor with the nation’s fans. Taking advantage of Milan’s language program, Pulisic quickly learned Italian and gave an interview in Italian following his victory in this week’s cup.
“His own personality has carried him past the stereotype of Americans as being brash,” noted Zagari.
Pulisic, likewise, has taken a liking to the soccer-crazed country. Speaking of his new digs in November, the Pennsylvania-born goalscorer sounded right at home. “You just notice the passion of the fans just a little bit more than the places that I’ve played,” Pulisic said. “Football is everything for them here. It matters a lot.”
Pulisic and Milan’s focus now turn to domestic and European competitions in the coming months. Though Milan is struggling mid-table in Serie A, the club sits just outside the qualifying zone for the new-format Champions League playoffs. They face Spanish squad Girona and Croatian giants Dinamo Zagreb in the final qualifying games, where Pulisic is set to play a key role.
For American soccer fans, all eyes are on the Summer of 2026 when the United States is set to host a joint World Cup with Canada and Mexico. If all goes well, Pulisic will lead the Red, White, and Blue and its young squad teeming with talent into the most hyped World Cup in American history. Expectations will be high for the Americans, and much of that is owed to the potential Pulisic has shown on pitches across the world.
For now, the 26-year-old Pulisic can hang his hat on an achievement that seemed unattainable only a few short years ago—an Italian Cup champion. Milan couldn’t have done it without Pulisic, our American soccer star.
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