Christian Mate Pulisic (born September 18, 1998) is an American professional soccer player who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Premier League club Chelsea and the United States national team. Because of his high level of play and his nationality, he has been given the nickname "Captain America" by fans and other players.
Pulisic began his professional career at German club Borussia Dortmund, where, after fast progression through the team's youth academy, in which he featured in only 15 youth games, he was promoted to the senior team in 2016, at age 17. He featured sparingly in his first season at the club, but his involvement increased dramatically in the following campaign, where he was a mainstay in the Dortmund team that won the 2016–17 DFB-Pokal. In 2018, he finished second in the inaugural Kopa Trophy, given to the best player under age 21.
In January 2019, Pulisic moved to Chelsea in a transfer worth $73 million (£57.6 million), making him the most expensive North American player of all time, and began playing for the club in the 2019–20 season. At 21 years old he became the youngest Chelsea player to score a hat-trick. During the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League, Pulisic became the youngest Chelsea player and first American to score in the semi-finals. He then became the first American to play in a UEFA Champions League Final, winning the 2021 match.
Pulisic played for the United States at under-15 and under-17 levels, before making his senior national team debut in March 2016 at age 17. He is the youngest player ever to captain the United States national team in the modern era. He helped the U.S. to the final of the 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup and won the inaugural 2019–20 CONCACAF Nations League. Individually, he has won a U.S. Soccer Young Male Athlete of the Year award and three U.S. Soccer Male Athlete of the Year awards.
Following his promotion to the Dortmund first team, FourFourTwo writer Andy Mitten wrote that the Dortmund manager Thomas Tuchel "saw the potential – the speed, sharpness, strength, sublime fitness and mature decision-making that belied his age." Tuchel called Pulisic "the kind of guy who's very self-confident, shows his talent on the pitch, and doesn't show any nerves under pressure – which is a wonderful combination." Pulisic's Dortmund teammate Nuri Şahin said, "He's fearless [...] He has so much speed, but what I like most is his first touch. When he gets the ball, his first touch opens up a huge space for him even if there's no space." Since the 2018–19 season, Pulisic was most often deployed on the wing for Dortmund, and this has continued at Chelsea. Because of his style of play, Pulisic is often subjected to fouls by opponents. |
