# THE CHRISTIAN PULISIC BLUEPRINT



## Wez (Jun 9, 2017)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2713937

_"How to make an American prodigy who can finally (finally!) be worthy of the world's game: start 'em early (with a side of Doritos), put 'em on the second-best team, vacation like Messi and, above all else, have fun out there. Like so."_


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## ajaxahi (Jun 9, 2017)

Genetics + Drive + Environment (Soccer Culture) = World Class. 

In the end it matters very little how much we as parents push them, coach them, take them to privates, etc.  It has to come from them.  The best thing parents can do is help instill a love of the game and above all else, make it FUN.


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## Wez (Jun 9, 2017)

Yea, he had a lot of factors helping him, but it sounds like he was driven regardless, which is the most important thing.


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## justneededaname (Jun 9, 2017)

ajaxahi said:


> Genetics + Drive + Environment (Soccer Culture) = World Class.
> 
> In the end it matters very little how much we as parents push them, coach them, take them to privates, etc.  It has to come from them.  The best thing parents can do is help instill a love of the game and above all else, make it FUN.


But it definitely helps if the parents have connections at academies in Europe to give him the opportunity to go and train. Or start and run a futsal league so he has somewhere to play. Or have the job skills that let the family pick up and move to England for a time. Or the job skills so dad can get hired by Dortmund so the kid can move to their academy. So they may not have been the crazy parent on the sideline screaming at their kid to try harder and dragging them all over against their will, but they were sure were doing everything that they could to give him the opportunity to become a star. And I am pretty sure the kid picked up on everything his parents were doing for him and it probably helped motivate him to keep pushing a little harder.


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## younothat (Jun 9, 2017)

Yeah.....cheers....return of the #10.....

*Blue*print....?? If/when soccer players are cloned?


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## JJP (Jun 9, 2017)

justneededaname said:


> But it definitely helps if the parents have connections at academies in Europe to give him the opportunity to go and train. Or start and run a futsal league so he has somewhere to play. Or have the job skills that let the family pick up and move to England for a time. Or the job skills so dad can get hired by Dortmund so the kid can move to their academy. So they may not have been the crazy parent on the sideline screaming at their kid to try harder and dragging them all over against their will, but they were sure were doing everything that they could to give him the opportunity to become a star. And I am pretty sure the kid picked up on everything his parents were doing for him and it probably helped motivate him to keep pushing a little harder.


Exactly.  The idea "we just sat back and let his talent develop" is BS.  The kid has to have the talent and drive, but if you live in the US, you can't just sit back and let it happen.


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## Box2Box (Jun 9, 2017)

JJP said:


> Exactly.  The idea "we just sat back and let his talent develop" is BS.  The kid has to have the talent and drive, but if you live in the US, you can't just sit back and let it happen.


Your forgetting about the Doritos man! That's the real secret


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## Wez (Jun 9, 2017)

He clearly had the wind at his back, but he was playing up 2 age groups a lot.  Combination of natural talent, drive and an amazing support sphere he lived in.

He stuck with Soccer too, didn't get distracted with Football/baseball/basketball.

I'm guessing we're going to see more of this type of success ahead of us as US soccer evolves.


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## JJP (Jun 9, 2017)

TCD said:


> The one thing I notice people don't want to talk about is the screaming on the sidelines/getting on your kid's ass when the "mess up" in a game or don't give it 100% in practice etc.
> We all need to admit that those behaviors don't. help. at. all. The only thing we instill in our kids with that behavior is a sure but steady hatred of the game (whatever sport it may be).


I think you need a mix of carrot and stick.  Weak praise or nice try for crap play isn't going to work either.

I've noticed most coaches rarely criticize kids, they just bench them.  They don't want to offend a sensitive kid, or piss off a sensitive parent.  It's great that feelings weren't hurt, but ignoring mistakes is not going to eliminate them.

Can't make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

In Pulisic's case, it's obvious that in addition to his immense talent he had incredible drive, and a dad that went to incredible lengths to open doors for his very talented and driven son.


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## El Clasico (Jun 9, 2017)

justneededaname said:


> But it definitely helps if the parents have connections at academies in Europe to give him the opportunity to go and train.


You no longer need connections in Europe.  With the DA coming up on its 10th anniversary and really no return to show for its efforts and investments, agencies have popped up in more than a few places over the past couple of years to facilitate the movement of the gifted players from the US to Europe.  If you are wondering if your kid is "gifted" enough for these programs, you would have already been approached if your child is of academy age.  In other words, don't call us, we'll call you.


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## PLSAP (Jun 9, 2017)

younothat said:


> Yeah.....cheers....return of the #10.....
> 
> *Blue*print....?? If/when soccer players are cloned?


Is this from the nike commercial???


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## Wez (Jun 10, 2017)

El Clasico said:


> You no longer need connections in Europe.  With the DA coming up on its 10th anniversary and really no return to show for its efforts and investments, agencies have popped up in more than a few places over the past couple of years to facilitate the movement of the gifted players from the US to Europe.  If you are wondering if your kid is "gifted" enough for these programs, you would have already been approached if your child is of academy age.  In other words, don't call us, we'll call you.


What is your point with this comment?


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## xav10 (Jun 10, 2017)

Wez said:


> What is your point with this comment?


I would think El Clasico is making 2 points: 1. You're not going to develop to international caliber via the USSDA and 2. Enough people recognize that fact now so if your kid is good enough, an agent or other rep on behalf of a club from outside the US will invite the kid to work with an overseas academy. I would agree with those points, if my interpretation is correct.


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## El Clasico (Jun 10, 2017)

xav10, you are correct.


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## Wez (Jun 10, 2017)

xav10 said:


> I would think El Clasico is making 2 points: 1. You're not going to develop to international caliber via the USSDA and 2. Enough people recognize that fact now so if your kid is good enough, an agent or other rep on behalf of a club from outside the US will invite the kid to work with an overseas academy. I would agree with those points, if my interpretation is correct.


Agreed, I'm "hoping" we're getting better at this soccer star development thing.


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## ray8 (Jun 10, 2017)

El Clasico said:


> ...gencies have popped up in more than a few places over the past couple of years to facilitate the movement of the gifted players from the US to Europe....you would have already been approached if your child is of academy age.  In other words, don't call us, we'll call you.


Did you notice if the agency's scout checked to see what kind of car the next Pulisic's parents were driving before approaching him? 
Money making scheme. That kid will be bunking with three Qataris and maybe another two Australian next Messis.


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## xav10 (Jun 10, 2017)

ray8 said:


> Did you notice if the agency's scout checked to see what kind of car the next Pulisic's parents were driving before approaching him?
> Money making scheme. That kid will be bunking with three Qataris and maybe another two Australian next Messis.


My observation would be that this point is 1/2 true. To go over and work at an academy club without a contract, the parents have to already have dough. It seems to have worked for Pulisic, as well as Lederman at La Masia and a couple of US kids in England and Germany. However, we don't hear about the undoubted tons of parents with dreams for their kids who spend thousands on pay-for-play Europe "academy" experiences as a profitable endeavor for the group putting it together.


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## uburoi (Jun 10, 2017)

We shouldn't even be having this conversation. He and his family and their story are a total anomaly. 100%.   The kid has a gift, that's clear, that's great for him his family and for the US in general, but  don't even attempt to compare normal families with this. It's unfair.


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## Wez (Jun 10, 2017)

uburoi said:


> We shouldn't even be having this conversation. He and his family and their story are a total anomaly. 100%.   The kid has a gift, that's clear, that's great for him his family and for the US in general, but  don't even attempt to compare normal families with this. It's unfair.


Not sure I agree.


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## uburoi (Jun 10, 2017)

Travel to Europe, parents both been through  success and failure 100 times over, understanding of the commitment. It's an anomaly. It's great, but even for us of those who are serious, it's unrealistic. I'm not saying we can't learn from the blueprint, as far as letting the kids have fun, and not worry too much about what they eat when they eat what they do every day 24 /7. But overall this is not normal. 99% of us take the blueprint with a grain of salt.


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## JJP (Jun 10, 2017)

xav10 said:


> I would think El Clasico is making 2 points: 1. You're not going to develop to international caliber via the USSDA and 2. Enough people recognize that fact now so if your kid is good enough, an agent or other rep on behalf of a club from outside the US will invite the kid to work with an overseas academy. I would agree with those points, if my interpretation is correct.


I can't say you guys are wrong.

I'm just going to say that it's a much different experience to nurturing soccer talent in the US vs. Europe.  I think the USSDA is taking the right steps to improve the level of soccer in the US, and build out the soccer culture in the US.  But it's going to take a long time.

I read in the women's u23/u20/u17 World Cup thread how the Japanese girls were so much more technical and superior in short, precise, whole-team ball movement and passing.  That didn't happen overnite, it's taken decades of work.  In the beginning Japan just didn't have enough qualified coaches and instructors.

I think it's too early to expect the US to churn out a Pulisic every 5 years.  Probably we need to train a few generations of players who will be better coaches and more of them than what we have now.  Only then can we provide high quality training to a huge base of youth soccer players, and develop more Pulisic's.


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## PLSAP (Jun 10, 2017)

El Clasico said:


> You no longer need connections in Europe.  With the DA coming up on its 10th anniversary and really no return to show for its efforts and investments, agencies have popped up in more than a few places over the past couple of years to facilitate the movement of the gifted players from the US to Europe.  If you are wondering if your kid is "gifted" enough for these programs, you would have already been approached if your child is of academy age.  In other words, don't call us, we'll call you.


We shouldn't need to send our kids to Europe though. Of course it would be great if your kid was good enough, and a great learning experience soccer wise, and among other benefits, but it shouldn't be where the US wants to be able to compete so we send our kids to Europe just to later return "prodigies" from the Europe instruction. It should be one of those things that kids do every once in a while, not the only solution to having great players with American nationality and play for the USMNT (or USWNT in some cases). We need to be able to develop our own players that can at least compete with the European stars. At least that's what the goal of US Soccer is, right? Right now, US only developed players can't, and the solution shouldn't be to send them off to Europe.


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## PaytoplayinLancaster? (Jun 11, 2017)

The DA system won't work at developing talent until ALL teams are fully funded by US soccer.  You have MLS clubs that are fully funding their teams, and have the best facilities attracting the best talent.  They are playing against kids that are still in a pay to play system without the best facilities.  It plays out like MLS watching Gio Dos Santos score on some poor keeper that is barely making $80,000 a year.  7 figure guys showing up 5 figure guys won't maximize the potential of either player.


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## Wez (Jun 12, 2017)

PaytoplayinLancaster? said:


> The DA system won't work at developing talent until ALL teams are fully funded by US soccer.  You have MLS clubs that are fully funding their teams, and have the best facilities attracting the best talent.  They are playing against kids that are still in a pay to play system without the best facilities.  It plays out like MLS watching Gio Dos Santos score on some poor keeper that is barely making $80,000 a year.  7 figure guys showing up 5 figure guys won't maximize the potential of either player.


This would be true only if the training at MLS DAs was always far superior.  Yes, the "fully paid for" aspect attracts the best talent, but there are only so many MLS DA slots available.  Also, if what you said is true, why do non MLS DAs compete effectively against the MLS DAs?

Pay to play sucks for those with no money, but most Americans who have talented soccer player children can afford a few thousand a year to keep their kids playing at the highest levels.


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## PaytoplayinLancaster? (Jun 12, 2017)

Wez said:


> This would be true only if the training at MLS DAs was always far superior.  Yes, the "fully paid for" aspect attracts the best talent, but there are only so many MLS DA slots available.  Also, if what you said is true, why do non MLS DAs compete effectively against the MLS DAs?
> 
> Pay to play sucks for those with no money, but most Americans who have talented soccer player children can afford a few thousand a year to keep their kids playing at the highest levels.


The training is superior only in the facilities.  There are great coaches all over who can get the most out of their players especially at the younger ages.


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## Buddhabman (Jun 15, 2017)

Like Uburoi said the Christian Pulisic blueprint is unique and a 1 off. First he has two athletic parents. He is probably a top % athlete to start with and has 110%+ drive.  Does not mean we can't find more kids out there. I do think in the generation of kids 02-07 we will have more kids with this kind of talent showing through. We are probably starting to get a greater percentage of our top natural athletes in soccer now. They key is to keep them, recognize them and not have them pulled back into the big 3 sports.  Still until pick up soccer becomes as popular as pickup basketball or football, we are not going to develop a natural star.


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## Eusebio (Jun 17, 2017)

A blueprint for development is something proven and that can be repeated with some regularity.

The La Mesia academy is a blueprint.
The Ajax Academy is a blueprint.
The South Hampton academy is a blueprint.

The "Pulisic" blueprint is a one-time anomaly at this point. And I'm speaking as a Pulisic fanboy.

As others pointed out already, Pulisic's dad made a lot of things happen to compensate for US Soccer's development shortcomings. What he did is very admirable, but it's just not repeatable in any systematic way. If we want to output 2-5 world class players a year, which is about the average for most European and South American countries we need to have a real blueprint. And ideally a blueprint that takes advantage of players who develop at different speeds. Not everyone is a world class player at 18, sometimes it takes until they're 20-23 to really break out. Right now a great majority of the US DA players after the age of 18 go to die in college soccer or the USL. Aside from FC Dallas and a couple of others, very few MLS teams actually take the time to groom their USL players into the first team roster. And I'm not even going to harp on college soccer.

So even beyond the DA, US Soccer and the MLS have to do better to transition youth prospects into actual professionals. Relying on a microscopic portion of the soccer population that have EU passports isn't a real blueprint. The real lesson you should take from Family Pulisic is that they used every single tool at their deposal while making sure Christian maintained the joy of the game. Beyond that, I don't know how much is actually repeatable unless you have the exact same resources and in a position take advantage of timely opportunities.


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## ray8 (Jun 18, 2017)

Eusebio said:


> A blueprint for development is something proven and that can be repeated with some regularity.
> 
> The La Mesia academy is a blueprint.
> The Ajax Academy is a blueprint.
> ...


There's more than meets the eye with this story. For sure there's a bit more Svengali in his dad vs. acquiescent provider of fun for his boy.

And there is no blueprint. Note that all academies mentioned are struggling with this fact, being that they can't repeat the process.
Bale is not Messi. Pulisic isn't Chicharito. They develop and play uniquely.

Pulisic hasn't played in the big leagues yet, nor has he gotten through a major injury. 
He looks fast and clever, but there are hundreds of players like him all over Europe.


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## ajaxahi (Jun 18, 2017)

ray8 said:


> There's more than meets the eye with this story. For sure there's a bit more Svengali in his dad vs. acquiescent provider of fun for his boy.
> 
> And there is no blueprint. Note that all academies mentioned are struggling with this fact, being that they can't repeat the process.
> Bale is not Messi. Pulisic isn't Chicharito. They develop and play uniquely.
> ...


Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League aren't the big leagues?  And I'm going to go out on a limb and say no way are there "hundreds" of players like him in Europe.  He might not be in the elite of world class (yet), but he's already distinguished himself as a special player with a bright future in world football.


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## ray8 (Jun 20, 2017)

ajaxahi said:


> Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League aren't the big leagues?  And I'm going to go out on a limb and say no way are there "hundreds" of players like him in Europe.  He might not be in the elite of world class (yet), but he's already distinguished himself as a special player with a bright future in world football.


The EPL and La Liga are the big leagues.
My point was to add to why the Pulisic experience is not a blueprint.
He is not yet a complete soccer player. He's only distinguished himself as a special prospect. So did Pato, Balotelli, and too many others assumed to already have a bright future.


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## xav10 (Jun 30, 2017)

ray8 said:


> The EPL and La Liga are the big leagues.
> My point was to add to why the Pulisic experience is not a blueprint.
> He is not yet a complete soccer player. He's only distinguished himself as a special prospect. So did Pato, Balotelli, and too many others assumed to already have a bright future.


The Bundesliga is the big leagues as well. He's a Dortmund star (3rd place) and the best player on USMNT already! His experience may not be a "blueprint," but he's a complete player all right, who will get better.


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## CaliKlines (Jun 30, 2017)

xav10 said:


> His experience may not be a "blueprint," but he's a complete player all right, who will get better.


 As long as he continues to play in Europe...and hopefully in the Bundesliga, not the Premier League.


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## JJP (Jul 15, 2017)

xav10 said:


> The Bundesliga is the big leagues as well. He's a Dortmund star (3rd place) and the best player on USMNT already! His experience may not be a "blueprint," but he's a complete player all right, who will get better.


I like Pulisic a lot.  But there is no way he is number 3 at Dortmund.

Among the younger players on that team, Ousmane Dembele is far ahead of Pulisic.  In fact, I believe Dembele has the talent to become one of the all time greats of the game.

Among the vets, Kagawa is still more efficient and effective than Pulisic, Aubemayang more talented and a better player, and when Gotze and Reus recover Pulisic will lose a lot of playing time.  

I think Pulisic can be a faster, slightly more physical version of Kagawa, and in my book, that's a world class player.


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## JJP (Jul 15, 2017)

ajaxahi said:


> And I'm going to go out on a limb and say no way are there "hundreds" of players like him in Europe.  He might not be in the elite of world class (yet), but he's already distinguished himself as a special player with a bright future in world football.


You're wrong.  It's at least hundreds.  It's probably more in the thousands.


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## rocket_file (Jul 18, 2017)

JJP said:


> You're wrong.  It's at least hundreds.  It's probably more in the thousands.


Pretty bad timing on this comment.

Looks pretty world class here.

Certainly not hundreds like him in Europe.

http://www.espnfc.us/international-champions-cup/2326/video/3159803/ac-milan-1-3-dortmund-aubameyangs-double


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## JJP (Jul 18, 2017)

rocket_file said:


> Pretty bad timing on this comment.
> 
> Looks pretty world class here.
> 
> ...


The title of these highlights, which is one game, is Pulisic is Aubemayang's double.  Really?   Pulisic is a fantastic player and he is in a great situation for him at Dortmund.  But Aubemayang was the leading scorer in Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich's Lewandowski.   That qualifies Aubemayang as one of the top strikers in the world.  I wouldn't call Pulisic a "double" for Aubemayang.

I'm not going to sit here and say I've sat down and looked at the talent at all the European academies and came up with a number that are as good as Pulisic.  But I would classify Pulisic as an academy product, he doesn't show the creative street element of the top South American players.  I'm just going to point out that countries like France, Spain, Germany, Italy churn out of their academies Pulisic's type of player by the thousands.  And that's not including the talent produced by the smaller but still talent rich European countries, like Serbia and Croatia, or the South American countries.

I think the number is easily in the hundreds, and like I said, I would not be surprised if the number were in the thousands.


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## CaliKlines (Jul 18, 2017)

JJP said:


> The title of these highlights, which is one game, is Pulisic is Aubemayang's double.  Really?   Pulisic is a fantastic player and he is in a great situation for him at Dortmund.  But Aubemayang was the leading scorer in Bundesliga along with Bayern Munich's Lewandowski.   That qualifies Aubemayang as one of the top strikers in the world.  I wouldn't call Pulisic a "double" for Aubemayang.
> 
> I'm not going to sit here and say I've sat down and looked at the talent at all the European academies and came up with a number that are as good as Pulisic.  But I would classify Pulisic as an academy product, he doesn't show the creative street element of the top South American players.  I'm just going to point out that countries like France, Spain, Germany, Italy churn out of their academies Pulisic's type of player by the thousands.  And that's not including the talent produced by the smaller but still talent rich European countries, like Serbia and Croatia, or the South American countries.
> 
> I think the number is easily in the hundreds, and like I said, I would not be surprised if the number were in the thousands.


JJP, re-read the title and watch the highlight. They are not saying that CP is a double of Aubemayang...they are describing that Aubbie scored twice. PK earned by Pulisic, and a nice set up from Pulisic on the 2nd. Pulisic also had a nice assist on the first to Sahin. I agree with you that he is not at Aubemayang's level, but I think that he is a special talent similiar to an Andres Iniesta or a Toni Kroos. There is a methodical German-like precision to his game.


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## JJP (Jul 18, 2017)

CaliKlines said:


> JJP, re-read the title and watch the highlight. They are not saying that CP is a double of Aubemayang...they are describing that Aubbie scored twice. PK earned by Pulisic, and a nice set up from Pulisic on the 2nd. Pulisic also had a nice assist on the first to Sahin. I agree with you that he is not at Aubemayang's level, but I think that he is a special talent similiar to an Andres Iniesta or a Toni Kroos. There is a methodical German-like precision to his game.


You're right. I did misread the title.  The "double" is referring to Aubemayang's brace, not Pulisic as Aubemayang's double.

Anyway, I think we all agree he is a fantastic player.


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## jpeter (Jul 20, 2017)

Might have only been a friendly but looked pretty good with the two assists and drawing that PK vs AC Milan
http://the18.com/soccer-news/christian-pulisic-impresses-new-dortmund-coach?utm_campaign

Comapred to who else USA has been playing up top in the Gold Cup, CP would be a upgrade.

If he keeps getting better, stays healthy, gets playing time has a chance to be on player people inspire to be like for the next generation.


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## xav10 (Jul 20, 2017)

jpeter said:


> Might have only been a friendly but looked pretty good with the two assists and drawing that PK vs AC Milan
> http://the18.com/soccer-news/christian-pulisic-impresses-new-dortmund-coach?utm_campaign
> 
> Comapred to who else USA has been playing up top in the Gold Cup, CP would be a upgrade.
> ...


I think even the doubters must recognize that he's only 18. He's going to improve. Sadly, US Soccer did not develop this kid nor is there any indication, even now, that they would know how. They look for the wrong things in players, they lack the soccer intellect to properly develop and train, and no fault of theirs but the competition from the atrocious NCAA, all combine to prevent us from moving forward in our development. Also no fault of theirs, the geography of this country makes it almost impossible to have kids playing against the best from their own, or other, nations, as they develop. Pulisic wasn't developed here...we develop Jordan Morris!


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## Eusebio (Jul 21, 2017)

xav10 said:


> I think even the doubters must recognize that he's only 18. He's going to improve. Sadly, US Soccer did not develop this kid nor is there any indication, even now, that they would know how. They look for the wrong things in players, they lack the soccer intellect to properly develop and train, and no fault of theirs but the competition from the atrocious NCAA, all combine to prevent us from moving forward in our development. Also no fault of theirs, the geography of this country makes it almost impossible to have kids playing against the best from their own, or other, nations, as they develop. Pulisic wasn't developed here...we develop Jordan Morris!


I'm a huge critic of US Soccer's youth development, but I wouldn't say Pulisic is purely a European product. He went over to Europe and joined the Dortmund academy when he was 16. He was in their youth system for just 9 months before he started getting call-ups to the Dortmund first-team. So Pulisic hit the ground running when he joined Dortmund and ascended quickly, which isn't the norm for most youth players even in Europe. Sure nothing here in America can compare to the experience and development Pulisic has gained in Dortmund the past two years. But Pulisic wasn't born two years ago.

Pulisic actually was in the DA system playing for the PA Classics while also training with a local pro team. He was also on the US youth U15 & U17 national teams. It was when he was playing for the U17 NT that he got on the radar of Dortmund. So I think it was a combination of US Youth Soccer system and Daddy Pulisic that made Pulisic into a youth superstar/pro prospect. Then Dortmund provided the environment for that potential to actually be realized  where Pulisic can potentially be a world class player.

What US Soccer lacks is that "finishing school". There's no clear pathway for a 16-19 year-old in America to be surrounded by top professionals and transition to 1st Division soccer. 16 year-old Pulisic was playing against U19 Bayern Munic and occasionally training with Champions League/World Cup players on the 1st team.  Whereas a 16 year-old on LA Galaxy is playing against San Diego Surf and Strikers, and maybe occasionally training with Jack McBean on LAGII. There's just no comparison.

Our youth system as inefficient as it is, actually does okay getting kids to 13-14 years old. Pulisic was in the US youth system the entire time at those ages.  It's just that gap between youth prospect and true professional where the DA system falls apart. The DA system is still more focused toward college rather than grooming professional players. If you were to poll the Surf U16/17 DA team and ask the players/parents how many have a 100% focus on being a professional soccer player, I imagine the percentage would be very low. You'd probably get a muddled answer of "college scholarship, and maybe play professional if it happens". Now if you were to poll the LA Galaxy U16/17 DA team, you probably would get a much higher percentage of players/families who have a 100% focus on being a professional. The problem is though during the 10 month season, LA Galaxy is playing 95% of their games against Pay-for-Play DA clubs like Surf/Strikers that don't have a professional focus.

Some people have suggested that LA Galaxy and other MLS academies should join a strictly "Pro-Circuit". The problem is MLS teams are so spread out across the country that's not feasible to have a MLS-only DA circuit. Now if they included NASL/USL/NPSL/PDL teams that have a youth academy that might enhance the geography some. But it's hard to say if a 3th/4th division team would have a professional focus with their academies. After all, Surf has a 4th division pro-team, "SoCal Surf", but I'm not sure the equation is going to change where their DA teams will become more "Pro" focused, instead of college. Many of these 4th division teams are just vanity projects, not necessarily a part of a true youth/pro pyramid.    

Jordan Morris is indeed a 100% All-Beef American product. He's what you get when a top youth prospect goes all the way through the US "finishing school".  Also I'd argue Pulisic is probably 75% American Beef, with 25% Wienerschnitzel. He's not like a Ben Lederman that went over to Barca at 11 years-old. Pulisc got the majority of his development here in America, but that final 25% does make a big difference when you start talking about playing in the highest levels of the game. I think the US DA system has made the typical average player better over the last 10 years and our youth national teams still function as a spring-board to get top prospects scouted by European clubs in their mid/late teens. Pulisic never would have been discovered by Dortmund without it. So they get credit for that. We just have to work on the DA system, so we can actually develop top professionals regularly without having to funnel them through Youth NTs. If you look at the roster of a lot of the top European clubs, only a handful of the players actually played for their u15-u17 national youth teams.  So we can't just rely on that tiny fraction of the player pool, consisting mostly of early bloomers, to produce top professionals.


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