FourFourTwo UK – September 2019

as a goal. No one played soccer in my

neighbourhood. My friends thought it was

strange but I didn’t care. I played other

sports, too. I was a good basketball player.”

Mark Pulisic, who has long called his son

‘Figo’ after the great Portuguese winger

they both loved to watch, painted the

word ‘CONFIDENCE’ in yellow paint on the

wall of the garage.

“Dad wanted to instil that in me from a very

young age,” explains his son. “It was a key

word to me. I needed it, because I was always

playing against older boys. I needed to be

confident. I honestly didn’t fear anyone, and

playing against older, more physical boys

helped me. I had to think faster; I had to be

more technical. That definitely helped me.”

The more surprising aspect of Pulisic playing

above his age level was his size. At football

tournaments, parents would ask his mother

if he was someone’s little brother.

“I was the smallest even when I played in

my own age group,” he explains. “I was

a later bloomer, definitely. I started growing

more at 15 and 16, but being small wasn’t

a disadvantage. Physically I wasn’t as capable

as some of the other boys, but you can be

a great player at all sizes. I just had to think

smarter and quicker. Being smart at that age

would ultimately be an advantage.”

Pulisic, who turns 21 next month, is now

sponsored by his hometown chocolate

company and has stayed in touch with his

schoolfriends – although, such was his rise at

a young age, his life was unconventional.

“The night before I scored my first goal for

the national team [USA vs Bolivia in Kansas],

I went to my school prom,” he says, laughing.

“Imissedoutonsomuchasa kid playing

footballthatI didn’treallygoto high school.

I’db i E l d unger kid, I’d been

Germany when

otabout what I had

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merica and my

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asthe best thing

y soccer every day

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FourFourTwo September 2019 43

I’dbeeninEnglandasa yo

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opulation14, 800 ),

icana,therewas

play Americanfootballor

all,”recalls Pulisic.“When

go homeandplaysoccer

dad,usingthegarage

after school, something I’d dreamed of doing

at home. I’d play on a cement football pitch

by school, then go for training with Brackley

Town. I loved that. I felt the whole country

was obsessed by soccer – something I’d never

experienced. My Brackley coach, Robin Walker,

came to see me play in Dortmund.

“I also went to see English football games

for the first time. Dad took me to Old Trafford

first. There’s a picture of me at Old Trafford

on Dad’s shoulders. I was amazed by the

whole experience, and the technical levels

of the players, being watched by so many

people. It’s crazy that my first game in

England could be at Old Trafford for Chelsea.”

The Pulisic family moved back to the States

after a year, his dad coaching an indoor team

in Detroit and Christian learning ball tricks

from their Brazilian players. His influences

were growing. “My friends told me that I had

a British accent, which made me so mad,” he

reveals. “I yelled ‘Mum!’ and my sister said,

‘You said ‘mum’! You’re British’.”

The peripatetic existence continued even

back home in America, where Pulisic joined

Pennsylvania Classics youth club.

“Then, after my first year of high school,

I won a place to the IMG Academy for

the US Soccer Residency programme in

Florida,” he explains. “We would train every

morning and go to school in the afternoon.

Florida was hot all year round, which was new

to me, and I loved it. I was training with the

country’s best players in my age group, and

I felt that it took me to another level.”

And academically?

“I was actually very good. I got good grades.

My problem was that I had been away so

much with soccer in my first year of high

school that I was always playing catch-up.”

In 2013, aged 15, Pulisic played for the USA

in a series of Nike-organised friendlies. He was

named player of the tournament.

“They changed my life,” he tells FFT. “For the

first time, I felt that I could make a living

professionally. I was playing against some of

the best players in the world for my age from

the national teams of Portugal, England and

Brazil, who we beat 4-1.”

He scored 20 goals in 34 games for the

USA Under-17s. Interest was forthcoming

from Europe and especially Dortmund, though

he had long been on the radar of clubs – and

had already worn a Chelsea shirt.

“It’s really strange – I actually trained with

Chelsea when I was a child,” he explains.

“I went to London and spent a few weeks

with their youth academy.”

He also trained with Barcelona at the age

of 10 after impressing in the MIC Cup, one of

the elite youth tournaments, which is held

CHRISTIAn

PULISIC