Far from Gold Cup, Christian Pulisic connects with young players

Christian Pulisic was supposed to be in Saint-Louis on Tuesday, preparing to play in the Gold Cup semi-finals of the national team with Guatemala. Instead, he stood under a higher passage from the City City highway by playing with a bunch of children.

“It’s a bit of what I was, you know, born to do,” said the first and perhaps the captain of the national team. “Having this platform and being here to inspire, hopefully, the next generation and do it for children is special.”

Pulisic, 26, is not very far from being a child himself, the one who grew up learning the game on Mini Fields not too different from the one he opened on Tuesday. But for Pulisic Soccer is no longer a breeze, it is a company. And that made a lot of fun.

Thus, when Pulisic, the active leader of the national team in the two appearances (78) and the goals (35), decided to let the Gold Cup this summer pass, the last major competition before the next year World Cup, it was largely pilocked as selfish and selfish by former national team players, in particular Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Landon Donovan.

American Christian Pulisic is seized by Hector Cuellar in Bolivia as they continue the ball in a Copa America match in Arlington, Texas, June 23, 2024.

(Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

“I cannot understand the privilege of representing my country,” added Alexi Lalas, who played in two World Cup teams for the United States

However, Pulisic says he was simply exhausted.

He played a career summit of 3,650 minutes every competition for AC Milan last season, leading the team with 11 goals and nine assists in Serie A while playing in 118 games for club and Country in the last 22 months. He needed a break to rest the body and mind before the World Cup, when he was at the center of an American team playing the tournament at home for the first time in 32 years.

So, after consulting American football and the coach of the national team Mauricio Pochettino, he took it, offering to play in two friendly games in June – an offer that Pocsettino refused – but refusing an invitation to play in the Gold Cup.

The reaction was rapid and hurtful, with many criticisms accusing Pulisic of having turned his back on his country.

“To question my commitment, in particular towards the national team, in my opinion which is out of line,” said Pulisic in his defense on a Golazo Network podcast last month.

“I do not regret my decision. I think it’s the right thing for me. “

AC Milan, Christian Pulisic, famous with his teammate Tijjani Reijnders after Reijnders marked against Como in Milan, Italy, March 15.

(Antonio Calanni / Associated Press)

Given the possibility of developing this Tuesday, Pulisic refused.

“I said what I had to say. I don’t think it’s something I want to harass,” he said.

But events like Tuesday clearly revive his passion for football by reminding him what the game looks like through the eyes of a child.

“To see the joy that it brings to the children and give them a free space to come and play and enjoy the game as I do when I was a child, that’s what it is about,” he said. “When I was around their age, it was then that I really developed the love of the game.”

His father, Mark, was a former indoor football player and long -standing coach, so Pulisic spent much of his childhood in places like that of Ass City. Return to these bases after what was one of the most trying months of his professional career was a breath of fresh air and it showed because Pulisic, whose smiles are rare and generally sarcastic, wore a wide and sincere Tuesday.

The playing space he visited is the second Christian installation of Pulisic trampling land in the United States, an developed in collaboration with the world sports brand Puma. The first playground opened its doors two years ago in Miami and it is planned to build a third in Texas.

Stuck in an industrial area crowded with storage and warehouses under a ramp on highway 405, space, which houses the City Football Club ass, has been renovated to include mini-interior and exterior grass, a green set and a set of chess.

The expensive update was pleasant, said Krist Colocho, president and chief executive officer of the ass City Football Club. But the captain of the national male team baptized the site, then hiring a dozen players, aged 9 to 13, in training exercises, was invaluable.

“There are no words for that,” he said. “The best player in the United States? Is it incredible. To be able to play with him? Is it a cherry on the top.”

The non -profit club, said Colocho, is dedicated to the end of the payment model which made football too expensive for many children. The Pulisic-Puma partnership will help you.

“It’s a start,” he said. “Coming from a background where football is difficult to afford, it will be one of these steps [stones] with whom we work.

AC Milan Christian Pulisic famous after having marked against Cagliari in Milan, Italy, May 11, 2024.

(Antonio Calanni / Associated Press)

The exterior Pulisic fell towards a mini goal while Arih Arh Akwafei loaded forward, pushed the ball around Pulisic and slipped it into the net, then celebrated like only a 6 -year -old box.

“It was fun to do everything and use our body to try to play football with him to see if he was good or not,” said Arih, swallowing the air between words in an effort to control his excitement. “I scored on him.”

Cameron Carr, 9, accepted.

“It’s a big problem,” he said about Pulisic’s visit.

When asked if he would be happier if Pulisic was in Saint-Louis training with the national team, as so many critics had asked, Cameron confused. For him, the answer was as obvious as the question was stupid.

“I am very happy that he takes his time to meet us children when he could train,” he said.