Christian Pulisic isn’t Freddy Adu. He’s Christian Pulisic

 

Four points in four days not too shabby for the United States Men’s National Team. After a difficult first two matches it appears that the USMNT will be heading to Russia after all. With four very winnable matches left to go there are certainly some interesting storylines in terms of how the team will use this time to get ready for 2018. Let’s take a look…

*Checks internet*

*Sees no discussion about World Cup 2018 but rather a lot of comparisons between Christian Pulisic and Freddy Adu*

*Flogs dead horse*

On a weekend where supporters should be looking forward to the Gold Cup, the final four matches of the 2018 World Cup, and a little match called Mexico -USA it appears that we have decided exorcise the ghost of USMNT past. Yes, Freddy Adu’s name has once again made the rounds American soccer social media with Christian Pulisic now being compared to the former D.C. United wonderkid. Why? We don’t know. Perhaps it is because Jovan Kirovski’s name carries too many letters.

It is a tired, tired song and dance that people use to compare anyone who shares an iota of talent at a young age in the USMNT system to Adu. Players are never compared to say John Harkes or Clint Dempsey or Landon Donovan. No, it is always Freddy Adu because it is an easy narrative and an easy out. It is the soccer lords (or those with a very serious ax to grind) properly deflating players who might actually move the needle. Why? No one really knows.

(Editor’s Note: I find it interesting that there are those that think that only Americans tout their prospects in the media. Pot meet kettle those that follow the game in Brazil, England, France, Germany  Netherlands, Spain, and pretty much every other soccer loving country. We didn’t just take your love of scarves, singing off-key, and colorful banners *cough* David Bentley *cough*. Chances are there is even a Raphael Shite YouTube highlight video somewhere. It is an ugly truth of football: every country over-inflates the value of their own players). 

Yes, like Freddy Adu Christian Pulisic is an American player with immense talent. And yes, he is playing with the senior National Team. Those are where the comparisons end. Need more help differentiating between the two? Let’s break it down:

• Christian Pulisic started his playing career with Borussia Dortmund. Freddy Adu started his professional career with D.C.  United. As someone who has covered D.C.United for five years and followed the team since he was 10 I can say this with full confidence: Dortmund is a much, much better side than United. That is not a knock against D.C. but just a stated fact. Starting your career in Dortmund means you are a better prospect than one that starts in D.C.
• Pulisic started his career at the age of 17 after playing a season with Dortmund’s youth academy system while Adu was thrown directly into the senior national team. One doesn’t just start for Dortmund out of the blue. Pulisic had to earn his spot on a side that features the likes of Marco Reus and Andre Schurrle. Adu was thrust immediately into the spotlight with no academy system to learn from and no place to get acclimated to being a professional.
• Champions League appearances: 14 for Pulisic, 1 for Adu (If you want to call a Champions League qualifier an appearance).
• Number of European trophies: Christian Pulisic 1 (DFB Pokal 2016-2017), Freddy Adu 0
• Number of European awards: Christian Pulisic 1 (2016 UEFA Champions League Breakthrough XI), Freddy Adu 0
• Number of goals for senior U.S. Men’s National Team: Christian Pulisic 7, Freddy Adu 2
• Number of appearances for senior U.S. Men’s National Team: Christian Pulisic 16, Freddy Adu 17

Now we can also make that comparison by stating: let’s lay off Freddy Ady. Adu had the chance to play for the U.S. Men’s National Team, earn a living playing the game that he seems to love, and won the 2004 MLS Cup. That is a pretty good career in his own right, even if it didn’t live up to the artificial expectations that had been set by U.S. Soccer and MLS. He shouldn’t hang his head in shame about his career, even if the choices that he made were often less than ideal. He will have to live with those choices the rest of his life, but that doesn’t mean that he should be treated as a scapegoat for the many problems that U.S. Soccer has had over the years.

But all of these different experiences also shouldn’t factor into how we perceive Pulisic. Rather than seeing Pulisic as another run of the mill U.S. Soccer prodigy we should look at this as an opportunity to watch possibly a great footballer in his formative years. He is his own person, playing with one of the top teams in the world, and will likely barring some sort of catastrophic injury have the chance to play at the 2018 World Cup. These are things that he has earned and not because U.S. Soccer wants to do a crazy thing like publicize their quality players. Any sort of accolades or commercials or positive press that he has received is because he is a damn good footballer, not because he checks the box of some marketing agency or some arbitrary fifteen year plan of a suit in Chicago.

So let’s stop talking about Freddy Adu and let’s start talking about Christian Pulisic.

 

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