Tag: Christian Pulisic

Pulisic explains how his tiger tattoo was inspired by Tiger Woods

The USMNT star opened up on some of his tattoos in an excerpt from his upcoming book

In an excerpt from his new book, Christian Pulisic has explained the meaning behind some of his tattoos, including a tiger tattoo he says was inspired by Tiger Woods.

Pulisic also speaks about his chess piece tattoo, which is a tribute to his grandfather who taught him how to play the game he now counts among his favorite hobbies.

The following is an excerpt from “Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far” which will be available for purchase on October 18.

Questions from author Daniel Melamud are in italic.

Pulisic on his tiger tattoo

Your tiger tattoo — which is amazing, by the way — was integral to a goal celebration at the beginning of this season (2021-22). You covered your eyes with your forearm, giving you the eyes and nose of a tiger. Aubameyang has put masks on, but yours is always at the ready.

I remember when I got the tattoo we wanted it to line up so I could cover my eyes with it, but I wasn’t planning on it being a celebration. l’d actually done that celebration once before, but no one really saw it — I don’t remember when it was — so when the first game of the season came around, it felt right to do it again.

It’s the year of the tiger and you were born in 1998, the year of the tiger — did that factor into why you got the tattoo?

Yeah, it’s part of it. I have always loved tigers, but also probably my favorite athlete growing up was Tiger Woods. I loved watching him play. So yeah, I was thinking what kind of tattoo I could get and I knew I was born in the year of the tiger, and I had always loved tigers, and I was a fan of Tiger Woods, so it all kind of just felt right.

When did you get your first tattoo?

My very first tattoo was back when I was 17 in Dortmund, and it was just something that was really personal and not something that anyone would understand the meaning of … I just wanted to get something that was meaningful to me. It has to do with my family and it’s never something I would really share with anyone, just a special one to me.

Did you get the others soon after?

I think it was like a couple of months between each one. I would just think of an idea. I always kind of wanted to fill my left arm out, so whenever I came up with a cool idea I would just kind of go for it. It took me about …  I mean, I didn’t completely finish this arm sleeve until a couple months ago. So it took a while, a couple of years.

And the chess piece tattoo, you have “Mate” written on it. Your granddad taught you how to play.

He always had a chessboard around in the house right next to him. He had one of those chessboards that would tell you where to move. The computer would move, and you’d play against it.

Me and my cousin Will … we always found it fascinating and we wanted to learn the game. So my granddad taught us and we’d try to play against him, but obviously we were never at his level; we couldn’t compete with him.

You can pre-order “Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far” right here.

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Christian Pulisic said he was ‘dumbfounded’ by Thomas Tuchel’s managerial decision in new book

Who let him write a book?!

The 2022 Premier League season has gotten off to just about the worst imaginable start for USMNT star and Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic. And if it wasn’t for Chelsea’s firing of manager Thomas Tuchel two weeks ago, the drama could have just reached astonishing levels.

While Pulisic is currently with the USMNT ahead of a couple pre-World Cup friendlies, an excerpt from his upcoming book — hilariously named, Christian Pulisic: My Journey So Far — was made public on Tuesday, and it painted a clear picture of the 24-year-old’s less-than-ideal relationship with Tuchel.

The excerpt specifically focuses on Chelsea’s Champions League-winning campaign and the second leg against Real Madrid. In the first leg, Pulisic had scored arguably his biggest goal with the Blues. And according to Pulisic, Tuchel assured him that he was going to be rested in the weekend’s Fulham match in order to start him in the second leg against Madrid.

But when Pulisic checked the lineup for that second leg, he was on the bench in favor of Kai Havertz. Pulisic, as you might have guessed, was not pleased.

There’s certainly an argument to be made that Tuchel’s management worked in that situation, as a pissed-off Pulisic came on as a sub and iced the game with an incredible assist to Mason Mount.

Still, it’s never great to mislead a player, and that sort of management from Tuchel ultimately led to disagreements with several Chelsea attacking players (Lukaku, Werner, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech to name a few) … and his eventual ouster.

But man, someone is giving Pulisic some terrible advice. The fact that he’s putting out a book so early in his career is a questionable decision in itself, and on top of that, he’s airing grievances related to the team he currently plays for. Just think: had Tuchel still been the manager when this excerpt came out, Pulisic might’ve never seen the field again with Chelsea.

There was literally no upside for Pulisic in putting that story out there during his active career — you know, save that for the post-career memoir after winning the 2026 World Cup. It won’t endear him to newly appointed manager Graham Potter, and it won’t have other managers looking too fondly on Pulisic in the transfer market.

Fans almost couldn’t believe that the excerpt was real.

Pulisic on his FIFA 23 rating: ‘Pace and dribbling very happy, everything else is horrible!’

As Kai Havertz said: “73 [passing rating] looks like you can’t even pass the ball five meters!”

Count Christian Pulisic among the lengthy list of players who participate in the cherished annual tradition of griping about their FIFA ratings.

EA Sports has begun to unveil its player ratings for the upcoming FIFA 23, which will be released on September 20.

On Monday the top 23 men’s players in the game were revealed, as five players shared the top spot with a 91 overall rating.

Pulisic, along with Chelsea teammates Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek participated in a video posted on Chelsea’s YouTube page in which they discussed various elements of Chelsea’s ratings in the game.

When it came time to be presented with their full ratings, Pulisic was nonplussed.

Looking at his card he said with a laugh: “Right here looks great: pace and dribbling [I’m] very happy, everything else is actually horrible!”

Havertz added: “73 [passing rating] looks like you can’t even pass the ball five meters!”

Loftus-Cheek also chimed in: “Who’s the guy who does this? Is he a Tottenham fan?”

Pulisic was given a strong 87 rating for pace and an 86 for dribbling, but he was given 71 for shooting, 37 for defense, 73 for passing and 59 for physicality, with an overall rating of 82.

At least Pulisic wasn’t alone in feeling aggrieved in his rating.

Haverz said of his own ratings: “Pace is not fair, shooting is really not fair and passing also.”

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The Americans Abroad Five: Gio Reyna is back — now please stay healthy

Edin Terzić’s slow and steady approach to reintegrating the USMNT star is being vindicated

The Americans Abroad contingent was significantly reduced this week as English and Scottish leagues paused to mark the Queen’s death.

But there were still plenty of noteworthy performances, led by the return to form of a player who can be a difference-maker in Qatar if he’s fit: Gio Reyna.

There were also some significant moments for three players squarely on the bubble for the World Cup roster, as well as a potential new lease on life for one of the USMNT’s biggest stars.

Let’s get to the Five.

Gregg Berhalter doesn’t seem too broken up about Thomas Tuchel being fired

The USMNT boss seems to be a card-carrying member of the #FreePulisic movement

Count Gregg Berhalter among the American observers who weren’t exactly devastated to see Thomas Tuchel sacked as Chelsea head coach.

Tuchel was let go on Wednesday with the season just a month old, with Chelsea moving quickly to replace him with Brighton head coach Graham Potter the next day.

U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic struggled for consistent playing time under Tuchel this season, starting just one game and often playing out of position at wingback when he did see the field.

With just two months remaining until the World Cup, it’s not surprising that the USMNT head coach appears to be looking forward to Pulisic getting the chance to impress a new head coach in London.

“I’m not happy a guy lost his job. But if this means more opportunity for Christian, then it’s positive because he’s a guy that’s proven that he can perform at that level,” Berhalter told the AP on Wednesday. “We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Pulisic is set to be on the roster for the USMNT’s final two World Cup tune-ups this month, as the U.S. faces Japan in Germany on September 23 and Saudi Arabia in Spain four days later.

Berhalter said he is close to settling on a roster for the World Cup, but there still could be a surprise or two.

“I’m sure there’s not going to be anything drastic, but there may be a couple of guys that pop up,” Berhalter said.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Yunus Musah is a star

The midfielder’s breakthrough season looks to be upon us

Over the past couple years, the debate over the best and/or most important U.S. men’s national team player would typically center around Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams or Weston McKennie.

By the end of the World Cup, there may be a new answer — and there may not be any more need for a debate.

That’s how good Yunus Musah can be, and already is at age 19.

The Valencia midfielder put in a man-of-the-match display in a 5-1 win over Getafe on Sunday, the latest demonstration of his prodigious talent.

There were also several big moves for some high-profile Americans in Europe, and a couple injury concerns to boot in an eventful week.

Let’s get to the Five.

The Americans Abroad Five: Reconsidering Ream

Could the Fulham veteran make a late charge toward a World Cup roster spot?

We have been known to lead with the attackers in this here column but this week, it’s time to talk about a defender first.

Tim Ream, at age 34, is commanding a Premier League defense and looking every bit like a player who deserves a spot at the World Cup. But with no USMNT call-ups in almost a year, is it too late for Ream?

We’ll get to the strikers this week too, as a red-hot trio continued their strong play in Europe.

There are also major transfer questions that will be resolved this week, with two of the USMNT’s most vital players potentially set to find new homes.

Let’s get to the Five.

Report: Oh god no, please no. Anything but this.

Christian, we beg of you: Anywhere but Manchester United

Do we have to talk about this? Really, do we have to?

FINE.

Christian Pulisic is being linked with a move to…

*takes a drag off cigarette, lets out long, deep, forlorn sigh*

Manchester United.

The Athletic, ESPN, and Sky Sports are all reporting it so it must have a small sliver of truth, although Manchester United has been linked with every functioning player with two legs and a pulse these days. So yeah, grain of salt.

But why, Christian? Why would you ever want this? Why would you even, as The Athletic says, prefer a move to Manchester United?

In a way, it makes sense. Pulisic hasn’t been an every-game starter at Chelsea for a while now. The World Cup is just three months away, and he wants to be in absolute tip-top form heading to Qatar.

But not Manchester United. No no no no.

United is a complete laughingstock, as you may have heard. The club’s current transfer strategy can best be described as “five-year-old unleashed in a candy store.”

Is there a plan at Old Trafford? No there is not.

There is no way to know if Pulisic would be in United’s long-term plans, because United does not have any long-term plans.

United’s transfers are currently being overseen by a man who has flown to Barcelona and Turin this summer to wrap up deals for two players, and has wrapped up zero deals.

Ralf Rangnick was brought on to temporarily coach the team last season before becoming a consultant for two years. After saying the club needed “open-heart surgery,” he decided after a few months that procedure was best left to someone else.

Would Pulisic play at Manchester United? Perhaps. He may be a fit for Erik ten Hag’s system but like at Chelsea, there are plenty of other options at winger.

But let’s say Pulisic earns Ten Hag’s trust. How long will Ten Hag last anyway? Two games into his tenure, there is already behind-the-scenes sniping.

Oh yeah, the locker room is absolute poison.

So let’s see: Pulisic could stay at a club where he’s still a valuable player, move somewhere stable, or join the club equivalent of the Fyre Festival.

Please, Christian. Just do what Elon Musk did and tell us this whole Man Utd link was really just a joke.

If you need any more advice, we’d recommend you simply call Jadon Sancho at your earliest convenience.

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The Americans Abroad Five: Tillman already a Rangers folk hero, Dest on his way out

A star has been born in Scotland, while some other USMNT players were less fortunate last week

Welcome back to the Americans Abroad Five!

This week we lead on the rise of Malik Tillman in Scotland. The USMNT forward would have hoped to settle well after his loan from Bayern Munich but without much senior action on his resume, there were plenty of question marks. But Tillman has passed his early tests with flying colors.

Elsewhere there were some unfortunate injuries to Americans in Europe, with the hard-luck duo of Richy Ledezma and Daryl Dike the headliners.

Let’s get to the Five.