Pulisic should transfer away from Chelsea, says ex-USMNT star Dooley

Thomas Dooley thinks it might be time for Christian Pulislic to move on from Chelsea

Christian Pulisic’s future with Chelsea is cloudy if not downright murky, with irregular playing time casting a shadow on the American’s chances to stay with the London club.

While injuries factored into his availability this season, Pulisic wasn’t a consistent starter for Chelsea even when healthy.

He started 34 percent of Chelsea’s total games and played 38 percent of all available minutes. When he was healthy, Pulisic started just about half of the games for which he made the squad.

And while new American ownership certainly could factor into the construction of the roster and Pulisic’s visibility, it is possible that Chelsea may not be the best fit for the young American.

Former United States international Thomas Dooley, who played almost a decade in the German Bundesliga before joining MLS in 1997, thinks that Pulisic should be pursuing a pathway out of Chelsea and to a situation where playing time will be regular.

“Of course he should [leave Chelsea]. Either it is about money or prestige. Is it that much better to sit for a big club on the bench or at another club and play all the time? I don’t like to sit on the bench, no matter what. When the coach [Erich] Ribbeck came to Leverkusen with 14 national team players … and when that coach put me on the bench, I went to the management and asked them to let me go – even though the manager begged me to stay,” Dooley told Pro Soccer Wire.

“I went to Schalke, a team who just came up from the second Bundesliga because I wanted to play and not sit on the bench.”

Dooley would go on to help Schalke win the 1997 UEFA Cup over Inter. He played 81 times for the USMNT including at the 1994 and 1998 World Cup.

Currently, Dooley is the head coach of the Philippines national team, having spoken to Pro Soccer Wire recently about the challenges facing him in what is now his second tenure with the federation. The selection is off to a solid start in Asian Cup qualifiers with a draw and a win.

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Christian Pulisic dyed his hair and now everyone thinks he’s in a boy band

Pulisic could be sporting a sensational bleach-blonde mullet come the World Cup

We’ve covered Christian Pulisic’s hair recently on this website.

Just one week ago, speculation was rampant that the U.S. men’s national team star was in the early stages of growing a mullet that would, in theory, be free-flowing by the time the World Cup arrived.

But now there has now been a new twist in this saga. The Chelsea forward showed up at USMNT training on Wednesday with an eye-catching bleach-blonde patchwork on top of his burgeoning mullet.

Crucially, the business-in-front-party-in-back structure has not been touched, suggesting that Pulisic could be sporting a sensational bleach-blonde mullet come the World Cup.

There was plenty of reaction to Pulisic’s new look, with comparisons to Guy Fieri, Machine Gun Kelly, a young Landon Donovan and, most notably, early-2000s boy bands.

Christian Pulisic speaks on USMNT gun control letter

“I think people can say ‘It’s not the guns, it’s the people,’ but we have to start somewhere.”

Christian Pulisic spoke out on the U.S. men’s national team’s letter calling on Congress to pass gun control legislation following a 0-0 friendly draw against Uruguay on Sunday.

In the aftermath of the recent mass shootings in Buffalo and Uvalde, the USMNT released a letter addressing both the House of Representatives and the Senate before the game, and all players wore orange armbands as part of gun control movement Everytown’s “Wear Orange Weekend.”

Speaking to reporters after the game, Pulisic said the idea to take action spread “throughout the whole team,” noting that head coach Gregg Berhalter talked to some players about the subject and that the team drafted the letter collectively.

“I hope you guys can all realize why we did it,” said Pulisic, who said that he felt that “anything that we can do in trying to take action” was worth doing. “I think people can say ‘It’s not the guns, it’s the people,’ but we have to start somewhere. And [the letter] was where we wanted to start.”

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Is Christian Pulisic growing a mullet? All signs point to yes

Pulisic’s back hairline, though still high, is showing some promising signs of creeping down below his ears

There were many questions that came from the U.S. men’s national team’s 3-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday night: Can Brenden Aaronson continue to star in a central role? Will Haji Wright be the answer at striker? Is Aaron Long the best replacement for Miles Robinson?

But the most important question by far surrounded the hairstyle USMNT star Christian Pulisic is developing, specifically: Is it now, or will it ever be, a mullet?

It seems, at the very least, that he is testing the waters. With sides shaved, Pulisic’s back hairline, though still high, is showing signs of creeping down below his ears.

But was it on purpose? Is he just waiting a few days to end his mullet curiosity? Or was it the beginning of the real deal?

And then a sign appeared. As if aware of the intense speculation, Pulisic went on Instagram and made it official.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CeUG9xvpq2r/?hl=en

“Mullet game loading soon,” he said, alongside a picture of the back of his increasingly mulleted head.

With about six months left until the World Cup kicks off, Pulisic could have a free-flowing salad by the time Qatar rolls around, much like Real Betis star Héctor Bellerín.

Of course, Pulisic need not look all the way to Spain for inspiration. In fact, he has a strong mullet role model in his own family.

This is, of course, a developing story. Could Pulisic get a haircut and end the dream? It’s always possible. But it does seem like everything is trending in the right direction for the time being.

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Christian Pulisic calls out ‘amount’ of United States fans at USMNT friendly win over Morocco

He wasn’t happy.

Christian Pulisic told it like it was after USMNT defeated Morocco 3-0 on Wednesday night.

After playing at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, the superstar was asked how it felt to be in front of Team USA fans again … and Pulisic didn’t hold back.

“For whatever reason, I’m not super happy with the amount of Americans here, however that works out, if I’m being completely honest,” he said. “But thanks to the ones who did come, and the support is always great from them.”

Whew.

It looked like there were plenty of Americans celebrating an amazing assist by Pulisic, but apparently, Morroco fans may have outnumbered them:

Here’s that assist, by the way, and WOW it’s awesome.

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Pulisic calls out fans in Cincinnati after USMNT win over Morocco

“I’m not super happy with the amount of Americans here,” the captain said

Christian Pulisic had some harsh words for the crowd in Cincinnati after the U.S. men’s national team’s 3-0 win over Morocco on Wednesday night.

Pulisic scored and drew a penalty at TQL Stadium in a friendly win but after the game, he didn’t hesitate to call out what he perceived to be as a lack of support at the stadium.

“I’m not super happy with the amount of Americans here, however that worked out if I’m being completely honest,” Pulisic said in an interview on ESPN. “But thanks to the ones who did come and the support is always great from them.”

The announced attendance for the match was 19,512, several thousand below TQL’s capacity of 26,000.

There were also a number of Morocco fans in the crowd, creating a vociferous atmosphere but perhaps one that wasn’t as pro-America as the team’s star may have liked.

Four of the USMNT’s seven most recent home games have come in the state of Ohio, with two apiece in Columbus and Cincinnati.

The USMNT defeated Mexico 2-0 before a sellout crowd of 26,000 in a World Cup qualifier at TQL Stadium in November 2021.

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‘His come-up has been incredible’ – Pulisic salutes Aaronson after big-money Leeds transfer

The most expensive USMNT player of all-time hailed the player who is now just behind him on the list

Christian Pulisic has saluted Brenden Aaronson’s rapid development after the attacker became the second-most expensive U.S. men’s national team player of all-time last week when he joined Leeds.

Aaronson completed a reported $30 million move from Red Bull Salzburg, and now trails only Pulisic ($73m to Chelsea in 2019) on the list of highest transfer fees ever paid for a USMNT player.

Though Pulisic is only two years older, Aaronson has cited him as an inspiration for moving to Europe as a teenager with Borussia Dortmund. Aaronson followed in Pulisic’s footsteps when he left the Philadelphia Union at age 20 to join Salzburg.

Pulisic told reporters that he was happy to hear Aaronson – who grew up in Medford, N.J., just over two hours from his hometown of Hershey, Pa. – cited him as a big reason he made the jump to Europe.

“That’s a big reason why I do what I do. I hope to inspire kids and anyone really,” Pulisic said.

“I was also inspired by people close to my age that made it right before me, a lot of the guys playing in Europe, a lot of the American national team guys at the time, whether it was Clint [Dempsey] or Geoff Cameron, [Alejandro] Bedoya, those guys inspired me and I wanted to do exactly that.

“I’m happy any way I can help Brenden. You can see his come-up has been incredible. Now he’s going to be playing in the Premier League … it’s exciting. And hopefully that will just continue to go on and on. Now he’s going to inspire the next kid.”

Pulisic endorses Aaronson in the middle

Aaronson has been deployed mostly as a winger during his 18 career appearances with the USMNT but on Tuesday, head coach Gregg Berhalter said he would be starting the 21-year-old centrally in Wednesday’s friendly against Morocco.

Pulisic, who himself shifts between central and wide attacking positions, has endorsed the idea of his teammate playing in the middle.

“I think he’s a player that can absolutely play multiple positions,” Pulisic said. “He’s a guy who can bring you so much energy even against the ball, and then we all know about his quality on the ball as well and how he can hurt you as well. So I think it can work out very well.”

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FA Cup Final: Penalty heartbreak for Chelsea again vs. Liverpool

The FA Cup final was an echo of the Carabao Cup, with Liverpool and Chelsea playing out a scoreless draw once again, and the Reds taking the trophy on penalties for the second time in less than three months.

Liverpool’s pursuit of a quadruple is alive after they lifted the FA Cup at Wembley Saturday, defeating Chelsea 6-5 on penalties after 120 scoreless minutes.

Kostas Tsimikas fired home the winning penalty in the seventh round after Alisson saved Mason Mount’s effort. With the game on the line in the fifth round of shots, Sadio Mané saw his potential winning penalty saved by Édouard Mendy, only for Liverpool to recover and win the tiebreaker.

The victory keeps Liverpool in the running to make history, as they pursue England’s first-ever quadruple. The Reds have now won both domestic cups (beating Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup final back in February), and still have the Champions League final against Real Madrid coming up in two weeks. In the league, they trail Manchester City by three points with two matches left to play.

The two sides produced draws in league play and then needed penalties to separate them in February’s Carabao Cup final, which like today’s game finished in a scoreless draw. Despite chances at both ends, some wayward finishing and late fatigue assured yet another level finish between two of England’s top sides.

Liverpool had all the early chances, with Mendy’s 8th minute save on Sadio Mané proving crucial. However, after about 30 minutes, Chelsea stabilized, and both teams struck the woodwork. Marcos Alonso saw a free kick strike the crossbar moments into the second half, while Liverpool hit both posts in the late stages. Mendy saw a Luis Díaz shot clip his left post, and within a minute, Andrew Robertson’s volley cracked off the other side of the goal frame.

Beyond Liverpool winning their first FA Cup since 2006, the biggest storyline in this game is a potentially worrisome injury for Mohamed Salah. Liverpool’s star forward took a seat on the Wembley pitch due to an apparent injury, with Jürgen Klopp forced to replace him with Diogo Jota in the 33rd minute.

Christian Pulisic watch

Pulisic, starting on the right side of the Chelsea front three before a late move into the center forward role, was arguably the Blues’ most dangerous player on the day, but couldn’t find the breakthrough goal.

He nearly stunned Liverpool with a 22nd minute chance—the first true look for Chelsea—that he pushed just wide from 14 yards. The USMNT star created two good looks for Marcos Alonso, before being denied by Alisson moments into the second half.

In the end, Pulisic played through the first 105 minutes, being replaced during the break in extra time by Ruben Loftus-Cheek.

Christian Pulisic put Jesse Marsch and Leeds in even bigger relegation trouble

It was the first time an American player scored against an American coach in the Premier League

There was some American-on-American violence in the Premier League on Wednesday, with Christian Pulisic profiting at Jesse Marsch’s expense.

Marsch’s Leeds side is in serious danger of relegation, and they faced a difficult task when Chelsea came to Elland Road on Wednesday.

That task was made much more difficult within the game’s first 24 minutes. After Mason Mount gave Chelsea the lead in the fourth minute, Dan James was shown a straight red card for a horrendous challenge on Mateo Kovacic.

Ten minutes into the second half, Pulisic put the game all but out of 10-man Leeds’ reach. Mount found Pulisic with a lay-off at the top of the box, and the American calmly slotted home with his left foot to make it 2-0.

It was Pulisic’s sixth Premier League goal of the season and eighth in all competitions. The goal was also the first time an American player had scored against an American coach in the Premier League.

Chelsea would comfortably win the match 3-0, leaving Leeds in 18th place, the final relegation position. With two games to play, Leeds is even on points with 17th-place Burnley, but the Clarets have three games left to play and a far superior goal differential to Leeds.

Watch Pulisic’s goal for Chelsea

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Here’s when you can watch USMNT’s World Cup 2022 group stage games on TV

What a comfortable draw for the Americans.

The dust has settled, and the names have been released from the tiny soccer balls. We know who is guaranteed to play each other in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. We also know who to expect to come out on top. What a fun little web we weave as a soccer community.

What we didn’t know is when the United States — which will be in its first World Cup in eight years — will play over the holiday season. It appears the FIFA schedule makers have a soft spot for the Americans (and they really, really want those TV dollars).

When you start to kick back in late November to watch the Americans in the World Cup group stage, you’ll be able to do it on a lovely, lazy afternoon.

All three USMNT World Cup group stage games start at 2 p.m. Eastern. Huh.

Does any other team have the same advantage of consistency? Count your lucky stars that you can see Christian Pulisic in his first World Cup, halfway across the world, while you’re still wide awake.

As far as what you can expect from USMNT, Tipico Sportsbook has the Americans at +10000 to win the World Cup. That would slot them in at a comfortable 18th overall. So, not likely. But hey, crazier things have happened. And at least you’ll get to watch the U.S. soccer madness while there’s still light outside.

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