Playing in England’s seventh-tier for Brackley Town as a seven-year-old: Is Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic the next to become a world superstar
The 18-year-old is making a name for himself with Dortmund, and has also bagged 13 international caps for the US
BORUSSIA DORTMUND youngster Christian Pulisic is widely regarded as one of the brightest prospects in world football since breaking through in the Bundesliga last year.
Already a senior international star with the USA, the 18-year-old credits time spent in England during his childhood, which saw him turn out for sixth-tier side Brackley Town, as playing a key part in his football development.
Our friends at Football Whispers have charted Pulisic’s rise from Hershey, Pennsylvania, to Dortmund, with a short but significant stop in the English countryside along the way.
Pulisic signed professional forms with Dortmund in February 15, 2015, and, having applied for Croatian citizenship through his grandfather’s heritage, was able to immediately move to Germany to join the Bundesliga side’s under-17 team.
It wasn’t long before he outgrew youth football, however, with his vast talent seeing him fast-tracked into BVB’s senior setup during the 2015/16 winter break, with a first-team debut following in February.
Within the space of seven months, the versatile attacking midfielder became the youngest foreigner to score in the Bundesliga, the youngest ever scorer for the US national team, the youngest player to bag a brace in the Bundesliga and the youngest player to represent Dortmund in the Champions League.
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Tipped for a bright future both at club and international level, Pulisic credits his love for the game to a year spent living in England in 2005, when he was just seven years old.
The player’s mother, Kelley Pulisic, was given the chance to work abroad on a teaching exchange, and the family left their native Pennsylvania to spent 12 months in Tackley, a small village eight miles north of Oxford.
While in England, the young Pulisic discovered his passion for soccer and joined the junior ranks of Brackley Town in Northamptonshire, who currently play in the National League North, five divisions below the Premier League.
He had already begun to play the game back home, but he credits his time on this side of the Atlantic with forging his drive to become a professional footballer.
“A lot of people don't realise but it really brought on my passion for the game,” Pulisic told the last year.
“After school every day, I was just out for hours in the park, playing with my schoolmates.
“That's really where my love for the game started to come alive and that was a big part of my development.
“I just started to love it so much and I said: "Wow. I'm pretty good! I think I can do something with this game."
Back in the US, during his teens, already earmarked as a precocious talent, Pulisic’s father would take him to Europe to visit the academies of some of the continent’s biggest clubs.
“When he was 15 and playing in the national sides, he realised he had to make the move quickly for the development of his game,” Dad Mark told in 2016.
“Once, as parents, we felt he was ready and it was something he wanted, we went to visit Dortmund.
"All of us decided we felt it was the right move and the club was great with us, so we took the plunge. You have to go with your gut feeling.”
So far, it’s proven to be a sound choice. Pulisic featured 29 times in the Bundesliga for BVB in 2016/17 and another 10 times in the Champions League, contributing four goals and an impressive eight assists.
Contracted to Dortmund until 2020, the teenage sensation is likely to remain at Signal Iduna Park for the time being, but with Liverpool known admirers, Pulisic could some day return to England.