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Pulisic!

US Soccer presents
the United States vs Brazil.

I think when
Christian was really young,

he excelled
in like all the sports.

I mean, even five and six,

he was a really
good soccer player

but, um, did I think
he was gonna be professional?

I really tried to keep
my head on my shoulders.

Even though he was
a good athlete

and he did things
really advanced,

I just was like, you know,
it's such a small number,

But I never thought
at a young age,

"Oh, he's definitely
going to be a pro."

I just--
I knew in the back of my head

that he was a really good
athlete, but,

you know, it's just--
it's not realistic.

For me, the moment that
I look back on the most

was the Nike Friendlies
Tournament.

We beat Brazil and I won
the MVP of this tournament

with the US Youth National Team.

I saw Christian way back

when he played for the U-17s
in a tournament in Florida.

Pulisic goes around the defender,

arm is being pulled,
he still has it.

And yeah, it was a standout.

He's on side, left foot,

he'll pull it back,
shot, goal!

Gallardo feeds it to Pulisic.

Christian was always younger.

I think he was a year younger
than that group.

He was the smallest.

If you look back at video,
you could see how tiny he was.

And the United
States now has a 3-1 lead.

But all his hard work

of wanting to be that
on the national team

and wanting to be
the best player

kind of all came together
at that tournament.

You could see that there's
a talent coming through

that is special,
that is different,

that is already on the field

against teams
like England and Brazil.

He's already
a difference maker.

So I decided to follow him
a little bit

from that moment on.

The United States

is your Nike International
Friendlies champions of 2013.

It's just amazing
to be here right now.

Our team's been working so hard.

Everyone, every kid.

And today it all showed
on the pitch

and we just outplayed them.

And I think we were
the better squad.

And we got the W and won.

They upset Brazil
in the final.

He was named
Player of the Tournament.

And that tournament
meant a lot to him.

And talking to him
after that game,

I mean,
there was no stopping him

on the professional path.

You know, some of the best
players in the world,

at that age group were playing.

I think that was the moment
where I thought,

"I want to be a pro for sure."

I know that if I--
if I do the right things,

that I can do it.

It's funny, I have
a tattoo dated on my arm.

2013.

Yeah.
Kids, don't get tattoos.

I was living in Barcelona
and my company was based there

and my American talent scouts
called us up and said,

"There's this representative
team of American players

"that are currently
in Barcelona

"playing some matches
against some clubs

"and they're gonna be playing

"against FC Barcelona
tomorrow night.

"You need to go and watch
this kid play.

He's good."

So I said to one of my staff,

"Will you go watch the game

and tell me
what you think tomorrow?"

And he comes back into
the office the next day

and I said,
"How did he play?"

"Best player on the field."

I said, "On the field?"

They played Barcelona.

Full strength team
of that age group.

Best player on the field.

Interesting.

I remember
having coffee with Mark

and I said to Mark,
"Mark, I love Barcelona.

"I'm based here.

"Wow, I would love
nothing better

"than to see your son play
first team of FC Barcelona,

but my advice is probably
to look elsewhere."

"Yeah, but you know,
we'd love to go to England."

"Yeah, but to be honest,

no work permit,
he's under 16, etc., etc."

"It's gonna be difficult.

Let me see who's interested."

Christian ended up
going to Arsenal.

He was there for a week,
doing very well,

but all I heard was, "Yeah,
but he's got no passport."

There's actually
no point in him training.

It was frustrating,

but I think
it just confirmed to him

the abilities he possessed

and that he could take
this now to another level.

So he just continued
to pursue

and, sure enough,
Dortmund came calling.

To go to a foreign country,
it's difficult.

You're out of your comfort zone,
no doubt.

You're forced to speak
in a different language,

you're forced to figure out
ways to be successful

and you're forced to grow.

Because soccer
isn't innately American

at this point in time,

if you wanna go pro,

if you want to play for Milan,

you can't go to college,

you can't play in the NCAA.

You gotta do like Christian did.

Go to Europe.

If you see potential,
go to Europe.

When I look at
Christian Pulisic's situation,

it was the perfect
moment for him

to go and grow as a person,

off the pitch, on the pitch,

to get the necessary training

that was needed for
his ability at the time.

You know, even
when I was only 13 or 14,

I spoke with my dad
and he asked me

what it really is
that I wanted to do.

And I always said
I wanted to play

at the highest level in Europe.

That's what I want to do,

I want to become
a professional there.

But if I'm being honest,
when I was 13, 14,

and even still 15,
I was thinking, I don't--

I don't think there's any way
I could leave home right now.

I don't know
if I was ready for it

'cause that year
went so quickly.

And then we had to make
decisions like, is this right?

Should he go?
Should he stay?

And Mark and I,
you know, we said,

you know, he can't go alone.
He's too young.

Just didn't think it was
the right thing to do.

And for us as a family,

you know, our daughter
was in high school.

Like, you don't pull someone
out of high school

and say, let's go again.

It was time for her
to have her life as well.

So the best decision,
decision for us was

for me to stay back
and let her finish her year.

And Mark was going to Dortmund.

So that's when it got real.

And it just got real fast.

You okay?

Leaving my family,
leaving my friends.

I just-- It seemed--

It seemed so scary to me,

and it didn't become
any easier.

I was terrified.
I was terrified to leave home.

I was scared, I didn't know
if I was good enough.

I didn't know if I had
a chance of making it pro.

I was scared that
I would go do all this

and ruin my chances
of maybe going to college

or doing normal student
things and, you know,

shutting down
a lot of options in my life.

And I remember the decision
being incredibly hard.

Was it easy? No.

Was it terrible at times? Yes.

Were we sad? Were we crying?

Of course.

I mean, I'll tell you,
that tape got thin,

that was holding us together,
but it-- it did.

Even though he was
very young at the time,

and even though those
goodbyes were difficult,

he had a vision and he knew
what he wanted to do.

But not everything went well.

I remember the first week

coming back from trainings

and just telling my dad,

"These kids don't like me,
not one bit."

And it was the first time
I experienced that,

because back in the US
with my team,

I was the best player
and everyone loves me

and have a great time
at training.

And it's not guys making money
at that age already.

And when you go into
an environment like that, it's--

I don't want this guy
to take my spot.

I was like, these kids
won't pass me the ball

in training sessions.

They don't want
to see me succeed.

That's how it really felt.

I don't know if I could've
done it to be honest, I don't.

In order to play for
the youth teams there,

he needed to be in school.

And the nearest school where
all the academy players went

was just a German school.

Schooling in Germany
is not so easy

because the language is,
yeah, it's really difficult.

But there no possibility
to go to school in Germany

without learning the language.

And just because you are
very successful in sports,

you still have to be treated
as a normal student here.

I hated every second of it,
if I'm being honest.

I had no clue
what classes I was in.

I was so confused.

I had to be
at the training ground

to do an hour and a half
of German lesson,

train with the team
until 7:38 p.m.

and then I would go home,
have a quick dinner,

go to sleep 'cause
I had to be up at 7 or 8

to go to school the next day
and it felt like,

"What am I doing this for?"

"Am I even gonna
be able to play

and have a chance to become
a professional here?"

So he wants to do
all the things,

the normal program

and add on
to learn the language.

That, for a young guy,

is a lot of stuff, I think.

Um, it was really impressive.

To make that move
abroad into a foreign country,

you haven't got that
infrastructure behind you

with family and friends,

different messages
you're getting from coaches,

new teammates as well.

So, to make that move
at such a young age,

I mean, that takes some doing.

That's not just
about your ability,

that's about your mentality.

Christian going
into first gear,

does he shit his pants
or is it a smooth gear change?

No matter
what kind of move you make,

it's always a big change.

- Nice.
- That's not bad.

But now I'm sacrificing
my high school years

of growing up in the States

with the friends
that I knew my whole life.

Christian,
navigating a roundabout.

Yeah, it's too easy.

Trying to learn
another language,

not really understanding
what's going on in training,

trying to adapt
and improve yourself.

Yeah, into third gear,
good transition.

There were some tough nights.

I mean, he moved to
his first place in Dortmund

where we lived together

and we went and got
a Nerf basketball hoop.

And every night
he'd come back from training

and every night we would play
like a HORSE game

on this little basketball
Nerf hoop.

So we had many long
talks at night,

just kind of, you know, seeing
where he was, what he wanted.

And I said,
"Look, if it doesn't work,

you're not enjoying it,
we go home."

That was a...
interesting thing to hear.

And I was, you know, he knew
what that would do to me.

He said, "Go ahead, quit,
let's go home." You know?

"You don't wanna be
a professional? No problem."

And I, you know,
that didn't sit right with me.

The last thing Christian
wants to do is go home

and say,
"Hey, it didn't work out."

It's just not his DNA.

He knew I could do it
and I wanted to do it,

and I wasn't gonna let
anything stop me.

The advantage of Dortmund
is they will give young players

an opportunity at a young age.

And they're a big club.

You learn about pressure
at a young age

in a town that only
has a football team.

It's the greatest education
you can have.

Dortmund
is an amazing football city.

Everybody grows up with it
in Borussia Dortmund.

I was born here, grew up here,

and when you grow up here,
you cannot go around it.

It's 100% part of the life.

And it was a big honor
to work for this club

for such a long time

as the youth coach
in Borussia Dortmund.

And the job
was to develop players

that can make it from Germany,

but even one of the USA.

Hannes Wolf was,
I believe,

one of the major reasons
Christian succeeded at Dortmund

and was given an opportunity
to become a professional player.

He was that important
to Christian.

I think it was
important that Christian

and his family knew
that we really wanted him.

It was my job to give
everybody full attention.

But it's clear when you leave
your country and your continent

with 15 years and you don't
understand the language,

then it's completely clear

that you have
to take care about him.

And it was a very,
very special connection

from the very beginning.

Maybe other coaches
would've said,

"Hey, Christian,
sink or swim,"

um, but Hannes didn't do that.

They knew that we really
wanted the best for him

in every moment,
and not only for the team

and not only
for winning the next game.

It was always
to develop a player

who could make it to the top.

He knew Christian's
personality and mentality,

that he was very hard
on himself.

Hannes recognized that
right away.

He was very ambitious.

And when you're ambitious

and something doesn't work
like you want

because you don't score a goal
or you miss a goal

or something happens,
then it hurts.

With other players,
it's completely different.

You have to push them and bring
them into the intensity.

With Christian,
I felt a difference.

It was really about
taking the pressure out,

because wanting it
was deeply inside of him.

Hannes pushed
and would constantly speak

with Juürgen Klopp
about Christian.

I told Juürgen on the pitch,

"I have a player, he will play
on his 17th birthday."

"He will play with you."

And they were laughing
a little bit because

they didn't know
about him too much.

And it's not easy to play

in Borussia Dortmund
when you're 17, so that was--

That was brave from me.

You know, to me,

that's a coach or a mentor,

really believing in a player.

I remember being in art class
and looking at my phone

and I got a text
from Hannes and he said,

"Hey, tonight you're training
with the first team."

We had him in training
and I described him once.

It was like in a comic.

So when all these people
run together

and there's dust
and stuff like this,

we all have probably
the picture in our mind,

and in the end, one gets out

and looks completely untouched.

In this case,
with a ball on his feet.

That was Christian.

I remember going in
training with the first team

for the first time
and speaking to Juürgen

and I mean, the way
this guy treated me was--

I couldn't believe it.

The way he shook my hand
and said hello

and felt like he knew exactly
who I was, where I was from.

To me, that was
a pretty incredible sign

and something that you
don't even see a lot.

I just like the story,

this kind of Yugoslavian
background

with a good attitude
for the sport,

and that's the boy I saw.

But when you are
manager of a team,

it's not that you have
long, long, long conversations

with players
they don't play yet.

They come to training,
you look at that.

Um, and then I left
pretty quickly.

Juürgen Klopp
does take his final bow

at the Signal Iduna Park.

80,000-worth.

Coaches are important.

Because they give opportunities.

They are the gatekeepers in many
ways to success of that club.

And when you're 16,
you love the fact

that Juürgen Klopp
is the club's manager.

But if you're honest
with yourself,

the most important
part of the decision is

what does this club stand for?

I think that Germany is...

is really exceptional
in the way they evaluate talent

and they give talent
playing time

very early in your career,

if you have the qualities

that you prove
on the training ground.

And if you do that through
our training sessions

week in, week out,

we have the approach
in Germany that we say,

"You know what, let's throw
him in the cold water

and let him swim."

So he starts in the youth
academies at Dortmund

and I guess he immediately
turns heads there.

And then at some point
Dortmund is ready

to bring Christian Pulisic
into their games.

But there is one
major problem with that.

FIFA's Article 19.

The challenge was
that he came at 15-years old.

When you're from
European Union,

you are able to play at 16,

but when you're from America,

you can only play
at 18-years old.

So when Christian talks
about it was hard,

that's a part of it.

You come to another country,

to another continent to play
football,

to make it,
and then you cannot play.

You're healthy, you don't have
an injury, but you cannot play.

Christian
was only able to train

with the U-17 team
at Dortmund.

Good touch.

When he went there,
he was not permitted

to play games,
even with the youth team.

Oh!

On the day when we played,

we organized the training
with Mark and the Footbonaut.

The Footbonaut is a machine
where you can train

with your first touch.

And I think Christian played
400 to 500 touches

on a matchday with Mark.

But that was tough for him

and we felt the responsibility

to make something good
out of it, all the time.

It's a FIFA rule that,

honestly, is so detrimental

to the development
of a young footballer

that it's just--

It's actually criminal that
that rule is allowed to exist,

because I don't think in any
other sport that rule exists.

I can only imagine, you know,

the stress from his family
and the parents

to try and make this happen
because

it's such an incredible
opportunity.

But this is 2014,
and it just so happens

that a year earlier,
the country of Croatia

was accepted
into the European Union.

Now, why does that matter?

It matters because
Christian's grandfather

on his father's side,
Matej Pulisic,

was born and raised on the tiny
island of Olib in Croatia.

And because he is a citizen
of that country,

that also means that Christian

is eligible
for Croatian citizenship.

So now suddenly
everybody gets creative

because there's a loophole.

My whole life, I've been
Christian "Pool-ih-sick."

That's, I guess,
the American pronunciation.

It is a Croatian
last name, of course.

So my grandfather
would never be mad

if anyone calls me
Christian "Pool-ih-sitch."

My mom and dad
passed away a few years ago,

and I know the pride
that they both had.

I mean, my dad just--

He was just a huge, huge fan.

He loved Christian so much.

And when he used
to see his name

on the back
of Christian's jersey

when he was playing in Germany,

there would be tears
in his eyes.

And I just knew
what it meant to him.

And I know what it means
to me when I see his name.

Christian was in a situation

where he needs
a European passport,

and he can qualify for one
through his grandfather.

The application
was in the system,

but you need to get it
over the line, right?

And that's where Dortmund
came into the picture.

I know that Christian
and his family know that

this one and a half,
two years playing with the youth

were very important
for his development.

And we knew that we have
a very special kids with us

who cannot play.

So everyone
we can call, we called.

Dortmund knew my father
was born and raised in Croatia,

and the club obviously
had some contacts in Croatia.

So we were able
to utilize our name

and his address in Croatia
to start the paperwork process.

And it was gonna take
a long time.

But look, at the end of the day,

in this world,
anything can get done, right?

You know, it's crazy
that you have to figure out

these loopholes
to get EU citizenship,

to go to an academy
if you have the talent to do so.

From, from an American
standpoint,

it's a massive disadvantage.

If he didn't go
to Dortmund at 16

and he went to an MLS academy

or he was with an MLS team,

I don't think we would be
seeing the Christian Pulisic

that we see today on the pitch.

Getting the Croatian passport,

that was the game changer.

I wouldn't have had a chance

to have been a part of
the Dortmund first team

until I was 18,
if I didn't have that passport.

So there's no way
I would have been able

to be playing in Europe
and I'd have been,

you know, two,
three years behind.

Who knows if I would
have even developed

or had a chance by then.

Coming on here for his debut

is the young American,
Christian Pulisic.

I wanted to believe
that there was something special

on the other side of
that extremely difficult year.

I told myself every day that

this is--
this is all gonna be worth it.

You know, I think
that that first year,

it doesn't change
how I look back on it.

I still hated
waking up every day

and having to go to that school

and having to go do the lessons
and train and not playing.

It was--
It was extremely hard.

But I mean, looking back on it,

I'm just so blessed
that I went through that

and that I stuck it out.

As a kid, I always learned
that if you want to be the best,

you have to play
against the best.

And I think that
this is where it's at,

here in Europe right now.

And this is one of the best
leagues in the world

and one of the best teams.

So it's just an honor
to play here.

And it's always been my dream.

Okay, so your son
goes to Europe.

Professional debut at 17,

scores a goal at 17
in front of 80,000 people.

Kagawa, Hummels,
nice link up-- Pulisic!

Oh, yes, the youngster

and a startling day
for the young American.

A star is born.

Holy shit.

Look at the crowd over there.

Go make a debut
at 17 in front of that crowd,

as demanding and
as passionate as that.

I mean, can you imagine
the courage it takes?

That's not just
about your ability,

that's about your mentality.

There's lots
of players with talent,

but have you got
the mentality to play

at the highest level
in front of the,

you know,
the biggest atmospheres?

And that for me,
is what football's about.

Yeah, a special moment.

I'm extremely grateful
for the club

and the way they put me
through those difficult things,

you know, even when I didn't
see it at the time,

because that's what shaped me
into the person I am today,

into the player I am today.

There's Pulisic.

He sent a cross--
A sensational goal!

Ooh!

Christian Pulisic!

Almost can't believe it himsel.

I mean, I obviously just
wouldn't be where I'm at

if I didn't have that start
in those difficult times.

Pulisic, Pulisic...!

Goal!

A football career is difficult,

and it's massively influenced
by injuries and stuff like that.

A great club
educated a great boy,

so I knew he would make it.

A young academy player

making it as
a men's professional,

the most difficult jump
in football.

But he ended up with
unbelievable experiences

of playing Champions League
football at a young age,

playing in front of big
audiences every home game.

Everything worked out so well.

But there came a point
where both parties knew

that he was probably ready
for the next step.

I'm sad, man.
To be honest with you.

I respect him a lot
for what he did, like--

A tough day for me.

The maturity
to be able to, you know,

pursue something
as serious as that, and--

Five years here, man,
it's incredible.

Live out on your own, largely.

It's pretty crazy.

I think to say goodbye
in a proper way...

is an important thing in life.

It was my first club, and...

the way they yell my name

and the way they supported me,

I'll obviously always have
a lot of love for them.

They told me that
they'd be giving me

a little bit
of a goodbye and, um--

They said, "You know,
if you want,

you can say a quick word
to the fans."

And I said, "Absolutely."

I mean, it's the least
I could do.

Christian...

Pulisic!

Christian...

Pulisic!

Christian...

Pulisic!

Smart boy.

Obviously, a confident boy.

And it helps,

if you want to speak in front
of the Yellow Wall.

Confidence
is a good thing to have

because it's quite intimidating
when you stand there

and you look up to it.

Can you imagine that?

Your send off in front
of the Yellow Wall,

one of the most iconic pieces
of terrace in European football.

You're all alone,

speaking in a foreign language,

and see how emotional he was.

You could see the feeling
between player and fans.

I mean, it was a touching
moment for everybody.

I mean,
you got to think about it.

This is a young kid in front
of 83,000 people

saying goodbye to a club
that this is the only thing

he's known
for a number of years.

I was actually pretty
nervous for that moment,

for some reason, you know,

I can play in front
of 80, whatever, thousand,

but for some reason, when
you get a mic in your hand

and you have to speak,
it's a little bit different.

But, yeah,
it was what I owed them.

Oh...

But I did not expect
the wave of emotions to hit.

I didn't expect how
I would feel in that moment.

You know,
the respect from the fans,

I think, as a player
is just so important.

And then to be able
to address as a parent,

to see your kid
address 80,000 people...

Sorry.

Yeah, he's speaking German,
and fluently, too,

and thanking the crowd

for what they've given him
to start his career.

It's just--

I couldn't have been more proud.

I don't know--

Yeah, it's one of the best
moments so far, I think. Yeah.

Yeah.

Sorry.

♪ When you walk

♪ Through a storm

♪ Hold your hand up high

♪ And don't be afraid

♪ Of the dark

♪ Walk on through the wind

♪ Walk on through the rain

♪ For your dreams be tossed

♪ And blown

♪ Walk on, walk on

♪ With hope in your heart

♪ And you'll never

♪ Walk alone

♪ Alone

♪ You'll never

♪ Walk alone