The first blog in a regular series looking at some of the players from English speaking countries who are affecting things in Calcio. If you’re anything like me, the first player who immediately springs to mind is AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic. Italy seems to be a hotbed for American “soccer” talent and what better place to start than the first American to score in a Milan derby.
Hershey, Pennsylvania isn’t a traditional hotbed of football talent like Paris, South London or Milan would be but in September 1998 Kelley and Mark Pulisic welcomed their son Christian to the world. Kelley and Mark had both previously played “soccer” at college level at George Mason University and Mark had gone on to play professional indoor soccer for the Harrisburg Heat in the 90s.
Christian’s idol growing up may surprise a lot of Milan fans, identifying Inter star Luis Figo as his hero when he was a child, but seeing him run at defenders at the San Siro, they can surely forgive him for adopting his style!
During a year in England as a child, Christian briefly played in the youth academy of non-league side Brackley Town, however, it was the return to America that saw his soccer career really kick on. He played as a youth for Michigan Rush and then for US Soccer Development Academy club PA Classics.
At the age of 16 Christian decided to head to Germany, eligible through his Croatian grandfather to travel and play at 16 rather than 18 in the States. Sure enough, Borussia Dortmund picked up a young Christian Pulisic and the rest is history. He made his first team debut at the age of 18 in a victory against Ingolstadt in January 2016.
It wasn’t long before the USMNT recognised this young talent and in March 2016 he made his National Team debut in a 4-0 win against Guatemala. As of June 2025 he’s made 76 USMNT appearances, contributing 32 goals and 18 assists for his country.
Pulisic made the move from Germany to England in 2019 for a spell with Chelsea often harshly viewed by a partisan English crowd. While at Chelsea he became only the second American to score a hat trick in the Premier League, at the same time becoming Chelsea’s youngest ever hat trick scorer. He became the first American to win the UEFA Champions League Final and only the second ever to play in one when Chelsea defeated Man City at the final in Portugal. Injuries and increased competition would put paid to his career in England and he would eventually join Milan in 2023 to seek more playing time.
Christian scored on his debut in Serie A against Bologna in a 2-0 win, making him the first ever American to score in 3 of the top 5 European Leagues. In his first season in Italy he contributed 15 goals and 10 assists in 50 appearances. He was the first Milan player since Kaka to score more than ten non-penalty goals in a single Serie A season.
Last season Milan struggled and as a result, the players form largely went with it. However, Pulisic still achieved several milestones. The main one being the first American to score in the Derby della Madonnina when he gave Milan the lead at the San Siro “away” to Inter. Milan went on to win the game and break the curse of 6 consecutive defeats against their city rivals.
The goal was a perfect example of Pulisic’s energy and leadership, pressing Mkhitaryan in the midfield, running at the Inter back line who seemed to run away like scared sheep before passing the ball into the back of the net. It’s this kind of all action performance that earned him the nickname Captain America from the Curva Sud.
Although the season was not a classic for Milan, he did also score in the Supercoppa Final victory over Inter and his 15 goals and 9 assists earned him a spot in the Serie A team of the season and he led the league in chance creation.
Italy seems to have taken to the American from Hershey, with La Gazzetta commenting after one performance that, “He comes from Hershey, famous for the best chocolate in America. Yesterday, CP was pure sweetness too.”
The Milan fans have taken him to heart too, his willingness to learn Italian and conduct interviews in Italian will always see you right in Italy. One fan even remarked, “For me, he’s Milan’s best player, and I also really like his attitude whenever I hear him speak.” and MilanTV commentator Mauro Suma frequently chants “U-S-A, U-S-A” after his goals!
The pundits like him too, with popular and respected Tiago Leal saying, “For me, Pulisic can play on the right. He did it under Pioli, he is humble and he is a great professional, so he can play a lot of positions.” Fabio Caressa from Sky Sport Italia is also impressed. The esteemed journalist praised Pulisic as “the best signing of the entire summer transfer window,” highlighting his versatility and goal-scoring prowess.
His importance to Milan was also underlined with Stefano Pioli tailoring tactics to leverage Pulisic’s defensive diligence, with the team encouraging opponents to play towards Pulisic’s flank, trusting his work rate in defence.
The more attention that falls on Pulisic with these performances, the more chance there is he’ll be lured away from Milan and Italy, but for the time being he and his audience seem quite content to continue in each other’s company.
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