SeatownJay":1muxdp1g said:
Uncle Si":1muxdp1g said:
Quite a few of the younger guys looked good tonight. Pulisic, Yedlin, Nagbe, Brooks. Although watching former Sounder Yedlin struggle a bit when defending current Sounder Joevin Jones was interesting.
Nagbe and Villafaña looked good (for you Timber fans).
But Pulisic is at another level than any American I've seen since Dempsey was rampaging with Fulham years ago... and at 18. His 2nd goal last night was a fantastic bit of quality that many may not even appreciate in terms of difficulty.
He's just better in nearly every way than the rest of this squad. He gets "it" (a very difficult concept to understand and one Americans struggle with) in a way I don't remember Donovan or Dempsey every doing.
I'll give an example... was watching a Dortmund highlight a couple months ago. It was a Dembele highlight. Kid picks the ball up off a defended corner around the edge of the circle and begins what will become a 70 yard run. Glides through the center circle then sharply directs his run to the right with a hard diagonal touch, picking up a lot of pace as he runs at the right side of the D. Ends with him laying a pass off for Emre Mor who fires at the keeper from 12 out.
Where is Pulisic in this? He started off on the right, out of the picture. As Dembele starts to slow his run down around the center circle Pulisic blazes into your screen, crossing in behind Dembele and making a truly lung busting 100 yard sprint into the left channel. The defenders sway and this is when Dembele sharpens his run into the right. Mor runs into the channel that with most any other player would already be filled, limiting Dembele's option to one half the field. Pulisic, 18 years old, makes that run with little hope of getting the ball. But without, no shot from Mor. No run from Dembele. Its why he's an integral part of one of the better teams in the world and I think might be the first American to be subject to a high transfer fee to one of the bigger (in terms of global branding) clubs in the world (say an Arsenal, United or Liverpool) and may just skip that level to a Real Madrid or Barca.
I watch (and coach) alot (alot) of this game. Pulisic is extremely special. They hype on him is real and as fans of American soccer we should all enjoy.