Earlier in his career with the United States men’s national team, Christian Pulisic was criticized by then-manager Gregg Berhalter about the way he trained. Berhalter posited that the young American star was consistently dealing with injuries due to a lack of intensity in training compared to games.
As with most confident young athletes, Pulisic brushed off Berhalter’s words. But over time, what his manager was getting at sunk in.
“I thought about that more and make an effort to change the way I train and I way I prepare,” Pulisic recently told The Cooligans. “It made a big difference in my career.”
Now 27, Pulisic has made 84 appearances for the U.S. and gone from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea to now AC Milan. He’s succeeded in each stop, winning trophies with all three clubs.
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Internationally, a World Cup run like the U.S. had in 2002 is what is expected of this current side, which is led by Pulisic. On top of that, being one of the three host countries only adds to the expectations laid upon the team to not just get out of the group stage, but have success in the knockout rounds.
For Pulisic, dealing with the noise around him is nothing new.
“Everyone loves to bring up all the pressure and tell me about the pressure. I’m used to it,” he said. “I’ve lived like this for quite some time now. There’s always pressure there. For me, I just try to do my best to live in the moment. I wouldn’t trade what I do for the world.”
Dealing with pressure and criticism comes with the territory of being a leader. Pulisic will be one of the players the U.S. and its fans will look upon to guide the team to new heights this summer. For each poor result or match where he fails to make an impact, the conversation grows louder.
No matter what’s said, Pulisic isn’t hearing it and he’s not allowing it to affect his play on the field.
“I shut out 99% of that stuff that you probably hear, it really doesn’t affect me all that much,” he said. “It’s not nice to hear bad things about yourself or being scrutinized.
“I’m just grateful I’m in this position. This is exactly where I want to be. You can criticize me, scrutinize me all you want. I love what I do. I’m just going to keep pushing to be better. When it’s all said and done you can look back and see what I’ve done in my career and I hope I leave having no regrets.”
Check out the full conversation on the “The Cooligans” podcast — and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you listen.