USMNT: Christian Pulisic handled perfectly by Frank Lampard

Christian Pulisic has enjoyed an encouraging first season at Chelsea. Part of the USMNT’s star’s success is how he has been by Frank Lampard.

Christian Pulisic’s move from Borussia Dortmund to Chelsea was a bold one. He immediately faced a challenge of defeating the stigma against U.S. Men’s National Team players: Few American players have had success in the Premier League. Perhaps the most successful outfield player is Clint Dempsey, and he was rarely better than an average Premier League midfielder.

As such, it was important that Pulisic’s move was handled correctly. You cannot put too much pressure on his shoulders, and yet, there was still a justified expectation to perform well. Just like every player, it takes time to adapt, but Pulisic could not use this holiday period complacently.

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Eventually, Pulisic found his rhythm and played rather well. His hat-trick against Burnley was the highlight of an encouraging first half of the season. So far, he has five goals and two assists in 16 appearances.

However, it took 10 games for Pulisic to get his first goal for Chelsea, and as he continued to push and strive for that breakthrough, questions began to rise regarding his ability, especially given the $73 million price tag. Chelsea’s manager Frank Lampard easily could have entirely shut Pulisic out from the starting lineup. But he didn’t. Even when he was struggling, Lampard handed Pulisic opportunities to grow, managing his time with important matches in which he was dropped to assess his recent performances.

Pulisic sat out of three games including a big match against Liverpool in September and did not start five successive Premier League matches. This was a make or break moment. He could take the absence from the pitch as a slap in the face or he could use it as a learning moment. Pulisic took the move in stride and it made all the difference. Upon his return to the starting XI, he scored a hat-trick.

Brian McBride, the general manager of the USMNT, had some high praise for Lampard and how he handled Pulisic. Speaking to Mike’d Up, Chelsea’s official U.S. podcast, he said:

"“Christian’s moved over to a new country, joined a new team and had to establish himself in a new league. There could have been the pressure there on him to deliver straight away but Frank understood that he needed to have time to adapt. So, from a U.S. national team perspective, that was really nice to see. We don’t know what was happening behind the scenes at the club and how hands on that would have been, but it allowed time for Christian to settle in, adapt and integrate into the team. He was then able to understand how both Chelsea and Frank wanted him to play.”"

It will be interesting to see how Pulisic plays whenever the Premier League resumes play. After missing the majority of 2020 with a curious adductor injury, first and foremost, he needs to focus on getting healthy. The time off has probably helped him out in doing so, but he must find his feet again as he searches for true match sharpness.

Nevertheless, if Lampard continues to manage Pulisic as he has done, we could see him find success in England. It has been a slow burner for those more eager to see Pulisic thrive, but that patience will pay dividends. Pulisic is still the USMNT’s shining star, and Lampard has only helped that process.