Clint Dempsey was a special American player because of his skill with the ball, which was way beyond any other American player minus Freddy Adu, who for all his problems, was exceptional with the ball at his feet. Christian Pulisic appears to have Dempsey’s technical ability with the ball, although it remains to be seen just how his shooting and ball striking compare.
Christian Pulisic’s Speed Gives Him an X-Factor That Clint Dempsey Didn’t Have
Without a doubt his passing is as good or better than Dempsey’s. Pulisic’s speed and quickness allows him to shake defenders and/or glide past them even if they are particularly fast. Dempsey didn’t have this asset to use, even though he was by no means slow. Pulisic, on the other hand, is truly fast, and his electric speed makes him more dangerous against top competition than Dempsey was.
Dempsey had many qualities, and in many ways, he was underrated to the extent that people looking to mock American soccer players liked to downplay and openly scoff at his ability. Of course, there was no justification for this, but nevertheless, the speed that Pulisic has allows him to beat defenders and get into the area with greater ease than Dempsey. One has to think that Dempsey can’t watch Pulisic without wishing that he himself was blessed with that extra gear of speed.
They say speed kills, so you should have no illusions that speed isn’t a deadly weapon in football. Speed is so important that many observers have claimed that Kylian Mbappe has already surpassed Neymar despite not having the same quiver of dribbling, passing, and shooting skills that make the Brazilian truly a grandmaster. Mbappe’s speed hypnotizes people into believing that he is a better player than Neymar which isn’t the case. In an interview with Alexis Nunes of ESPN, the Jamaican footballer, Leon Bailey said that Neymar was the only player close to Ronaldinho in terms of technical ability and magic with the ball. He could have said Lionel Messi, but he didn’t. That tells you just how magical Neymar is.
The increased media attention on Pulisic now that he’s at Chelsea in many ways demonstrates a certain degree of bias and ignorance amongst the media and fans. Pulisic was already playing for Borussia Dortmund, which is arguably the second biggest club in Germany and in the Bundesliga, so Pulisic was already a proven commodity at the highest level. German football is better than English football, and Germany as a country has four World Cup titles. To argue that Pulisic is only now playing under the spotlight or at the highest level is simply demonstrably untrue.
We’ll see how Pulisic performs for Chelsea and how much he plays. He looked sharp, electric, direct, and aggressive in his first game for Chelsea. Although last season at Dortmund, his playing time was down from the previous year, Chelsea’s players might not be at the same level as Dortmund’s. German football is very technical and elite, and it’s hard to argue that the Premier League showcases the same degree of technical skill and ability.
One thing is for certain, and that is that Pulisic is easily the best American player any of us has ever seen. No other American was able to attack top defenders and blow past them like Pulisic has done, and in addition to his individual 1v1 ability and speed, he has a great football mind who reads the game quickly and plays creative one-to-two touch football.