After the final whistle blew in the game between the USA and Belgium in the round of 16 matches, Christian Pulisic found himself at the center of criticism. Instead of his efforts and input to the game taking center-stage his post-match comments sparked the biggest debate. Many like Landon Donovan voiced concerns about Pulisic’s comments and mentality. Now, former United States head coach Gregg Berhalter has stepped in to defend his former player, calling the criticism unfair.
“It’s really people trying to get attention because they know how big a superstar he is and that if they mention his name, they’ll get clicks,” Berhalter said in an interview to fire back at all the critics.
The USMNT had a sad ending to their World Cup campaign after their 4-1 loss to Belgium. The crowd had high expectations for Pulisic, yet he was subbed off in the 59th minute, hobbling. After the match, he gave a simple statement that, “I just totally twisted my ankle and my knee in one play. I mean, whatever. I have time to rest. It’s just an unfortunate way to finish.”
One statement, “I have time to rest,” started a domino effect of backlash. People started saying that winning the World Cup wasn’t a priority for him. Landon Donovan, a football legend in the US, also chimed in with his views on Pulisic. He questioned Pulisic’s toughness, noting that a home World Cup is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Berhalter, a longtime coach, felt highly repulsed by Donovan’s statement. ‘Berhalter explicitly labeled Donovan’s harsh comments as unwarranted. He called out every pundit for exploiting Pulisic’s superstar status. For Berhalter, people do not know the real Pulisic, whom he has worked with on the team.
“You know, the one thing I know about Christian, and I’ve worked with a lot of top players, is that I haven’t seen a top player be such a humble and team guy like Christian Pulisic. He does not have the superstar ego. He’s a total team player. I don’t know how much you guys know about it, but before every World Cup, he got the entire team gifts of appreciation for their hard work before the World Cup,” said Berhalter.
Days after the match, Pulisic had an X-ray and MRI, which diagnosed had suffered a bone bruise and a micro-fracture of the tibia and fibula in his right leg. It wasn’t just a ruse, and his injury was actually a serious one. Berhalter knows his players and fought hard for them.
Pulisic did not meet the expectations the nation had for him to produce. His performance was ultimately a major disappointment, heavily derailed and overshadowed by unfortunate physical injuries. While he started the home-soil tournament in elite form, gradually the injuries took over, and he ended his campaign with zero goals.
While acknowledging it wasn’t Pulisic’s best World Cup performance, which even the captain knows. For Berhalter, questioning his integrity and care for the team was entirely unjustified. He stressed the fact that it was a legitimate injury, and people should consider the circumstances before judging the forward. People shouldn’t use his name as a superstar solely for fame and clicks.
