Captain America Moves to Top of Serie A

  Football star Christian Pulisic, AC Milan midfielder, netted his fourth goal on Saturday in a 1-0 win over Genoa. The goal was assisted by fellow U.S. Men’s National Team member, Yunus Masah. The beauty of a shot pushed the club to the top of the Italian Serie A table. The goal only added even more drama to an already theatrical match, as both team’s keepers exited the match early. The match was plagued with fouls with a total of seven yellow cards as well as two red cards. Milan keeper Mike Maignan was dealt a red card for a foul that occurred late in stoppage time. Similarly, Genoa goalkeeper Josep Martinéz saw his second yellow card in the one hundred and third minute. As both teams finished without a keeper, Pulisic’s late match-class of a goal only added more excitement to the scenes.

The Captain’s History

Christian Pulisic, nicknamed Captain America, was born in Hershey, Pennsylvania in 1998. He began his journey to professional football at the young age of sixteen in Borussia Dortmund’s U17 squad. Although most foreigners cannot begin their overseas career until age eighteen, Pulisic was an exception because of his dual Croatian citizenship. After only fifteen games with the development program, Pulisic was promoted to the senior squad at age seventeen. After four successful years with the German club, Pulisic made another huge step transferring to the English Premier League team Chelsea FC.

Pulisic, now in his eighth year as a senior pro, signed with the Italian squad in mid July of the past summer, despite a lackluster final year with his former club Chelsea FC. The signing was fueled by his strong 2022 FIFA World Cup performance, with Man of the Match awards for his showings against both England and Iran. His two awards were tied for the third most of the entire tournament, behind only France’s Kylian Mbappé and Argentina’s Lionel Messi. 

Pulisic’s departure from Chelsea can be compared to NBA guard James Harden’s original departure from the Houston Rockets. After growing his name as a teenager at Borussia Dortmund, the midfielder left for London in 2019. Similarly, Harden was drafted to the Oklahoma City Thunder and was later traded to the Rockets and would eventually end up a Brooklyn Net after some stellar seasons in Houston. Both players built their reputations on one squad, went elsewhere and really shined then let injuries drag them down until they were tired of their organizations. 

Dramatic Scenes

As Maingan left the pitch after his red card, Milan coach Stefano Pioli was left with a big decision to make as he had already used all five of his substitutions. He stated in press conferences later that he discussed the idea of Pulisic stepping in goal. However, listed at just five foot ten, he deemed the midfielder too short. So instead, he went with the French striker Oliver Giroud, who put on a very special performance. The striker ran head on at Genoa’s George Puscas, who was making a strong run for a late equalizer. Sunday morning, the organization announced that they would be putting Giroud goalkeeper kits into production available for purchase. The club stated, “last night Oliver Giroud became a part of Milan history by courageously defending the AC Milan goal in the final minutes of the Rossoneri’s match against Genoa.” 

Milan’s win over Genoa could be compared to just about any game of the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles 2017-2018 playoff run. Star quarterback Carson Wentz went down with an ACL injury in week thirteen. As a result jouneyman backup Nick Foles stepped up to lead the offense. The Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl, famously featuring Foles moving over to wide receiver to secure a touchdown catch, similar to Giroud’s punch-out save. 

Outlook

Milan is set for three more matches in the month of October. Two of which are within Serie A competition; going up against Juventes as well as Napoli. The squad will go up against Paris Saint-Germain in a highly anticipated UEFA Champions League matchup between league play. The following two months will be a very strong test for the up and coming club. They are set to play eleven matches, three of which will be within UEFA Champions League play. 2023’s end is the most full schedule they have coming up, as the 2024 schedule dims to four matches monthly. Most anticipated of all, Milan travels to Dortmund November twenty-eighth for Pulisic to face his former club.