It has been 24 years since
It is sure to happen for the second time on Saturday.
In what will be a landmark occasion for the
Pulisic, in particular, is on the threshold of history because no American has ever played in a
Kirovski didn't play a minute in the knockout stage during Borussia Dortmund’s run to the title in the 1996-97 season. Indeed, he wasn't on the roster for the final against
A winner’s medal for Steffen would also come with something of an asterisk, given he has only played once for City in the
Pulisic’s impact has been far more telling.
Take the semifinals, for example, when he scored the crucial away goal in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with
Then, in the second leg, it was another piece of individual skill from Pulisic, who again skipped past Courtois and then waited to deliver a pass from the byline, that set up the second goal — converted by
The 22-year-old Pulisic has yet to explode in his injury-hit two years at
Jürgen Klinsmann, who first called up Pulisic to the national team as
“He went through a huge learning curve, maturing process, which he's still in,” Klinsmann said, “and he worked under several different coaches, which gives you all different information. It doesn't mean that you're always on the same page, but you just try to take the best out of every relationship in every environment.”
Pulisic recognizes that.
“I’ve come very far,” Pulisic told
Key to that is Pulisic trusting his body after a difficult first half of the season in which he was hampered by persistent hamstring injuries. He had hobbled off with the same injury during the FA Cup final loss to Arsenal in August and the club ended up devising a tailored training plan for him.
Pulisic has only established himself as a regular — be that as a starter or a guaranteed impact sub — from March under
Pulisic’s numbers aren’t outstanding — he has four goals and set up three more in the
The stats only tell half the story, though, when it comes to Pulisic, who plays a key role is causing chaos in a difficult-to-pick-up role between the lines of the opposition's midfield and defense.
Pulisic will likely only have small pockets of space to operate in against a hard-working City team that presses well, and his role will be to make things happen in the expected rare occasions that
“I think he's now far more demanding in his game,” Klinsmann said. "He wants the ball continuously and he wants to put a stamp on the game with his presence on the field. And it's not very easy to do that at
“There's a rotation in place from the manager that, you know, brings people in and out. You come from the bench. You start a game and again maybe come from the bench. That is a huge learning curve because you still got to keep your spirit up.”
Pulisic is an entertainer on the field, but he has said he doesn't care how
“It is great to watch entertaining, attacking and free-flowing football all the time," he said, “but when it gets to the end of the season, results matter.”
An American winner will cap a breakthrough season in the
They are sure to be looking on with pride, and no doubt a hint of jealousy, at Steffen and Pulisic this weekend.
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