In the second part of Goal’s exclusive chat with the USA star, he reveals why he’s using the Reds as inspiration at BVB this season <\/p>\n
Christian Pulisic hopes Borussia Dortmund can follow in Liverpool\u2019s footsteps by making an impact in the Champions League this season.<\/p>\n
The USA international got a close look at Jurgen Klopp\u2019s Reds when the sides met in their International Champions Cup clash in Charlotte, North Carolina last weekend.<\/p>\n
Pulisic\u2019s impact was decisive, the 19-year-old scoring two goals and helping create another as Lucien Favre\u2019s men came from behind to win 3-1.<\/p>\n
Juve on alert: Exiled Icardi may have already played his final game for Inter Sarri vindicated for dropping Kepa as Chelsea & Pedro impress in Spurs win Magnificent Mane takes centre stage as league leaders Liverpool put on a five-star show Lukaku sends reminder that his Man Utd career is far from over <\/p>\n
And in an exclusive interview with Goal, the attacking midfielder revealed he had watched with interest as Liverpool thrillingly fought their way to the Champions League final back in May. They eventually came up short, beaten by Real Madrid in Kiev, but Pulisic believes their run should serve as an inspiration for clubs such as his own.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was incredible to see their run to the final,\u201d he said. \u201cWe would like to do something like that ourselves this year, I have to say. That\u2019s the ultimate goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pulisic, naturally, takes a keen interest in how Klopp is doing. It was the German who gave him his first chance to train with Dortmund\u2019s senior side as a 16-year-old during the 2014\/15 season, and though Klopp would be gone before he could make his first-team debut, the two clearly share a mutual respect.<\/p>\n
In Charlotte, Klopp spoke of Pulisic\u2019s \u201chuge talent\u201d and tipped him to become \u201ca big player\u201d for club and country. He likes him a lot \u2013 and the feeling is mutual.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was there when I came,\u201d Pulisic said. \u201cI was obviously playing with the youth teams at Dortmund, but he was the one who gave me my first professional training session, just to give me a taste of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always accepted me and he was very kind to me, so I will always be thankful for that. I know he\u2019s a great guy, and it\u2019s nice to see him doing so well for Liverpool.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if Klopp was the kind of manager players enjoy playing under, Pulisic added: \u201cYes, absolutely. I personally didn\u2019t get to know him too well, but I\u2019ve heard stories from some of my team-mates who did, and they loved playing for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two had crossed paths before last Sunday\u2019s game in Charlotte, of course. Few will forget when\u00a0Dortmund came to Anfield for a Europa League quarter-final second leg in April 2016. It ranks as one of the great European nights in the Reds\u2019 history.<\/p>\n
Pulisic watched the drama unfold from the bench, an unused substitute on a night when Dortmund led 3-1 and 4-2 on aggregate but eventually succumbed to Dejan Lovren\u2019s stoppage-time header in front of the Kop.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, I remember it very clearly!\u201d Pulisic says, with a wry smile. \u201cI was substitute that night, and didn\u2019t get to be involved. But it was the wildest game that I\u2019ve ever been a part of!<\/p>\n
\u201cThe atmosphere in that stadium\u2026 wow! You could see why it\u2019s so difficult to play there. There was a point in that game where we were just kind of looking around saying \u2018wow, this is insane!\u2019 It was as if you could just feel what was coming. Yeah, it was a tough night for us!\u201d<\/p>\n
He adds: \u201cI think there are similarities between the two stadiums, actually, Anfield and Signal Iduna Park. There is always a good atmosphere at both. But yeah, at Liverpool, it\u2019s pretty insane!\u201d<\/p>\n
Pulisic, of course, is a name regularly linked with a move to the Premier League, though there is no suggestion whatsoever that he is seeking to leave Dortmund or that the Bundesliga club are ready to sell one of their prized assets. At 19, the world is at the young American\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n
But, as a fan, what does he think of English football?<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s a great league,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s the league I watched the most growing up. In the US, you can\u2019t really escape it!<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it\u2019s a league full of top teams, so it\u2019s cool that we\u2019ve been able to compete against some of those teams in pre-season. It\u2019s been a good test for us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Pulisic hopes Dortmund can build on a mixed campaign last time out, a season of upheaval in terms of both management and playing staff. They were eliminated at the group stage of the Champions League last season, but having squeezed into the final qualification spot on the final day of the Bundesliga campaign, he is ready for another crack at Europe\u2019s biggest prize.<\/p>\n
And ready to use Liverpool as a guide as to what can be achieved with the right mentality, a bit of belief and a young, hungry squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cExactly!\u201d he smiles. \u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In the second part of Goal’s exclusive chat with the USA star, he reveals why he’s using the Reds as inspiration at BVB this season Christian Pulisic hopes Borussia Dortmund can follow in Liverpool\u2019s footsteps by making an impact in the Champions League this season. The USA international got a close look at Jurgen Klopp\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-789","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-football-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=789"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/789\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=789"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=789"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/googmn.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=789"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}