Chelsea
winger Christian Pulisic made history on Saturday, becoming the first-ever male
American national to feature in the Champions League final. Pulisic was brought
on as a second-half substitute to replace striker Timo Werner in the win against
Manchester City at the Estadio do Dragao in Portugal’s Porto, becoming only the
second American to win the competition, after Jovan Kirovski – who won it with
Borussia Dortmund in the 1996/97 season.

The 22-year-old
had a golden chance to double Chelsea’s lead in the 73rd minute, but
failed to add to the two goals he had already scored in the competition,
driving his effort beyond the post.

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Pulisic was
born on September 18, 1998 in Hershey, Pennsylvania. His father played professional
indoor soccer in the 1990s and went on to become a coach at both youth and
professional levels.

After impressing
at various youth-level teams in the States, Pulisic entered the European football scene through
Borussia Dortmund, who signed him as a 16-year-old in 2015. The American quickly
progressed through the youth setup and was inducted into the first team by
January, 2016.

After making his Bundesliga debut as a substitute on January 30 in a 2-0 win against Ingolstad, Pulisic’s rise was nothing short of meteoric in Germany. The American made 29 league appearances in his first full season in 2016/17, apart from 10 in the Champions League. He became the club’s youngest scorer in the Champions League with a goal against Benfica in March 2017. 

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Pulisic made 42 appearances the following campaign, and in January 2019 was signed by Chelsea for a fee estimated to be around €60 million, but spend the rest of the seaon on loan at the Signal Iduna Park. The transfer made him the most expensive American footballer of all time, and Dortmund’s second most expensive sale, behind only Ousmane Dembele. 

His dazzling dribbling ability and electric pace earned him comparisions with Stamford Bridge favourite Eden Hazard, whom Pulisic idolised and was brought to replace after his departure for Real Madrid.

Although his time in London has been plauged by injuries, Pulisic has scored 17 times in 77 appearances, including a perfect hattrick, the first scored by a Chelsea player since Didier Drogba in 2010.  

Now a European Champion and reunited with his former boss Thomas Tuchel, Pulisic surely has a bright future ahead.