Jurgen Klopp has urged the U.S. not to place too much pressure on Christian Pulisic as the nation looks to bounce back from the disappointment of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
The Liverpool manager has stated that giving the 19-year-old the responsibility of rebuilding U.S. football would do more harm than good, adding that Pulisic should be allowed to concentrate on his own game.
Christian Pulisic
— Bundesliga English (@Bundesliga_EN) July 21, 2018
Age: 19
Club: @BVB
Position: Winger, attacking midfielder
Nationality: 🇺🇸
When you consider how good this guy already is, it becomes scary to think that he's still a teenager 👀 #BundesligaYouth pic.twitter.com/c8xggo6z7r
Speaking in an interview with ESPN, Klopp said: "I think [Pulisic] has all you need for becoming a big player. That's how it is and he has already a lot of ups and few downs as well, so that's good for development and for the level he is now.
"But you don't do him a favour if we talk too much about him. This country is too big and there are too many players here," the German added.
"If you do these things, like Egypt is doing with Mo Salah and Pulisic is for them, come on, let the boys play football."
Pulisic joined Borussia Dortmund in 2015 and has been a regular starter for the Bundesliga club, making 70 appearances across three years.
Although Klopp agreed that the American is a talented player, the German insisted that in order for U.S. football to develop it requires more top quality players.
The Reds manager stated: "It's only football and if there come more players like this, then the [U.S.] will say there's a chance, but if Christian Pulisic stays the only one with that quality then there's no chance. So it's easy as that and we don't have to talk too much."
Christian Pulisic not only scored 2 goals in Dortmund's win vs Liverpool on Sunday, he also saved a boy from security and granted him a selfie. 💛 pic.twitter.com/NSYRGvPmyS
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) July 23, 2018
Klopp continued saying: "He's still a very young boy. Let them play football, let them develop and don't make the big stories of it until you can say he's good, because he's very good, that's true. But don't make him responsible for U.S. football because nobody can do that job."