World Cup winner and former Borussia Dortmund teammate weighs in on Christian Pulisic’s evolution

Christian Pulisic has emerged as one of the standout performers at the start of the 2025-26 season, and a World Cup winner and former Borussia Dortmund teammate has weighed in on his rise.

Christian Pulisic has enjoyed his best start to a season yet, both with the USMNT and AC Milan, not just by scoring goals and providing assists, but also by establishing himself as a leader in the attack. Now firmly entrenched in soccer’s elite, a World Cup winner and former Borussia Dortmund teammate spoke on Pulisic’s growth over the years.

Making the leap from Pennsylvania Classics to Dortmund in 2015 at just 17, Pulisic had the chance to share the locker room with multiple stars — including Roman Weidenfeller. The German goalkeeper, part of Germany’s 2014 World Cup-winning squad, became a club legend at Borussia Dortmund and witnessed the American star’s first steps in Europe’s top flight.

In an exclusive interview with Bolavip, Weidenfeller spoke candidly about Pulisic’s early days in Dortmund’s youth system and first team: “Look, I first met him when he was a kid and joined Borussia Dortmund. It was the first time he came to a professional team to train and I saw how talented he was. He was very fast, he had perfect technique. He had a great nose for the situation to create a shot. He’s a great player.“

Pulisic made his debut in the Bundesliga game against FC Ingolstadt 04 on January 30, 2016, coming on in the 68th minute for striker Adrián Ramos. A month later, he made his UEFA Europa League debut. By the time he left for Chelsea in January 2019 for €64 million, he had played 127 games for Dortmund, scoring 19 goals and providing 26 assists.

Weidenfeller also addressed Pulisic’s current stature and potential. “So I feel, right now, he is big and he can organize himself in the future. Just recently, he won the Champions League, which I didn’t win.“ he said with a laugh. “So I have a lot of respect for Christian. He is one of the best American soccer players. Now, he has joined AC Milan. He has had a great career, and I hope that in the future, he will be healthy enough and can stay in sports for a long time,” he concluded.

Weidenfeller retired in 2018 after 16 years guarding Dortmund’s goal, with the 2013-14 Champions League final loss to Bayern Munich among his most iconic moments. Now a club ambassador, he continues to watch the potential he saw in Pulisic come to fruition.

Pulisic awarded Serie A Player of the Month

Pulisic’s stellar form in the 2025-26 season has earned him recognition beyond just results. For September, the AC Milan star was named Serie A Player of the Month, the second time he has won the award, the first being in December 2023.

The award followed his performances against Bologna, Udinese, and Napoli, where he tallied three goals and two assists, helping Milan climb to the top of the league standings. Pulisic expressed his gratitude on social media after outshining competitors including Ricardo Orsolini (Bologna), Nikola Krstović (Atalanta), Kevin De Bruyne (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), and Federico Baschirotto (Cremonese) in the voting.