Puli Party Rolls On 🤩🇮🇹

“I would really like to try Pulisic as a trequartista. He is a very intelligent player.”

—AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli, after another fine performance by Christian Pulisic in the Rossoneri’s 4-1 Coppa Italia win over Cagliari on Tuesday.

Puli Party Rolls On:

He’s making the sublime seem standard. The excellent humdrum. Levels upon levels upon levels. We all certainly hoped the switch to Italy would reignite his post-Chelsea career. But even the most optimistic among us probably didn’t see things working out this well for Christian Pulisic 🇮🇹 (25; Hershey, PA). Not this fast, at least.

Consider what the sexiest American male in Italy since George Clooney has been up to over the last five days alone:

• Scores the match-winner against Sassuolo on Saturday. Promptly inspires the club mascot to hit the griddy. (No, really. He made the devil dance.)

• Is dubbed “The Pioli Saver” by local papers on Sunday. 📰

• Named to WhoScored’s Serie A Team of the Month on Monday. Happy New Year, indeed.

• Comes on as 71st minute sub against Cagliari on Tuesday, promptly racks up an assist (WATCH). Though a certain sage USMNT striker thinks he should have had a hat-trick of them.

• Wins Milan Goal of the Month on Wednesday.

• Has fans chanting his name and doing compression shirt tribute posts throughout.

Honestly, what’s next? What does the future hold for Hershey Jesus? Well, his coach sees him in the 10 shirt. After snapping the single-season goal record for a U.S. international in Serie A, pundits see him reaching world class level. And fans … only want to see him in torso-hugging tops. 😍

As for us? We just want to watch. Here’s to a Sic! Sic! 2024.

Meanwhile in Turin …

Craziest thing about all of this is that Puli isn’t the only American approaching excellence in Italy. We’d be remiss if we didn’t acknowledge the season Weston McKennie 🇮🇹 (25; Little Elm, TX) is having in Serie A as well.

After being recognized by Tuttosport as Juventus’ top player so far this season, McKennie had another sublime performance in the Bianconeri’s 1-0 win over Roma on Saturday. Juve are now nipping at Inter’s heels at the top of the Italian table, forcing the gaffer to swat aside early Scudetto talk.

McKennie, meanwhile, continues to go about his business in his trademark joyous, playful manner. From rocking insane Obi-Wan Kenobi fits (not sure how else to describe that look), to celebrating training-ground nutmegs as if they’re World Cup golazos, Wes is all ebullience and exuberance these days. Which even appears to be rubbing off on his stern manager, Max Allegri. When asked what he did to transform the USMNT midfielder this season, the boss actually cracked wise in his response.

🗣 “How did I transform McKennie? I didn’t transform him. I just told him during the summer that he had a great chance of staying at Juventus as long as he started running on July 15th and stopped on May 26th.”

Here’s to hoping Wes keeps running all the way through 2026. 🇺🇸

👕 Maybe it is SerieUSA after all. 👕

Matt Turner’s Massive Microcosmic Moment:

We at ASU could not be more thrilled for Matt Turner 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (29; Park Ridge, NJ), and the manner with which he was able to close out 2023.

Making his fifth-straight start for Nottingham Forest on New Year’s Eve Eve — and third-straight start under new boss Nuno Espirito Santo — the USMNT No. 1 played a key role in Forest’s 2-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday, though it wasn’t the easiest of afternoons overall for Bergen County Buffon. In fact, as Turner himself put it after the match, “What happened out there was a microcosm of my whole career.”

Turner had a shutout going until the 78th minute, when he made a costly distribution error that led to a Red Devils equalizer. Rather than wallow in his misfortune, however, Turner bounced back quickly, making a key save on Christian Eriksen which triggered a Forest counter attack that allowed them to retake the lead in the 82nd minute. Bergen County Buffon then helped see out the win with an excellent reflex save in the 95th that gave Nottingham their first win over United since 1994.

After the match, the always eloquent Turner provided a thoughtful reflection on the win, and his place in the squad overall.

🗣 “In the end, it was a beautiful night at the City Ground. You have to be perfect in the Premier League. We weren’t perfect, and I wasn’t perfect, but we dug deep and got the result I think we ultimately deserved. You know, there are ups and downs being a goalkeeper. I’ve had my moments this season. I always seem to battle back. I looked around at the guys beside me, they weren’t blaming me and pointing fingers, they had my back tonight and we ended up getting the win.”

Forest now has two wins, one draw, and two losses since Turner has regained his starting spot, moving them up to a respectable 15th place in the table, five points clear of the relegation zone. A great way to enter 2024, for club and keeper alike.

News and Notes:

• Josh Sargent 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; O’Fallon, MO) is back! And scoring quality goals for Norwich again! Just 12 minutes into his return from a five-month layoff due to injury. What. A. Time. To. Be. Alive. 🫡

• But is Sarge even the best U.S. striker in the Championship? With eight goals and five assists for Coventry so far this season — including this winner on New Year’s Day — Haji Wright 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (25; Los Angeles, CA) would like a word.

• Massive congrats to The American Dream Tim Ream 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (36; St. Louis, MO) for signing a contract extension with Fulham through the summer of 2025. "To be able to say you are looking at being at a place like this for ten years is not something that happens very often these days. It fills me with pride to continue to adapt, to continue this rollercoaster that is football.”

• More Cottager props, as Antonee Robinson 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (26; Liverpool, ENG) was named to the WhoScored Premier League Team of the Year for 2023.

• It’s now seven straight EPL starts for Chris Richards 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (23; Birmingham, AL). And thanks to tackles like this, he isn’t going to be sitting any time soon.

• According to the Telegraph, Brandon Vazquez 🇺🇸 (25; Chula Vista, CA) could be headed from FC Cincinnati to Brentford. The USMNT striker has also reportedly drawn the interest of Championship side Middlesbrough.

• Zack Steffen 🇺🇸 (28; Downington, PA) has made a reverse move, signing with the Colorado Rapids after four seasons with Manchester City, two of them on loan. Welcome back, Zack.

• Djordje Mihailovic 🇳🇱 (25; Lemont, IL) may also be going home again, with a return to MLS from AZ Alkmaar looking likely. While the move to the Netherlands might not have worked out for the American midfielder, let’s give him credit for having the guts to shoot his shot abroad.

• Andrija Novakovich 🇮🇹 (27; Muskego, WI) bagged a Boxing Day brace for Lecco in a 2-1 win over Sudtirol (WATCH). With the win, the Lombardy side moves out of the relegation spots in Italy’s Serie B.

• This Griffin Yow 🇧🇪 (21; Clifton, VA) goal is very much worth a watch. Nutmeg into a far-post laser from an impossible angle. With the Boxing Day goal in Westerlo’s 3-0 win over Molenbeek, the former D.C. United player now has three goals and two assists in 10 appearances this season. Could be a big 2024 for DMV Donovan.

Parting Shots:

While the likes of Puli and Wes are thriving, one player who could benefit from a change of scenery is fellow USMNT star Gio Reyna 🇩🇪 (21; Bedford, NY). The gifted American attacker was included on The Athletic’s list of players most likely to make a January move. And according to Bild, Reyna’s father Claudio reportedly visited Dortmund to speak directly with the club about his son’s future. 

While Reyna has played barely 800 minutes over the last year and a half, he’s still held in high regard by his teammates. Gifted young English attacker Jamie Bynoe-Gittens had this to say when asked who he learns from the most at Dortmund. “We have an incredible wealth of talent on the training ground. Look at Gio Reyna, for example, an incredibly intelligent player. When you watch him on videos, you have to pay attention to what he does before receiving the ball.”

Here’s to hoping an outside suitor also holds Gio in similar regard. Or Dortmund brass comes around soon. That’s all we want for 2024.