Klinsmann Hits Back at USMNT Legends Criticizing Pulisic- 'They Did the Same'

Despite criticism from former players of the USMNT, Christian Pulisic continues to be supported by other former colleagues. Pulisic's latest words towards the former USMNT players in his docuseries, PULISIC, caused lots of different reactions among fans and ex-players of the national team.

Former players who were shown in the docuseries criticizing Pulisic and the USMNT were Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, Alexi Lalas, and more. Pulisic's complaint towards the criticism caused more criticism towards the player and other USMNT players like Tim Weah.

The latest to defend Christian Pulisic is former USMNT head coach Jürgen Klinsmann. The former coach of Team USA gave Pulisic his first cap with the USMNT in 2016.

Pulisic was 17 years old when he played his first USMNT game in a World Cup qualifier against Guatemala. He became the youngest ever player to play for the USMNT in a World Cup qualifier.

Klinsmann did not approve of former USMNT players criticizing Pulisic ahead of the World Cup next year. Klinsmann hinted towards a former player also deciding not to play for the national team in the past, and Landon Donovan immediately comes to mind for fans.

Jürgen Klinsmann's Bold Message to Former USMNT Players

In an interview with The Athletic, Klinsmann was not a fan of the American media covering Pulisic's decision not to participate in the Gold Cup this summer. He found it ironic that former players criticized Pulisic's decision and reminded them that they did it as well.

Jürgen Klinsmann: "A lot of American media were negative about it, but they didn’t look at the bigger picture. And the interesting discussion, obviously, was that former players and pundits were very critical, but they did exactly the same thing in their careers."

Without mentioning him, fans believe he called out Donovan, who took a sabbatical year from 2012 to 2013. Klinsmann made a bold decision ahead of the 2014 World Cup by not including Donovan in the USMNT World Cup roster, as he believed other players were ahead of him.

Jürgen Klinsmann and Landon Donovan

Klinsmann became the USMNT head coach in 2011 and lasted until 2016. During his time as coach, one of the most notable decisions of his career as the U.S. coach was not bringing Donovan to the 2014 World Cup.

Since this decision, many believe the relationship between the two has turned sour. Donovan expressed confusion about the decision. On the Kickin' In podcast, Donovan revealed telling Klinsmann that the players he chose to call up will never play for the USMNT again.

Landon Donovan: "I said to Jürgen, there are guys who you're going to take to the World Cup, who'll never play for the U.S. again, will rarely step in the United States again, and don’t give a f*ck what happens to U.S. Soccer after this tournament."