Olivier Giroud: Trust Christian Pulisic’s decision over Gold Cup absence

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Christian Pulisic has been backed by former teammate Olivier Giroud as the ruckus over the U.S. men’s national team star’s summer absence continues to rumble on.

Pulisic has defended his decision to miss the Concacaf Gold Cup, the regional championship in which head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s depleted squad will begin its campaign against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday. Pulisic cited the need to rest following an intense period with AC Milan in Serie A, which has seen him appear in more than 100 games over the past two seasons.

His choice sparked heavy criticism, most notably from former national team forward Landon Donovan, prompting Pulisic to speak out on a CBS podcast this week explaining his choice.

Giroud, the LAFC striker and 2018 World Cup winner with France, became close friends with Pulisic during their shared time at Chelsea and Milan. He insisted that national team fans should trust their 26-year-old talisman a year out from a home World Cup.

“I just respect his decision, because he is someone very responsible and very mature,” Giroud told The Athletic. “He is not a guy who is going to cheat, he’s got a great mentality and that’s why I loved him – a great person and a great football player. I would never go against his decision and I know he had a tough busy year at Milan and I am well placed to know how much the effort can be. The pressure, the expectation. If he feels like he needs some rest and there is a World Cup coming…”

Giroud referenced the grueling soccer calendar and admits he has concerns for leading players, especially those taking part in both this summer’s Club World Cup – LAFC opens its campaign against Chelsea in Atlanta on Monday – and next summer’s World Cup on either side of a full domestic schedule.

“The players, I have the feeling they will play for two years nonstop, maybe grab five weeks total, in two years, of holidays. I am worried about the health of the players,” Giroud said.

That was a core part of the case Pulisic made to Pochettino. The player did offer to play in last week’s USMNT friendlies – 2-1 defeat to Turkey and a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Switzerland – but was told Pochettino wanted to have one cohesive roster for the summer.

“Towards the second half and the end of the season, my body just started talking to me, and my mind,” Pulisic told CBS’ Jimmy Conrad, Charlie Davies and Tony Meola, all former U.S. national team players. “I started to think, you know, what’s going to be best for me leading into next year and going into the World Cup? Is that to play eight more games, get no rest at all, go straight into preseason and then grind another year, and go straight into the World Cup? That’s not what I felt was best for my body.”

Giroud insisted he expects Pulisic to prove his doubters wrong when it matters, a year from now.

“For sure (the U.S. is lucky to have him), he is a leader on the pitch,” Giroud said, “They have got great players, but Christian is the man, he is the main face.”

(Top photo: Marco Luzzani / Getty Images)

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