This Tuesday, April 27, the semifinal round of the UEFA Champions League will begin, where two Americans will seek to return European glory to the North American country, since Christian Pulisic from Chelsea and Zack Steffen from Manchester City, will start their way to look for the ticket to the final of the continental tournament, which barely registers a champion American player in its entire history.
There is the possibility that two American players will have a presence in the grand final of the UEFA Champions League, for the first time in the history of the tournament, in case their teams beat Real Madrid and PSG, respectively, to win their ticket to the long-awaited final that will be played on May 29 in Istanbul.
Christian pulisic
‘El Capitan America’ qualified for the first time in the semi-finals of the Champions League and They will face each other again against Real Madrid, a club against which they have not yet known victory, since they have two draws and two defeats in their group stage duels in the 16-17 and 17-18 editions, when the American was still playing for Borussia Dortmund.
Pulisic has taken a second wind with the blue team this season, because despite having been absent due to various injuries, the American has found a place in Tuchel's team and so far he has 5 goals in the season, one of them scored in the Champions group stage.
Zack steffen
For his part, the goalkeeper has been a good replacement for Emerson when he has been required by Pep Guardiola and although he has only played one game in the current Champions League, the American could reach the final should Manchester City beat PSG and advance to the ultimate duel for the first time in your history.
Steffen has made 12 appearances this season and was recently crowned champion of the Carabao Cup, in which he started throughout the tournament and his Champions League debut came at the close of the group stage this season, when City beat Olympique de Marseille 3-0.
The only American champion of Champions
Pulisic and Steffen hope to see an American raise the ‘Orejona’ again, something that only happened in the 1996-97 season, when Jovan Kirovski became the first and so far only American to win the Champions League, during his time at Borussia Dortmund, which in that edition beat Juventus in the grand final.