Does 17-Year-Old Christian Pulisic's Bundesliga Goal Make Him The Future Of American Soccer?

Something happened last weekend that does not happen often: a 17-year-old scored in the German Bundesliga. Here are some quick related facts you might care to know:

• The scorer's name is Christian Pulisic, and he is an American.

• The team he plays for is Borussia Dortmund, a bonafide European heavyweight.

• The goal he scored was extremely well-taken.

Over the last few weeks, fans of both Dortmund and the U.S. National team have made a big deal of Pulisic's breakthrough. It's not often an American gets playing time on one of Europe's "big teams," let alone as a teenager. And Pulisic is young even by German standards. He is the eighth youngest player in Bundesliga history, having made his debut in early 2016 at the tender age of 17 years, 4 months, and 12 days. His goal over the weekend made him the fourth youngest goal scorer in league history.

These are both great accomplishments for Pulisic, and fans should be excited about his future. But is breaking in early a sign of a great career to come? A quick glance at the history books provides an inconclusive answer.

I'm willing to bet you didn't recognize seven of the names on the list of the ten youngest Bundesliga players of all time, and it's not because they're all old-timers—Jürgen Friedl, a keeper who made his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1970s, is the only one who didn't play in the modern era. Of the 10, four are in the Bundesliga now (Sahin, Draxler, Marc Stendera, and Pulisic). Among the list's retired players, Christian Wörns, who made more than 400 appearances for Dortmund and won a league title, is the most notable. Both Christian Wück and Ibrahim Tango played over 100 Bundesliga matches, with a number of lower division appearances on their records as well. Then there's Mark Kruska, a solid second division player. The aforementioned Friedl played only three times in the Bundesliga. The same goes for Lennart Hartmann, who at 25 is now playing in Germany's sixth division.

Looking elsewhere, Spain's La Liga and the Premier League provide equally ambiguous evidence of whether a league's youngest players go on to greater success than not. In both leagues, there are more active players than on the Bundesliga's list, but many of them are too young to have achieved more than a handful of first team appearances. Others, like 25-year-old Matthew Briggs, who debuted for Fullham at the ripe old age of 16 years and 68 days but now plays in League 1 (England's third division), are career journeymen. With apologies to José Antonio Reyes, none of the young debutants in either Spain or England are what I'd call a superstar.

So, based on debut age, we can't really say that it's likely Pulisic will make it, let alone become a star. Talent is just that. But being a top player is about consistency, too, and consistency is something that comes with, well, age.

It's worth noting how few of the young debutants on any of the three lists are defenders. This is because there's less risk when a coach brings on an attacker than there is with a defender. If a team is already losing, a coach might give a young attacker a chance, just to see what happens. The same does not hold true for defenders, who generally have more responsibility when it comes to team play. With this in mind, goals might be a better barometer for overall skill than an early debut. If most debutants are attackers (or at least midfielders), those who also score early might just do so because they're more talented. This seems to hold true if you check the record books—which is a good sign for Pulisic.

The Premier League's five youngest goal scorers are Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fabregas, James Milner, and Michael Owen. What a group! Oh, and James Vaughan, who plays occasionally in the Championship.

Among the Bundesliga's five youngest, you'll find Sahin and Draxler, the two biggest names. Timo Werner, a forward at Stuttgart, is only 20. Lars Ricken is the only retired player on the list, and he was no slouch either. Ricken ended his career in Germany's lower divisions after playing more than 300 times for Borussia Dortmund.

In Spain, too, scoring young puts you in great company. La Liga's list of youngest goal scorers carries a few names from the 30s and 40s and a couple journeymen (Alberto Rivera, Xisco Nadal), but then there's Raul, a Real Madrid legend and one of the game's all-time great goal-scorers.

4 -Only 3 players were younger than — OptaFranz (@OptaFranz)April 17, 2016

So, are fans right to get excited about Pulisic? Absolutely. But headlines calling him the future of American soccer, while mostly tongue-in-cheek, might be a little premature. The kid has made his mark on soccer history, and for that he deserves praise, but he has a lot left to prove. Let's just hope when the next young kid comes along, and we crack open the history books once again, the name Pulisic isn't one we have to Google—but rather one that makes us close our eyes and smile, as we remember the first of many marks he left on the beautiful game.