“When he becomes your captain, you’d go to war for him if he asked you to.” This statement from Rodrigo De Paul about Lionel Messi never fails to give goosebumps. Beyond the admiration for the Argentine skipper, it highlights how impactful one player can be in inspiring and influencing their teammates. But this sentiment isn’t exclusive to La Albiceleste’s locker room, as evidenced by a rare clip of Matt Turner fervently expressing his thoughts about Christian Pulisic.

Of course, Messi is Messi—one of the greatest soccer players in the history of the beautiful game. For other Argentinian stars, playing alongside La Pulga and defending their country’s badge is a matter of immense prestige and honor. However, that doesn’t diminish the fact that every team has its own standout player. For the U.S. Men’s National Team, that crown belongs to Christian Pulisic.

And drawing attention to this throne was Matt Turner before the Panama clash. As it was the first game under their new manager, some of its behind-the-scenes glimpses were shared on US Soccer’s official YouTube channel in a video titled ‘Behind The Crest | The First Win of the Mauricio Pochettino Era.’ Notably, after shaking hands with the opposition team just before the kick-off, the USMNT’s starting XI gathered around in a circle to give each other a final pep talk.

Initiating this quick meet-up was interestingly Matt Turner, who, while addressing the crucial points for his teammates to keep in mind, suddenly pointed towards Pulisic and said, “Protect this f—ing guy out there. They’re gonna f—ing come for him. I don’t give a f—k that it’s a friendly. Protect him. Lift each other.”

And goosebumps again!

Forget how surprising this admission may sound. We are more stunned to see someone like Turner giving such a spine-chilling speech. By protection, the goalie basically meant that he was asking his other teammates to look out for their skipper, who, undoubtedly, is a crucial chess piece of the team.

Yes, exactly how Argentinian players protect their star player Messi from all kinds of dirty tactics of their rivals. If needed, we have even seen the likes of Rodrigo De Paul, Nicolas Otamendi, and Emiliano Martinez confronting the opposition when their captain goes down due to a nasty challenge.

Perhaps Turner was trying to instill similar camaraderie values among his teammates in order to protect their own Messi, who actually never fails to justify why he deserves such treatment from his teammates.

Christian Pulisic is the true leader that the USMNT requires!

Mr. Captain America suits perfectly on the 26-year-old winger, who has been a part of his national team for quite some time. More recently, during the second semifinal leg of the CONCACAF Nations League, the former Borussia Dortmund star netted a brace within the first 30 minutes. These goals were especially noteworthy, as they made Christian Pulisic the fastest player in USMNT history to achieve 50 goal contributions.

Even on the domestic front, the winger has been in a scintillating form. The AC Milan star has been delivering clutch performances in almost every matchday. So far, he has notched over 7 goals and 5 assists in 15 appearances across Serie A and UEFA Champions League for the Rossoneri. So yes, he deserves to get treated someone like Lionel Messi at least by his USMNT teammates.