Commentary: U.S. Soccer’s decision to bring back Gregg Berhalter is the right move
U.S. Soccer could have rolled the dice. It could have pushed all its chips into the center of the table and gambled its future on an unknown.
Instead, in a city where fortunes can be made or lost on a bad wager, the federation doubled down on the safe bet Friday, bringing back Gregg Berhalter to coach the national team through the 2026 World Cup.
That wasn’t the safe move, it was also the right one. In his first four years, Berhalter compiled the best winning percentage by a men’s coach in U.S. Soccer history. He won CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup titles, guided the team to the round of 16 in last fall’s World Cup and beat Mexico three times in one year, another thing no American manager had ever done.
The core of the young team, many of whom either established themselves under his leadership or found success with Berhalter’s style, liked the coach and publicly supported his bid to regain the job he lost in December when his contract expired.
Christian Pulisic and Ricardo Pepi scored during a USMNT CONCACAF Nations League semifinal win over Mexico marred by red cards and homophobic chants.
“Gregg has done a great job. The record speaks for itself,” defender Walker Zimmerman said, comments that have been widely echoed. “He did a really good job creating a team culture and a chemistry that was impressive. He has handled a lot of things very, very well.”
That includes the last seven months, during which his future with the team was paused while the federation awaited the results of an independent investigation into a three-decade-old domestic violence incident involving Berhalter and the woman he would later marry. Earnie Stewart, then technical director for U.S. Soccer, was told about the incident by Claudio and Danielle Reyna, the parents of American forward Gio Reyna, who were unhappy with Berhalter’s treatment of their son during and after the Qatar World Cup.
The dysfunction snowballed from there.
While the investigation cleared Berhalter of any wrongdoing, that didn’t happen until Stewart had left for another job in the Netherlands. As a result U.S. Soccer had to hire Stewart’s replacement before it could hire a new coach. Matt Crocker, the man who got the first job in late April, refused to be rushed, conducting what he called a “global search” that produced at least 10 serious candidates.
While he didn’t mention any names, several prominent coaches were linked to the U.S. job before Crocker recommended Thursday that the federation’s board give the job to Berhalter.
Christian Pulisic says the U.S. men’s national soccer team is trying to deal with the ongoing soap opera involving coach Gregg Berhalter.
Only one of the board’s 21 voting members voted no.
“During the process what came through in abundance was his passion, his knowledge, his leadership, and his growth mindset,” Crocker, a former English soccer executive, said of Berhalter. “Also what came through in abundance was his passion to develop the legacy of U.S. Soccer, not just about winning with the men’s national team, but about developing the game for the good of the game, the growth of the game in this country for both players, coaches and clubs.”
Of course, all that came through four years ago, which is why Berhalter got the job in the first place. All that came through again last winter, when the federation was about to rehire him before putting everything on hold to investigate the Reynas’ claims.
Berhalter certainly isn’t a perfect coach, but he is the best coach for this job. B.J. Callaghan, a Berhalter assistant who coached the U.S. to a 3-0 victory over Mexico in Thursday’s Nations League semifinals, will remain the interim manager for Sunday’s Nation’s League final and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which begins June 24.
Former U.S. women’s national team coach Jill Ellis and USWNT legend Carli Lloyd believe Alyssa Thompson deserves to play in 2023 Women’s World Cup.
Berhalter, meanwhile, admitted he has some fences to mend, beginning with Gio Reyna, who he nearly kicked off the World Cup team for insubordinate behavior in Qatar. Berhalter later related the incident, without mentioning the player, during a post-World Cup speaking engagement in New York, a decision he says he regrets.
“I certainly acknowledge that there’s work to do,” Berhalter said. “And part of it is working together with Matt and trying to build the relationship that we know will be important moving forward.”
It took seven months, a worldwide search and dozens of interviews for U.S. Soccer to wind up exactly where it started: with Gregg Berhalter as coach of its men’s national team. That feels like a lot of time and treasure that was wasted at the start of a World Cup cycle that will end with soccer’s biggest tournament being played in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
At least the federation got it right in the end, taking the safe bet rather than a risky long shot.
