Gregg Berhalter returns as head coach of the US men’s national team, the team announced Friday.
Berhalter led the US through the last cycle and to the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup in November. He will take over after the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which takes place June 24-July 16. current coach BJ Callaghan will maintain his role with the USMNT during that event.
As the USA’s coach from 2019 to 2022, Berhalter won the 2021 Nations League and Gold Cup trophies, qualified for the 2022 World Cup with the world’s youngest team, and then dropped out of the group. in the World Cup with good performances against Wales. Iran and England. The Americans’ five points were tied for the 2010 team for the most in a group stage by any USMNT in a World Cup.
Berhalter, 49, currently has the highest winning percentage of any USMNT coach with a record of 37-11-12.
Berhalter’s return will come as a surprise to some considering the circumstances of his departure. While the US performance in Qatar was widely praised and the US was successful in his tenure despite fielding one of the youngest teams in the world, Berhalter’s contract was allowed to expire after the World Cup. of the World in part due to problems with one of the young stars of the team. .
Winger Gio Reyna was nearly banned from the World Cup for his behavior after being told he would not start for the US team in the opening game against Wales. Reyna’s lack of effort in subsequent training nearly got him fired from the team, but Berhalter opted to keep Reyna in Qatar.
However, after the tournament, he spoke about those issues without naming Reyna during the question and answer portion of a leadership conference that operated under Chatham House rules, which usually meant that any comments were off the record. Those comments were published, however, and the athletic reported that Reyna was the player Berhalter spoke of.
Following those stories, Reyna’s parents, former US national players Claudio and Danielle Reyna, longtime friends of Berhalter and his wife, Rosalind Berhalter, tipped off former US Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart about an incident. occurred 30 years earlier in which Berhalter kicked Rosalind during an argument. when the two were freshmen at the University of North Carolina.
That sparked an investigation by US Soccer. The independent investigation eventually found that Berhalter it was deleted to be re-signed by US Soccer.
The United States played an aggressive role, attractive football brand under Berhalter in Qatar. The United States ranked eighth in pitch tilt in Qatar, behind the likes of England, France and Argentina. The inclination of the field indicates the participation of a team in the touches of both sides in the attacking third. The US was efficient in their attacking moves to get into dangerous positions: When knocked out by the Netherlands, only three teams in the tournament had successfully gotten more of their possessions into the final third than the US’s 46 percent. USA The USA was also quite good at getting the ball back in attacking positions after turning it over, ranking fifth in the tournament in successful counter-pressure rate.
Multiple star players have supported Berhalter’s return as manager. Star winger Christian Pulisic told ESPN he was “not here to name the next manager” and “whoever it is, I’m going to play and give 100 percent” but when asked if he would be “reasonably happy” if Berhalter He will return as a coach. , Pulisic made his thoughts clear.
“Yeah, there’s no question about it,” Pulisic said. “I think that the advances we have made in recent years with his appointment have been evident. I think it’s pretty clear.”
Last week, winger Tim Weah told the media: “Gregg has really held us together… we’re definitely a family and no one can take that away from us, you know. Gregg really helped us form this kind of relationship between us, so yeah, he was a very, very important part of this team, so hopefully, yes, hopefully he comes back.”
In an interview with the athletic last week, left-back Antonee Robinson reiterated those thoughts.
“A lot of people brought it up – we all enjoyed the atmosphere Gregg created, we all thought he was a good coach, everyone could see the level of football he made us play,” Robinson said. “So there’s no reason to me why they wouldn’t have tried to continue with it. But unfortunately, that doesn’t depend on the players. It depends on US Soccer as a federation. And I’m sure they’ll do everything they can to find who they think is the best fit for this team. And that is the most important”.
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(Photo: Danielle Parhizkaran/USA Today)