Gregg Berhalter’s time as USMNT manager at the moment has been a success. Don’t let faceless Twitter experts say the contrary, the US Soccer program came off of the 2018 cycle playing some of the worst soccer in its history, there were no significant Americans playing in Europe, during 2018 there was a record low of two Americans in the Premier League. When the dust settled four years later Berhalter won two continental titles, owned Mexico, brought in many dual nationals, and vastly improved the player pool of the USMNT.
The 2022 World Cup ended on a much more promising note than the round of 16 exit in 2014, where the US National team made it out of their group but were completely overwhelmed by Germany and Belgium in their two biggest tests. This USMNT squad in 2022 played their best game against their most difficult opponent, England, and played a brand of soccer that for the first-time reaped praise from the international community.
Still after 60 games in charge and a 37W-12D-11L record should US Soccer renew Gregg Berhalter? Watch the World Cup in the US live on FuboTV (7-day free trial) and Peacock (Limited-time offer for 0.99/m).
Where do the USMNT go from here?
Gregg Berhalter was a coach suited for the task at hand, which was trying to get the Americans back on track after the program spent major amounts of money on an underwhelming manager in Jürgen Klinsmann, who while philosophically made important strides, his teams played worse and worse as the years progressed.
The emergence of Christian Pulisic, Giovanni Reyna, Tim Weah, Brenden Aaronson, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Joe Scally, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Antonee Robinson, and Sergiño Dest will be vital as the USMNT have created pillars of which the team can improve on and build off of.
Gabriel Slonina, Sam Vines, Justin Che, Miles Robinson, Malik Tillman, Djordje Mihailovic, Gianluca Busio, Ricardo Pepi, Auston Trusty, and U20 products Diego Luna, Kevin Paredes, Paxten Aaronson, Mauricio Cuevas, and Jonathan Gomez are just some of the young names that can only add depth and improvement to those who after 2022 have established themselves.
The USMNT seems ready to take a big step and after laying down fundamental changes to the program, maybe Gregg Berhalter’s job with the national team is done.
A new coach for a big challenge
With the US Men’s Soccer Program back on track and leaving a positive impression on the world stage, what does US Soccer look for now? 2026 is a World Cup where the USMNT will look to finally break out and position themselves as a legitimate World Cup contender. To do that the round of 16 and even quarterfinals will be seen as a big disappointment. The objective to truly position the US is at least a semifinal finish.
It’s quite the leap from round of 16 by scratching and clawing to a team that at least will have to defeat two major powers to even get close to a semifinal. It also means, because of the increase in teams from 32 to 48, that the US must play not only 7 of the best games of their lives but add one more in 8 to reach that semifinal objective.
Gregg Berhalter was the man to position the team for that leap but now a new mind must take the reins and try to truly elevate the team to heights it has never been to.
Who?
The big question, the USMNT will not be short on interesting candidates, the biggest is Marcelo Bielsa who revolutionized the teams he has coached during his career. His time at Newell’s Old Boys, Velez, Argentina, Chile, and Leeds were defined by one thing, elevating youth players to achieve success they have never achieved before. Unlike Chile, Bielsa would be in the position to coach the team after they have been firmly positioned, Bielsa did what Gregg Berhalter basically did this cycle with Chile, which was after big failures reposition the national team program.
Bielsa would be a major gamble but a necessary one for a country looking to break out of its shell, if the Leeds United project proved anything is that despite a language barrier, Bielsa can get to his players and improve them, drastically.
Other candidates that realistically could be interesting options is Roberto Martinez, the former Belgium coach was able to get a lot out of Belgium’s golden generation, but Martinez was just that, a tactical and very reliable coach, not the whirlwind that Bielsa was at Argentina, Chile, or Leeds.
Jim Curtin seems to be the quiet American candidate having vastly improved the Philadelphia Union in Major League Soccer, yet to win any major silverware, Curtin is well respected in the halls of US Soccer and has done a remarkable job of improving a Union franchise that was in the dumps for many years.
Jesse Marsch is an American Bielsa, a high presser, but in order for him to coach the USMNT it would almost surely mean he was sacked by Leeds, could the job go to a guy sacked from his las two jobs who has a lot of bark and little bite?
Marcelo Gallardo laid huge foundations as he positioned River Plate in Argentina as one of the best clubs in South American soccer, winning 14 titles, he is also a former MLS DP. While never interested in an MLS job, the possibility of coaching a World Cup team with players on some of the top teams in Europe could be appealing. Especially considering Gallardo is an avid promoter of an attacking system and working with youth. Gallardo’s record in knockout phases is exceptional.
Mauricio Pochettino remains jobless after a spell at PSG where he coached the best players in the world and won three titles. A student of Bielsa, fluent in English, Pochettino has worked with American players before, Brad Friedel and DeAndre Yedlin.
The next head coach may be a big-name gamble, but he/she should not be a gamble out of left field like a let’s say Landon Donovan, but rather a coach who has a track record of working with youth and building a project. Big name coaches used to working with $400 million transfer budgets don’t seem ideal for a program that still needs a lot of internal work, rather than coaches used to quick fixes.
Never has US Soccer been in a position to truly build itself into a contender, whatever happens as of 2023, US Soccer will need to position itself for the best World Cup in its modern-day history. For that they will need a coach up to that challenge, but never forgetting how far Gregg Berhalter got the team after 2018.