While the USMNT were completely ripping Mexico apart in the semifinal of the Concacaf Nations League in Las Vegas 3-0, Paul Tenorio broke one of the most unexpected stories surrounding US Soccer, Gregg Berhalter is set to return as coach of the USMNT.
The news was met with huge surprise and heavy criticism by a portion of the fan base. It has been reported that US Soccer had interviewed at least 10 candidates and that a decision was forthcoming. No one expected that decision to land at Gregg Berhalter after the Reyna Gate debacle.
However you want to report it, analyze it, or digest it, Gregg Berhalter is US Soccer’s guy, he was US Soccer’s guy in December after the World Cup and he is still that guy six months later. Time will tell if it was the correct decision or not.
Gregg Berhalter’s return comes down to the players
According to sources in Mexico, Gregg Berhalter was a serious candidate to take over Club America and a major meeting was to be held, but at the zero hour US Soccer had informed the former and now soon to be once again national team coach he would return.
In his absence the USMNT continued to chug along, with a win and a draw over Mexico, a pounding of Grenada, win over El Salvador, a draw with Colombia and the year’s only defeat to Serbia. Folarin Balogun committed to the US Soccer program and despite rumors of Jesse Marsch and a distant third choice in Patrick Vieira, staying the course was considered above anything new.
In the lead up to this major decision the players themselves, or at least those who matter, have publicly come out and supported Berhalter, from Tim Weah, Tim Ream, and team captain Christian Pulisic who after the Mexico win basically gave Berhalter the final major endorsement, “Today is a testament of the work that (Berhalter) put into this team,” Pulisic said. “If that’s not enough evidence, then that’s all right. People are gonna hate no matter what.”
Until leaving his position on December 31, 2022, Berhalter commanded a 37-11-12 record, a round of 16 appearance at the World Cup, major victories over Mexico, and two continental cup championships. Berhalter’s Achilles heel was his team’s road form and results against top 15 nations, of which due to Concacaf scheduling the team did not face much of.
By the 2022 World Cup the team had played the style the coach had spent three years searching with a win over Iran and two draws against England, the team’s best match, and Wales.
A core group under Berhalter will be the team going forward with additions here and there, but one thing was evident in US Soccer’s decision, the team, or the core was with Gregg.
To many that was not significant progress, to others what can really be asked of a manager who took over a team that only 2 years earlier had failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and was in complete disarray.
What to do with Gio Reyna?
The notion that Berhalter will return to the national team without some conversation with Gio Reyna seems farfetched. Reyna, who ironically sported blonde hair against Mexico and gave a sense of a new beginning for himself, played a fantastic match against Mexico and it was extremely evident when healthy, Gio Reyna is one of the best players in the country.
How Berhalter and Reyna handle the situation will be well in the public eye, but one must assume that the two have spoken.
Whether pundits, fans, or some players like it or not, Gregg Berhalter is and always was the choice by the USSF. US Soccer is willing to die on their sword for a coach who in four years took the program back from the brink of complete failure and made the USMNT a respectable side.
Not without his flaws, Gregg Berhalter is and was never a perfect candidate but unlike 4 years ago he has a body of work that US Soccer feels he is the right man going forward, despite what we all may think.
