Greg Berhalter prepares for return as USMNT coach: Sources

Greg Berhalter is set to return as head coach of the US men’s national team.

Multiple sources involved in the negotiations or seen by them said that the coach, who led the United States during the last tournament and to the round of 16 in the FIFA World Cup in November, is in negotiations to return as coach. the athlete. These sources have been granted anonymity because they are not authorized to speak about the conversations. The deal is still being finalized, but Berhalter’s return is imminent.

As USA coach from 2019-22, Berhalter won the 2021 Nations League Cup and Gold Cup, qualified for the 2022 World Cup with the world’s youngest team and then crashed out of the group in the World Cup with strong performances against Wales, Iran and England. The Americans’ five points tied for the 2010 team for the most times in the group stage by any USMNT team 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 be a surprise to some, given the circumstances of his departure. While the United States’ performance in Qatar was largely praised, and the United States succeeded in his tenure despite being one of the youngest teams in the world, Berhalter’s contract was allowed to expire after the World Cup in part due to issues with one of the team’s young stars. .

Winger Gio Reina was nearly sent home from the World Cup for his behavior after he was told he would not start for the US team in the opening match against Wales. Reina’s lack of effort in subsequent training sessions nearly led to his removal from the team, but Berhalter chose to keep Reina in Qatar. After the tournament, he spoke about these issues without naming Reyna during the question-and-answer portion of the leadership conference operating under Chatham House rules, which usually meant any comments were off-screen. Those comments, however, were posted the athlete A report has been written Rena was the player Berhalter was talking about. Following these stories, Reina’s parents and former American players Claudio and Daniel Reina, friends of Berhalter and his wife, Rosalind Berhalter, reported to former NFL athletic director Ernie Stewart an incident from 30 years prior in which Berhalter had kicked Rosalind during an argument. When the two were freshmen at the University of North Carolina.

This led to an investigation into American football. The independent investigation finally concluded that Berhalter has been cleared to be rehired by US Soccer.

The United States played an aggressive role, Attractive football brand under Berhalter company in Qatar. The United States ranked eighth in the Qatar slanting, behind teams such as England, France and Argentina. The field mile refers to a team’s share of touchdowns by either side in the offensive third. The United States have been effective in their attacking moves getting into dangerous positions – when they were eliminated by the Netherlands, only three teams in the tournament managed to secure a higher share of their possessions in the final third than the United States’ 46 percent. The USA was also very good at getting the ball back in offensive positions after losses, ranking fifth in the tournament in successful counterpressure rate.

Multiple star players have come out to support Berhalter’s return as coach. Star winger Christian Pulisic told ESPN he was “not here to appoint the next coach” and “whatever it is, I’ll play and give 100 percent”, but when asked if he would be “reasonably satisfied” if Berhalter returned as coach Pulisic made his thoughts clear.

“Yes, there is no doubt about that,” Pulisic said. “The steps we’ve taken in recent years with his appointment I think were clear. I think it’s quite clear.”

Last week, winger Tim Weah told the media, “Greg has kept us together… We’re definitely a family and nobody can take that away, you know. Greg really helped us form that kind of relationship with each other, so yeah, He was an important and huge part of this team, so hopefully he will return.”

In an interview with the athlete Last week, left-back Anthony Robinson echoed those thoughts.

“It was touched upon by a lot of people – we all enjoyed the environment Greg created, we all thought he was a good coach, everyone could see the level of football we played at,” said Robinson. “And so there’s no reason for me not to try and keep him going. But unfortunately, it’s not up to the players. It’s up to American football as a league. And I’m sure they’ll do everything they can to find who they think is best for this team. And that’s the most important thing.”

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(Photo: Daniel Parhiskaran/USA Today)