For the US Men’s National Team, a return to another World Cup meant everything for Qatar’s second-youngest squad. But after the 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the Round of 16, many questions have been raised around US head coach Gregg Berhalter and the US Soccer Federation. Namely, whether the contract of the USSF’s Gregg Berhalter must be renewed or not.
Reports indicate that. However, after much deserved criticism from US Soccer fans, USSF Sports Director Earnie Stewart released a statement this week refuting that:
“As we always do after a big tournament, we are taking some time to reflect. We will conduct a full review with everyone involved as we determine our next steps.”
Reading between the lines, it appears that US Soccer is buying time before announcing the renewal of Gregg Berhalter’s contract. Don’t be surprised if the announcement is made after the World Cup is over. USSF may be hoping US Soccer fans have calmed down by then.
To be fair, let’s give Berhalter some credit. With a 65% winning record (35 wins, 11 losses and 9 ties), he led Team USA to the 2020 CONCACAF Nations League and Gold Cup trophies. and Central America, there was certainly less pressure than usual to achieve those trophies.
Players developing after 2017’s failed 2018 World Cup qualification made things easier for the former Columbus Crew manager. Berhalter simply had to put the best team at his disposal and that team had talent flowing left and right from many of the best teams in Europe.
Gregg Berhalter’s contract as USA head coach ends
The US coach often cited hypocritical reasons for not calling up certain players, starting with John Brooks and later Jordan Pefok. And let’s not forget about Ricardo Pepi who has been scoring goals for fun in the Netherlands. Instead, Berhalter chose MLS players that US soccer fans had already seen (Jesús Ferreira and Jordan Morris, among others) and felt they no longer offered much.
He led the USMNT to a third-place finish (worse than Canada and Mexico) in the World Cup qualifying stages, barely booking his ticket to Qatar on goal difference. Gregg was unable to push USMNT’s inexperienced talent to win more games away from Ohio.
Unable to create a plan B, C or D, Berhalter’s “system” was exploited several times before heading to the World Cup and especially during his match against the Netherlands.
Let’s not forget the players he brought to Qatar who should never have touched the pitch. And the players who didn’t use that much (Gio Reyna) should have been starters.
How Gregg Berhalter’s brother helped him get the job
While it’s easy to blame Gregg Berhalter for the elimination of the USMNT, let’s not stop there.
All the shabang about Berhalter’s mission to change the way the world views American soccer was a total failure, beginning with Berhalter’s selection as head coach.
You can blame his brother Jay Berhalter and how the US Soccer Federation was run during his time as COO (second-in-command to former US Soccer president Sunil Gulati).
Jay Berhalter took over Gulati’s responsibilities in 2018. His only responsibility prior to this was choosing the new sports director, who would be in charge of choosing the new USA head coach.
The COO opted to hire Earnie Stewart as the new athletic director. As reported in 2018, Stewart’s newly created position would lead the search for the next US coach and would “head a committee that will evaluate candidates before hiring a new coach after the World Cup.”
Stewart’s so-called “committee” did not hold talks with the suitors available at the time, such as Julen Lopetegui, Peter Vermes, Jesse Marsch, Tab Ramos and Tata Martino. Stewart ended up signing his old teammate from the USA, Berhalter. At the time, Berhalter had no experience coaching national teams and had a combined 38.7% winning percentage rate at Swedish club Hammarby IF and Columbus Crew.
The USSF responded to criticism of their hiring process by saying that they had interviewed Oscar Pareja, but Pareja would deny that such an interview ever took place.
“No conflict of interest”
Then, in 2019, when US Soccer officials were further questioned about Jay Berhalter’s role in indirectly recruiting Gregg, a US Soccer public relations official said that “there were no conflicts of interest in having siblings in two of the highest ranking positions in the federation because Jay Berhalter has nothing to do with the technical department.
This was the complete opposite of what the former US Under-20 head coach said: “For anyone who has worked in US Soccer in the last four or five years, it was clear that the technical message was coming from Jay Berhalter”.
When Berhalter was unveiled as head coach, then-USSF President Carlos Cordeiro was enthusiastic about the hiring decision:
“He will propel our men’s team forward with an identity and focus that will be uniquely and fiercely American.”
Berhalter has achieved exactly what USSF wanted
It is clear that the recruitment process was inadequate, along with “Changing the way the world views American soccer.” The USSF knew what it would get with Berhalter: a man who would play MLS players on the national team, even though the players weren’t good enough internationally.
In turn, there would be an increase towards the profile and value of MLS for owners who also run Soccer United Marketing (SUM). A win-win for both parties involved.
SUM, created in 2002 by MLS founders Don Garber and Gulati, tied together several MLS advertising and marketing agreements with the USSF. The organization created a monetary incentive for the US Soccer Federation and the national team to boost the international profile of MLS.
This led to pressure from MLS owners for their players to regularly feature at the national team level. Thus, the USSF’s financial incentive to find a head coach to make this happen now was an easy choice for both Jay Berhalter and Stewart.
Many US soccer fans point to the conflict of interest this has created, allowing for the phrase “MLS fee.” The supposed fee was pointed out by the legend of the game, Johan Cruyff in his autobiography “My Turn”.
“Jürgen Klinsmann often couldn’t select the best possible team because he was forced to include someone from each franchise… Because each franchise contributes to the national budget,” Cruyff said. “I don’t know if that’s still the case, but I know that he is very restrictive as a coach… that would set the development of the team back for years if it continued.”
Since then, SUM and USSF have cut ties with each other. Jay Berhalter left the USSF and, not coincidentally, joined MLS as its new executive vice president.
US Soccer doesn’t want to rock the boat
Of the 32 teams competing in the 2022 World Cup, the United States has the largest population and is the richest country in the world. We have a wealth of standard-based facilities across the country to grow the next generation of global stars.
However, we continue to fail because we have a lack of leadership from the US Soccer Federation, which seems to be more focused on profit than meaningful results.
Consider how well Japan did in the 2022 World Cup. They defeated Germany and Spain, finishing first in a much tougher group. And then they were eliminated in the round of 16 on penalties by Croatia.
Compare that to the United States, which has a quality team of young stars. The best Gregg Berhalter could do, though, was pick up a four-game World Cup victory. And the victory was against Iran.
The USA’s loss against the Netherlands featured three critical coaching errors. First, the wrong alignment started. Second, he didn’t make substitutions early enough in the game when he . In third place, Antonee Robinson was getting burned for the wing (ultimately leading him to concede all three goals). And fourth, Berhalter went.
On the world’s biggest stage in a game the USA should have won, Berhalter’s team was outclassed by a beatable Netherlands team.
Expect Gregg Berhalter’s contract renewal to be announced soon
Despite these mistakes, it is very likely that Berhalter will see his contract renewed. However, what we US Soccer fans need is a world-class coach to turn these rough diamonds into gems. Berhalter has shown that he does not have the necessary experience. And with the United States co-hosting the 2026 World Cup, now is the time for the USSF to hire a top-notch coach to dedicate the next few years to making this a team we can be most proud of.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Sportimage
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