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Berhalter’s coaching future comes into spotlight after Crew’s playoff exit

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HARRISON, N.J. — If the rumors that have been swirling for months are to be believed, Gregg Berhalter just coached his final game for the Columbus Crew.

Berhalter and the Crew were bounced from the playoffs on Sunday night after losing in lopsided fashion to the New York Red Bulls in the second leg of their Eastern Conference Semifinals series. The 3-0 defeat at Red Bull Arena not only ended the Crew’s postseason run in a disappointing manner, but also placed the topic of Berhalter’s uncertain future in Columbus firmly back into the spotlight.

Berhalter has been linked for months as the front-runner for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s head-coaching job, which has not been filled on a permanent basis since the Americans’ notorious failure to miss the World Cup last October. The 45-year-old manager was reluctant on Sunday to talk about that as well as what the future had in store for him.

“I don’t think we need to talk about that right now,” said Berhalter. “I think what’s in Columbus is identity, a way to play, giving the players belief and making players better. That’s what we did for a long time.”

If he is ultimately appointed as the next U.S. head coach by current general manager Earnie Stewart, Berhalter will take over a team that is in the midst of a generational change. Interim boss Dave Sarachan, who is expected to lead the charge in this month’s friendlies vs. England and Italy, has relied almost exclusively on a plethora of youngsters since being handed the coaching keys last November.

Berhalter would bring with him a familiarity with that American player pool but not any previous experience at the international level. Berhalter also does not have any championships under his belt as a head coach, though he won an MLS Cup as an LA Galaxy assistant in 2011.

The Crew teams he has managed himself have been competitive in league play, with the club making the playoffs in four of his five seasons in charge and reaching the MLS Cup final in 2015 before losing to the Portland Timbers. This season, Columbus finished in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with a 14-11-9 record.

“I think we see his team is different, and this year even more than ever (with) the way they’ve defended” said Red Bulls head coach Chris Armas. “They’re very organized, they’re very stingy. Statistically that shows up. The amount of goals they’ve given up, maybe 43 on the year, and the reality of trying to break them down is not always so easy.”

When asked his opinion of Berhalter taking over as U.S. coach, Armas praised the Crew boss.

“Gregg, he’s just a student of the game,” Armas said. “We were national team teammates and I know him well and he’s just a pro, so his team carries on that way. Then of course with the ball you can talk about how good (the Crew) are.  They can unbalance you, they can give you fits. He’s a tremendous coach. Their staff, they just make our job difficult preparing.

“If he’s the next national team we’re behind him. We’re behind him and with another tier of players, it’d be fun to see what he could do. He would be great. He would be great.”

Comments

  1. Im very skeptical about Berhalter as head coach and wonder exactly what he has done to get that job? Certainly not much in MLS.

    I think Tab Ramos would be a better choice. More international experience with results. Im following the U20 tournament and his team looks very, very good so far. The fact that he’s in the middle of a tournament could also be the reason Ernie hasn’t announced yet. People assume that Berhalter coaching Columbus is the reason no announcement. It could also be Tab

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  2. Recall that David Moyes was very successful as Everton coach and that Sir Alex essentially hand-picked him as the successor at Man U. It does illustrate that doing an excellent job in a mid-level team does not necessarily mean a coach will find success when dealing with a new set of players at a higher level.
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    I do not really have much for or against Berhalter. I do think that gaining the respect and buy-in from the players for whatever system he wants to play will be essential for his success.
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    The US is not like Brazil,Germany or even England where there are a few stars and a deep pool of quality players; the new US coach must to be able to lead the few stars and the next 10 or so players, simply because the talent in the US still falls off too sharply he cannot afford to “lose” many of the best players like I think JK did. JK’s attempts to bring players with little to offer other than some athleticism (Rogers, Shea, Obara, etc.) or players of German heritage, led to players (a few, some, many?) concluding JK did not know what he was doing and losing any semblance of cohesiveness needed for a team’s success.

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  3. They’ll announce him a day or two before the first friendly and GB will be in the box for both games. The commentators for ESPN and FS1 will fawn over the hire like we just hired a manager who’s won multiple WC or UEFA cups. None of them will dare question the process used or the hire itself or GBs lack of experience as a manager.

    Reasons I don’t like how this hiring process went down:

    No real coaching search, hardly any to no interviews, waited a whole year and for the MLS season to finish no less putting the MLS interest over USMNT, GB has very little successful experience (no MLS playoff appearances don’t count), never won anything as a manager, absolutely zero international managing experience, etc. I could go on and on why he lacks experience and why USSF didn’t do its due diligence on this search and hire.

    So, I’m not happy about the search process and job requirements USSF have used to make this decision and shows nothing has really changed at USSF in my opinion, GB has the right connections and therefore got the job simple as that.

    All that said, I will reserve judgement at this time on him as NT manager until I see who he calls up and how he plays tactically against both stronger and weaker opposition. He could (could emphasized) become a great NT manager depending on how he manages and his decisions and the leadership he shows. Or, he could crash and burn just like any other manager even one with greater experience. I’ll give him a chance at first, but if its the same MLS favoritism and decades old tactical awareness I’m going to let him have it.

    However, I do not give USSF the benefit of the doubt on this hiring process. It was woeful and clearly an old boys network type hire as usual. Had we heard real serious rumors about several other candidates who were reached out to or interviewed for the position i would be less harsh on USSF. If GB was the third or fourth option I would be okay with that but there’s very little disprove him not being option number 1. To boot, the MLS season took precedence over USMNT interests. First decision made was to favor MLS interests over NT interests by both the manager and the federation so who runs ish fellas. No pass given to the organization.

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    • Your disapproval seems to be all about speculating what was only speculation to begin with. No one knows what the hiring process was, it was all speculation, no one knew who was considered, it was all speculation and no one knows if it’s going to be Berhalter because again, it’s all speculation. If it is Berhalter, how do any of us know if he’s the right person for the job? I’d be more inclined to give him an endorsement for the job because he knows Europe and the domestic league via coaching in both. He knows the player pool and how to navigate the inadequecies/rigors of playing in the region, and he was a USMNT player in his day. I really think people just like to hear themselves complain for whatever reason, but for all we know Berhalter may not even become because like all things up to this point, it’s all just speculation.

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      • RonnieT ya’ll the official voice for MLS at ASN, SBI, and StarsandStripes. Keep up the good work Ronnie, I’m still reading your posts at least.

        Ronnie but at least Berhalter speaks English, right? That’s about the only criteria we heard about. USSF’s transparency to us the fans has been almost zero. The organization massively failed last cycle and all that’s really changed is well nothing, the VP is now the prez and we’re about to hire another MLS coach. GB happens to be the brother of the COO of USSF and a former teammate of the GM. Sure any former player from that era would have been Earnie’s teammate too but GB doesn’t have much managerial experience and zero international managerial experience.

        Again, I’m reserving judgement on him as a NT manager until I see how he manages. I’ll give him a chance to prove it. What I’m condemning and sick of is the hiring process that seems to be the same old good old boys network business as usual BS we’ve dealt with for decades within the organization. That network failed massively with its hand on the wheel in the BA hire and they still have their hand on the wheel making the big decisions. We need new USSF leadership and independence from MLS.

    • JoeDirt- excellent post. yes there is some speculation but much of it is based on information that has come out (i.e. “They never reached out to me” from coaches looking for jobs).
      Ronniet- saying GB “knows Europe” because he coached in the Swedish league for 1.5 years and then was fired for sucking. Yeah- thats pretty much David Moyes level experience. Bottom line, in the world of professional coaching, GB is a lightweight. He’s a slightly above average MLS coach who knows the USSF and it’s MLS counterparts. The truth is, by resume and probably current market value, the best American coach in MLS is Bob Bradley. So if we are restricting our picks to American MLS coaches, he is the logical choice.

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      • Agree on the Bob Bradley resume. And if it has to be a MLS coach, then Peter Vermes should be next. He has put in the time/years, won titles, sent several players to the USMNT, etc. Having followed the Crew, I will say that Berhalter has done well with what he has had to work with. He has a defined system that the players seem to understand, something the USMNT has lacked for many years. I think it’s fair to say he has “punched above his weight” in MLS in terms of talent/resources. I do worry that there is not a “Higuain” type of playmaker in our talent pool and Columbus has struggled to score when Higuain is not on the field.

    • For what it’s worth, I agree with you and Danny Kissinger. If we’re talking good MLS coaches, he might only be #4 or 5 best (Martino, Bradley, Vermes ahead of him IMHO). Also, let’s not forget Jesse Marsch who did a fine job at NYRB and is now at Leipzig in the Bundesliga. He’s certainly as qualified as Berhalter. Maybe Berhalter will work out fine, but you’re right that the process, what there was of it, was incomplete at best. How do you pick a coach without interviewing hardly anyone? I guess the answer is to pick a crony.

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  4. Hopefully Stewart is just waiting for the conclusion of these next 2 friendlies. After that, hire a new coach already. This is getting old.

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    • Old….it’s insanely slow. If any other serious futbol okaying nation took over or near a year can you imagine the backlash they would face from press and fans? I’m sorry but thinking you have extra time due to WC 2022 starting in November is akin to thinking you have more time on the ball when playing Real Madrid. The game requires decisive thinking and play on field. Basically this whole process shows me we either don’t give a fuck or were completely fucking incompetent.

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  5. Is him the right coach for the USMNT? I don’t think so. But, his brother is the operating officer of the USSoccer and Stewart his former teamate. Doesn;t hurt , btw, that they’re his main supporters, right?

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  6. I’m hearing Berhalter ace in the hole is that “He has so much experience with MLS” but is the current team composed with that many MLSers? The current team is mostly of Euro players, playing a variety of European styles.

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  7. Nothing definite of Tata Martino heading to Mexico, as other coaches are also said to be in the running. Wouldn’t that be something if the USA Federation went all out to try and lure him….Okay wishful thinking on a Monday morning

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    • So, who is the better “realistic” option then? There have been a lot of rumors about who wasn’t interviewed/considered but at the end of the day that is all speculation. And, it’s something to be said for a younger manager coming in who knows the pool, knows the american player via MLS and his playing days as a player in both America and abroad, but more importantly one that also has experience coaching abroad.

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      • Agreed. There’s been too much poo-poo’ing of American coaches throughout this process. IDK if GB is the guy for the job, but he’s far from the worst candidate I’ve heard thrown out there by fans. Pick the right guys, get the tactics correct and put the right people in developmental roles, this is ALL USMNT fans should be concerned with regarding any new manager. Not how big of a name they are or if they’re not American.

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