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Gregg Berhalter officially hired as USMNT head coach

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After a long wait, the U.S. Men’s National Team finally has its new head coach.

Gregg Berhalter has been announced as the new USMNT coach, ending a 13-month search for a new leader of the program after Bruce Arena’s resignation following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

The 45-year-old had been linked to the position for several months, with the U.S. Soccer Board of Directors approving Berhalter’s hiring on Saturday.

“This is a tremendous honor,” Berhalter said in a statement provided by U.S. Soccer. “Having played for the National Team I know what it means to represent our country. I believe in our players and our program, and together we will work to build something special and develop a team that will make our supporters proud.”

Berhalter will formally begin his role as USMNT coach in January, when he runs the national team’s annual January training camp, which will conclude with a friendly in late January against an opponent that has yet to be determined.

Berhalter coached the Columbus Crew for five seasons, leading the Crew to an MLS Cup Finals appearance in 2015, while posting a record of 74-69-50 during his five years in Ohio.

He then served as manager of Swedish first-division side Hammarby from 2011-13 before moving back to MLS with the Crew.

The former University of North Carolina defender played 358 appearances between seven teams in his professional career. Domestically, he’s played in England, Germany, the Netherland, and in MLS with the LA Galaxy.

After earning 44 caps with the USMNT, and was part of the 2002 and 2006 U.S. World Cup teams. Berhalter served as an assistant coach with the LA Galaxy in 2011.

Comments

  1. So many on here have not seen the Crew play. Pathetic.
    .
    An d then whine non stop about US Soccer not going any where…..you are the reason…..pull your head out….I would add more but they might not post my post
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    Gonna be fun, I hope he crushes it. There is definitely potential there, as there was before JK. Hopefully it is realized this time.

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  2. So no mention of Jay Berhalter being the deputy to Flynn and this coaching process after a year resulting in only Jay’s brother, Gregg, being the 1 of only two candidates even seriously considered?

    This is an extreme case of boys/friends club memberships requirement at the top of USSF. And its even worse when SUM has majority of the power over USSF because USSF gave them that power for another 4 years right before the new USSF presidential election. Oh and even worse, SUM commissioner is Don Garber who is Commissioner of MLS.

    Im ready for the excuses/ responses.

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  3. It wouldn’t be a SBI article without the Joe Dirt hot take so here goes:

    USSF and SUM/MLS are just rearranging the chairs on the Titanic for us. Corderio goes from VP to Prez and GB becomes new USMNT coach replacing BA. As Sunil said after the TnT loss you don’t make wholesale changes because the ball goes 4 inches wide. Who’s in control?

    Obviously at this point do any of you really think that SUM/MLS doesn’t have control over our federation? I’ve been ranting about this subject since 2017 on here. Remember after that dreadful performance in Honduras writing we were in serious trouble then and remember the same folks poo pooing the real danger and lack of performance. I told ya so then, had to do it and said then I didn’t want to be right.

    So what about now? GB isn’t going to revolutionize our style of play from what BA did except a formation change to 4231. I don’t see us playing out to the back and linking thru midfield and carrying possession and giving us more control of the game, and yes possession isn’t everything but there is a correlation between possession and winning.

    I fear we will go back to the 2000s and 90s style I remember us playing were we are giving up possession to the likes of Honduras and Panama for large stretches of the match and defending for our lives most of the match just kicking the ball up field to no one to relieve the pressure being put on defense. Kick, run, and defend remember those days fellas?

    That is not growth! Its going backwards. We have the players to play out of the back and thru midfield and carry possession and use triangle to support passing. Our players know how to do this our youth teams do it, DA teams do it(it was Reyna who reset the DA technical manual 7-8 years back give him credit), our players play this way at their pro clubs too otherwise they’d be off the team in modern football.

    We don’t play this way because our leadership don’t want us to or don’t think we can because of their philosophical mindset on how the game should be played. The good ole boys network controlling things has learned their soccer coming thru NCAA and early MLS year. There is a reason we play kick and run rather than on the ground short passes like Latin teams. Its philosophical and in grained in the leadership we have on how to play soccer and what they think works. Of course they are dead wrong. If the attempt is to play counter attacking anti football ala Jose Mourinho they are even getting that attempt wrong.

    So I predict we will continue to get outplayed in midfield because of our lack of correct strategy and outdated mindset/philosophy on how to play the game. We will still make the WC because Concacaf is ridiculously easy to qualify in and the expansion to 48 nations makes it damn near impossible to not qualify in the future. However, until we get the next generation of guys to replace the current ole boys network at the top of USSF and SUM/MLS we will not get past the quarterfinals in WC and their is big risk of falling behind the Costa Ricas and becoming more equal to the Honduras and Panamas of the region if we fail to adapt to a more modern style.

    That said, even though I believe the hiring process was corrupt and ridiculously favoring of MLS interests, I will still give GB the benefit of the doubt until I see 3-4 games based on his player selections and strategy and formation and how those squads approach the game. With very different players available to him he could be totally different from his MLS sides. However, I’m not getting my hopes up on this given his back history. Other than his playing days in Europe where would he have learned in game strategy and tactics from a manager’s point of view? You learn from those who taught you and when its crunch time you do what you’ve been trained to do instinctively because you’ve practiced it repeatedly. I just don’t think he’s been close enough to top level managers to have those instincts, but I hope otherwise as always and hope again with all my heart and fandom that I am wrong and that we do progress to a more modern style of football and aren’t giving away possession and getting bossed in midfield by nations that we should be dominating based on our player pool and their club levels. This should be doable given our current midfield prospects if we get the tactics and approach right, there’s no excuse this pool is good enough to boss most Concacaf midfields.

    I’m sick of us not progessing and only hearing promises that in 10-20 years we’ll be able to compete at the elite level. I’m done with average mediocre. They were selling this same garbage to the fanbase in the 90s fellas. They’ve had 20 years its time to produce results otherwise clean house top to bottom.

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    • I agree with Quit Whining, you clearly haven’t watched the Crew under Berhalter or apparently much MLS since 2010. The Crew were possession based not at all punt and run.
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      As for your conspiracy theories, MLS/SUM makes money when the US national team does well. Orchestrating backroom deals to favor MLS players or managers over better players /managers loses them money in sponsorship revenue, tv deals, ticket and merch sales. These men and women in charge in MLS did not get there by being poor business people. We missed the World Cup because of the arrogance of four main men Gulati (resigning Klinsmann) Klinsmann (believing his personal inspiration would overcome tactical ignorance) Arena (for believing that CR and Mexico wouldn’t lose to Honduras and Panama) and M.Bradley (for trying to organize a coup that divided the US team). None of that had anything to do with SUM/MLS. For that matter with proper leadership from their manager(s) and captain, an all MLS squad was superior to four out of the five Hex opponents, yet we lost to the worst team when we needed just a point.
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      It is much easier to try to blame some intricate conspiracy than to face the facts our manager(s) were out coached and our players were outworked. We weren’t prepared for most of the matches and were outworked in most. You said something to the effect of “they know how to possess the ball or they wouldn’t be playing for their clubs” the fact is most of the players are not playing at least in roles where they are required to maintain possession. Pulisic is a wing forward, McKennie has been moved around trying to find a position, Green seems to have fallen back out of favor at Gruether, Weah is a Center Forward for PSG, as is Sargent, Parks seems to not to be able to gain much traction at Benfica II, Amon and Gall are wing forwards. We don’t have a single clear number 10 over the age of 19. Carleton plays much more as a false 9 than a 10, Ledezma and Llanez would be the next possible but both are just joining U19 squads in Europe not ready to contribute to professional squads.

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  4. Well alright.

    Process and organization is absolute rubbish and I’ve likely wasted way too much time than I ought to have stating such…. it’ done, is what it is.

    I do like, see potential and will be all in pulling for Berhalter and the wave of kids coming up. Hopefully in spite of themselves, US Soccer can get their shiite together and offer competent support.

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  5. Stewart said he started with a list of 33, narrowed it to 11, all of whom he spoke to, and then interviewed 2. Unfortunately we’ll never know who those 11 were.

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    • Earnie sounds like my girlfriend attempting to justify an obvious impulse buy from a shopping trip by retroactively claiming there was a process involved. Difference is my girlfriend doesn’t take 14 months to make an impulse buy.

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      • Here’s the thing we’ll never know who was really considered or who really considered it. How many of those 33 back channeled no interest. How many of the 11 just showed interested to build interest in themselves for other jobs (Osario)? I am willing to bet some of those 11 are guys that said “I was never interviewed.” to the press, which is mostly true but that doesn’t mean they didn’t talk with Stewart about it. The timing is terrible, the tight-lipped way it was handled was professional but frustrating.

      • Yup. Earnie’s gonna need to be way more transparent than this to sell me on whatever this process was (but like you said, he won’t). And exactly who was the “other” interview? I suppose this was Pareja…. though even this feels like “window dressing” that was thrown together when Stewart started to feel the criticism. Best practice should be 4-5 regardless.

    • C’mon, be real, we don’t know who the supposed 33, 11, or 2 are to verify any of this. If you don’t tell me who you were looking at then I am not going to backpat you about the process or the inevitability of the result. I don’t know if you picked the best guy off a tepid list or the worst one off a good list. It’s self-justification. He had a list of boxes which the candidate checked. He claims to have considered x, talked to y, and interviewed z. If my boss asks what I am up to I also give lists of my day so far.

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    • Gomer: i have the same response, that 2 finalists who get interviewed sounds superficial. If but for information gathering against my own subjective sensibilities I would want to chat with several people. I want to get the freebie of their sense of my team and its issues. Who do you like. How would you play them. How should this young bunch be coached. I can then use that as a check against my own subjectivity as well as whatever the other candidates are shoveling me, including my favorites. Oh, candidates x and y both say the very formation z is suggesting won’t work. To me the way Berhalter did it, talk to insiders, checklist, few finalists, seems designed to replicate his own biases into a candidate. To some degree all hiring does, but the more you are pre-shaping the outcome rather than letting the process guide you, the more it will be you in the mirror.

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      • I mean Stewart

        what I’m trying to say is you could use the process to learn ideas how to fix it even if the guy you hire isn’t one of the ones who gave you ideas. information gathering as much as hiring. if you’re going to take 4 months it’s odd it got this narrow for real consideration.

  6. now that it’s official, i’ve said my piece, he’s my and our coach, and it’s his time to produce.

    i think the heat should now be on USSF to get YNT coaches hired to fill those gaps promptly — faster than this nonsense — and i think the 14 months this took and the associated missteps need to be filed away in the memory bank for “never again” purposes.

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  7. This eerily reaks of the San Francisco 49ers hiring Jim Tomsula a few years ago. The 49ers thought they had their man who “checked off all the boxes” and unlike U.S. Soccer, several coaching candidates were interviewed, but didn’t want the job or weren’t what the organization wanted. Well, the end result was he was fired right after a disastrous season. He clearly wasn’t qualified to be head coach. By maintaining the status quo, U.S. Soccer got Berhalter by default. Others are clearly more qualified than him, but now he’s tasked with getting results. If he doesn’t get results during the GC and lays an egg in the CONCACAF Cup, and fails to qualify for the 2021 Confederations Cup, serious questions will be raised. It’s likely going to be another incarnation of Bruce Arena tactics: bang the ball around the field cluelessly, defend most of the game,low scoring, and keep opponents in the game. We have every right to be pessimistic, and take the fair weather fan/show me/make me believe again route.

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    • Tomsula had year one of experience as a head coach in NFL Europe, hardly the experience level Berhalter. He also pretty much let players do whatever they wanted during practice and team meetings, a far cry from Berhalter who wasn’t afraid to trade his leading scorer Kamara when he exhibited me-first behavior.
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      The goal should be qualifying for the World Cup. The Gold Cup is pointless and is competed by the B squads of US, Mexico, and CR. The top stars in CONCACAF will all be with their European clubs because Concacaf scheduled it at the end of June and start of July. The Confederations Cup is not even assured of happening as there was a move to abolish the tournament that no one else in the world even cares about. If you want a true test the Nations League next fall and following Spring will be a fair measuring stick as it will include the best available talent for each team during a full international window against CONCACAF competition.

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      • Sorry but I have to beg to differ on Gold Cup. As far as I’m concerned, we should expect Qatar 2022 to be a 48-team tournament. Which is basically a death sentence for the unseeded teams. As such, we need to be regional champions (whatever the standard). Period. And ideally, we should strive for a top 16 ranking beyond that. Simply qualifying is a bad standard and really not high enough. Our time there is likely to be very short if we are satisifed with slipping in to the WC as a 3-seed from CONCACAF. Our talent pool is good enough to set higher targets.
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        Besides, I’m not sure why you are so convinced this will be a B-team Gold Cup. 2007 and 2011 both featured very strong sides (and 2015 probably would have if not for the Copa American Centenario in 2016). So why not 2019?

      • I think you and I have had this discussion before. The GCs you mentioned started June 5,6, and ended in June. This year’s begins June 15th and ends July 7th. European leagues end between May 18th and June 1. That all but rules out rest for Euro players leading up to a warm-up camp in the week to ten days before June 15th. Which means then is there adequate time for Euro players after July 7th? Most Euro clubs will begin their training around that time as season start dates can be expected around the 2nd week of August. There are few CONCACAF stars that have secure enough club situations that time away from club training in the preseason wouldn’t cost them a spot. Brooks would seem the most secure for the US, Adams will desperately need some time off after finishing the season with RB and going directly to RBL in January. You could see some come for either the group stage or knockouts but then you either have tired players at the end of a season or players playing their way back into shape in a tournament.
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        The Nations League will be a better barometer. Home and Aways against the other Hex teams plus the next 6 best teams, so we could end up with Mexico and Jamaica in our group, or Trinidad and Curacao or any combination in between. That said it will be matches against other’s for sure best on foreign soil during international breaks.

      • Also, not sure exactly what you mean when you say the top CONCACAF players will be with their clubs. Why? Unless I missed something, the Gold Cup remains a FIFA-sanctioned senior international tournament, same as the Copa America and African Cup of Nations (which are occurring at the same time as the Gold Cup this time). Clubs are compelled to release their players for these tournaments, full stop, no discretion. There may be some question around when exactly they will be able to join up for camp, but given most European seasons are over by May 20, this should not be a problem. Some guys may lose out on some vacation, I’d think, but that’s it…
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        Probably a bigger question when the MLS guys get released, actually…

      • Players will certainly have the option, but what is best for the national team winning games in the GC and their players languishing on the bench because they missed training. National teams can force the teams to release them but I could care if Tim Weah plays Curacao, I need him to be playing consistently in a top league. I don’t expect both Sancho and Pulisic to be with BvB next year but if they are I wan’t CP winning his spot there not handing it to Sancho so we can win a GC. McKennie has played virtually every field position for Schalke this year I need him with his club figuring out where they are going to use him every week. Others guys like Parks, Akale, de la Fuente, Richards, Mendez, Soto, are likely loan candidates that need to be with their loan clubs to earn time instead of arriving in August when spots have been determined. Winning the GC does nothing for our team other than placate some impatient fans, having a list of Americans abroad that isn’t littered with dressed did not play or worse did not dress is where the team gets better.

      • Hmmm…. I guess I’m just not seeing it that way when it comes to players being “penalized” by their clubs for participating in one of three major international tournaments occurring during this time. Seems like many of the top European clubs foreign will be called to go at least somewhere, and I’d have to believe being selected is perceived as a good thing (what else will they do? Warm up for the ICC?) . Seems like FIFA coordinated these dates together for the specific purpose of maximizing senior players involvement. And actually, the dates for the tournament are almost exactly the same as those used for the World Cup last year. I don’t see what the big thing is with the dates. They seem like normal international dates to me.

      • Exactly who are we talking about anyway? I thought we were talking about top European stars from CONCACAF based on your initial comment. Parks, Akale, de la Fuente, Richards, Mendez, Soto….. this is as different story, as these are not guys I was expecting to be called anyway for a competitive senior tournament. For the most part, these are still reserve and youth players didn’t even earn fringe-player callups during the Sarachan era. Ain’t much gonna change in half a season. So sure, they can go hang around their clubs and see if they can make an impression. That’s probably for the best. But yeah, I expect guys like Pulisic, McKennie, etc. to start clocking some real senior time here and developing as a team. Can’t just have them show up only for WCQ’s and expect things will just “fall into place”.

      • If you are Modric, Messi, Mbappe, you can take off your preseason and you have a starting spot on Matchday 1. If you are Campbell, Salcedo, maybe even Chicharito given his club history you are not going to have a spot assured you. I think most European clubs could care less about the GC, they respect the Euros or the WC but they feel their players get better competition in their club friendlies than at the GC. Bryan Ruiz was benched for at least a month after the last GC, Lichaj and Miazga as well took a long time to be integrated back with their clubs at the time. Joel Campbell suffered an injury at the last GC and cost him half a season. Hirving Lozano is a transfer possibility so he is unlikely to attend so that he can become acquainted with his new club.

      • Well ok then. We’ll agree to disagree about this. It doesn’t matter too much…. one way or another we’ll find out in June.

  8. Thanks to USSF this guys gonna have unfair expectations placed on him. They should have announced him way earlier even if he were to first coach during this January window. Also the article makes it seem like Hammarby were a first division club while Gregg was there, which they were not.

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  9. While Berhalter has shown at the club level he has some ability to read the tactical situation and get players to play above their levels….I’m still dismayed at how long the process took, and how much time we’ve lost getting GB familiar with the player pool. While he can review the notes & tapes of the previous coach(s), it’s not the same as seeing the players in person and how they follow his directions.
    Greg now has 6 months to find his players and get them integrated into his style of play. 1st up will be the January camp….the players he invites will help identify what direction he’s intending to take this team. If he calls in and plays a bunch of the “Old Guard” (Howard, Bradley, Besler, Bedoya, Zusi, etc…) than we know we’re in for Bradley 2.0. If he calls up younger fringe guys and gives them significant minutes (Cannon, Glad, Canouse, Durkin, Lima, Farfan, etc…), than we’ll hopefully see the youth movement continue.
    March will the his 1st opportunity to call up European players and he’ll need to use that window to call in as many as he can to determine for himself who can fit his system.

    The Gold Cup will be his first real chance to integrate the 2 groups of players (Domestic & Foreign based). While it isn’t a win at all costs scenario, I have to believe that he needs to take the team to the finals and show that the team is making strides/progressing, if he’s going to quiet critics & fans who would have wanted someone else as manager.

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    • We won the GC in 2017 and then went 1-1-2 in qualifying and missed the WC. Yes, we should be better than Sarachan’s era, but mostly because we will be playing El Salvador, Cuba, and Jamaica instead of Italy, England and Brazil.

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      • you are conflating the first GC in a cycle with the second. we don’t tend to discuss it or discount our own successes but the first one in the cycle tends to be more the A Team tournament and if you look back was a pretty fair estimate of our relative strength. we took 4th behind Panama. we then finished 5th in the Hex. the second GC in the cycle, as the Hex is concluding, tends to be more experimental. eliminated teams send teams pointed to the next cycle. Hex teams are usually running out marginal teams of players fighting for the A team and potential roster slots the following year if they advance. similarly, in retrospect the CA 2016 teams we beat other than CR weren’t any good, and we generally lost to the teams that went to Russia.

      • I think you are oversimplifying things a little based on two tournaments. 2011 we got blasted by Mexico in the final and then won the qualifying tournament with Mexico barely squeaking in. I maintain it has more to do with when the tournament is held, given in 2015 most of the US squad were coming off their Summer breaks and were not in match fitness, but with the limited sample of GC years it is hard to truly say. Given the aging out of US, Mexico, Costa Rica, and Panama it could be a very experimental GC this Summer. Also, it remains to be seen if teams use it to prepare for the Nations League.

  10. I was expecting that when they elected Cordeiro was a new era for US Soccer but now I can see is the same corrupt organization. Its a new ” click ” or mafia : Jay Berhalter as a C.E. O of Us Soccer and Greg Berhalter as their head coach. What a shame.

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    • well, it was reported that Jay wasn’t near the hiring process, which i tend to agree with because it would have absolutely looked like nepotism. I think the people who are dismayed with what is being perceived as a lame duck hiring process are looking for things to criticize, without knowing what happened behind closed doors. How about we all get being Gregg and the team and see how it all plays out instead of the constant nagging about a bunch of unknowns!

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    • clique: a small group of people with a common interest
      mafia: an organized international body of criminals with a complex and ruthless behavioral code

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  11. This should have been done in the summer,wasted 6 friendlies with Dave,when Gregg could have been learning the pool and establishing his system. Now with Adams and Steffen likely in Europe 2 of the core group will miss more time with him as well as the other European players in Jan. Hope it works out and won’t stop rooting for the U.S. but seems like they knew all along and wasted time that was needed

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    • Establishing his system for what? He’s still got years to do that.

      The key to this hire is that he does have a system. He has proven over the last few years that he can get his team playing how he wants them to and he can win with that style.

      This past year was about the players getting experience and seeing what “world class” looks like in person. This year showed our players where the bar is. Now, they’ve got to keep pushing themselves and getting to situations that will help them reach that bar.

      This is a long term project with 2022 not even being the real end goal here. We should be looking at an eight year plan to be a contender in 2026. That is when the core of Adams, Pulisic, McKennie, Sargent, Weah, Reyna, Carleton, etc. will be fully developed and have some veteran experience. It will be exciting to see what level the prospects that come behind them will be at…

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      • My main point was his first camp and friendlies will be just MLS based players and they probably won’t make up the majority of the starting 11 going forward. If he would have had time with all the player pool it would have been nice. Instead he has march only in till the gold cup to get the team on the same page. I think it would have been better for coach and team to start earlier. His contract runs out after 2022 anyway so he might not be around for that cycle anyway. His priority should be this cycle

      • As I stated above we won the GC in 2017 we went 5-1-0 and outscored opponents 14-4, then when it mattered when we needed two wins on home soil we went 1-1-2. We now have the Nations League to play home and aways that matter to prepare for qualifying.

  12. At first I thought it was Klinsman revisited again. However, is appears he has the tactical awareness to be able to influence the Team his predecessor were unable to do. I hope he enters the job with an open mind and not allow his Columbus Crew baggages to follow him. The Dallas Coach was a better pick due to the current atmosphere of the US Soccer. I hope Mexico is not smiling now and see this as an opportunity to poach the young developing talented players away from the USA. I hope he proves us all wrong and exceed our expectations.

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  13. Wow, what a surprise. There were so many better options that this looks what USSF considers a safe and comfortable choice. Or, in other words, USSF is an organization full of mediocrities, dedicated to mediocrity. What’s our goal now? To qualify for the
    World Cup? While there was a lot of criticism of Klinsmann, some deserved, at least he dared to dream big and pushed the organization to aim high. So now we have a manager who managed to get his slightly better than average club into the MLS playoffs. Woo hoo!

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  14. What’s done is done. Yes, I would have chosen someone with more coaching experience; however, I always appreciated Berhalter as a player and wish him and our boys the best. Firstly, I am a big believer that US players need a coach that understands the US mentality. He’s one of them. Secondly, he had relatively good success with limited player resources and a lot of front-office turmoil at Columbus. One could say, the Crew punched above their collective weight…kind of like the best US teams did.

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    • A “coach wtih a US mentality because he was one of them”? When Berhalter was a player we were so raw that a draw was like a win for us. We are well beyond that, most of the top current players are playing in top 5 leagues around the world. We need someone that wants to win by attacking rather than just defending and beating the opponent on a counter. SMH

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      • Clearly, you never watched the Crew with Berhalter they were not a bunker and counter team. The 2002 WC squad that Berhalter was a part of had 17 players who either played in top 5 leagues at that time or in the year or two that followed.

    • What exaaaactly, is the US mentality we hear about all the time……… like, mostly when the desire is to eliminate the most qualified options in favor of someone from the inner circle. The most important things in a manager are completely universal. Countries that are much more mono-culturally distinct than ours seem to have no problem successfully bringing in foreign managers. How about emphasizing the most important things- a proven high level record, winner’s mentality and completely fluent in the game… high level tactics, team building, player development.

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      • What’s funny is those qualities are all qualities that people who know soccer (pundits across the various soccer platforms) say Berhalter has. As a Crew fan since the beginning, Berhalter brought stability that we haven’t seen since Sigi had Schelotto. Would we have liked to see a title or two sure, but when you have Higuain and the other side has Valeri, Almiron, Martinez, Lodeiro, Villa, or Ibra. I mean if it was Gonzalo maybe but not Federico. But what had Zlatko Dalic done before taking over Croatia? I went back as far as 1982 and not one of the WC finalist had a foreign manager. I wasn’t able to quickly check semifinalist but that would be a short list as well Martinez and Hiddink and I’m sure one or two others I’m not thinking of.

      • Hello Frank- Another Klinsman? Did I say that? Did you see the part about what I think should be stressed? None of that includes foreign or American… just the best available. But… If we are to consistently follow your line of logic that all foreign managers are to be judged by our last- Klinsman, then it stands to reason that all MLS managers have to be judged by Arena…. right? Ler’s not pin that on Berhalter along w/ the needless pressure already dumped on his lap. LoL. And…. I’ve repeatedly said I support Berhalter 100%. I hope he thrives and for sure think he is a better choice than Bruce in this era. Lets do this!

    • Razor- He’s definitely over achieved w/ mediocre talent… in a mediocre league/MLS for a hand full of years. Kudos for sure-but he’s won nothing. It’s a very promising start, but most ambitious countries would not consider that nearly adequate- near a proven high level resume for the national team/international competition. If you read my previous posts, including one above somewhere… I don’t necessarily disagree w/ you regarding the rest about Berhalter’s managing. I’ve stated I liked him as a player and what I’ve seen- as a coach as well. I’ll say again- now that he’s the manager, I support him 100% and suspect he may do well. What prompted this particular comment was I just happen to think people parrot the thing about American mentality too easily without even really knowing exactly what they mean when they do…. and that there are things much more important. As to WC finalists. We aren’t remotely close or comparable to any of those countries and what they have available- the wealth in soccer talent nor is the availability of managers in regards to development, tactics training methods etc in the same universe. Frankly, if you look at history, more than ingenuity, the real American mentality/success story in other areas we’ve excelled- science, medicine, engineering… our space program for example… has been to attract the best, brightest talent from elsewhere to fill a need. For some reason- we seem to be too proud and stubborn to do the same with soccer. We could speed our progress/learn a lot from those much better than us at this if we humble ourselves enough to consider it.. cheers

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      • So you’d like another Klinsmann? I truly believe that a lot of people have unrealistic expectation. Give him some time, support the team. He’ll be bringing in a mix of experience and youth. Some players will work out, others won’t.

      • My point about foreign managers is that it doesn’t really work. You see it some in South America where Argentine and Brazilians fill the other countries leagues and some stay around and manage in the country where they have lived but weren’t born. You see it with African countries but most of those managers last only a year or two. Korea and Japan have tried but neither country has turned into a perennial knockout round squad. Osorio lived a decent amount of time in the US and probably would have been fine the same with Pareja, but neither really changed the game in their roles in MLS so unlikely they would somehow do that with USMNT.

  15. He has been the leading choice for a long time. The question is why wasn’t this done sooner? He could have had some friendlies with top competition as the head coach. He could have seen our boys overseas in action, now with January camp as the next step he will see mostly domestic players ,you know the ones he saw in MLS. This smells of stagnation and rot on the USSF ‘s part. I hope he surprises me with his soccer expertise and organization. Don’t have much faith in the process.

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  16. We were hoping after last years debacle things would get better with the Federation. Instead we have this, and it’s worse than before. It seems more like a CYA move, play it safe with no thought of anything 5-10 years down the road. I hope I’m proven wrong, but so far the dysfunction has made it to the pitch as well. We can only hope that changes by the GC and there is more going behind the scenes than we know.

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    • Correct about the dysfunction. IMO it was an MLS-SUM pick ( that being said, I would have been happier with OP getting the job instead of going to Xolos). It made no sense to NOT have him lead the team in the 2 friendlies last month. I understand it was a relatively short window between when Columbus was eliminated and the fixtures, but if it was a done deal, why the delay?

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  17. No disrespect to Berhalter or his dedication to mastering his coaching craft, but I just can’t help feeling this is a little anticlimactic.
    US Soccer took this long to select Berhalter? This all feels a bit too similar to how USSF has worked in the past. Politics.
    From reports it came down to Berhalter or Pereja for the position – And Berhalter was the better option?
    Also what happened to Vermes?
    I’m afraid with this appointment we may see a heavy defensive, park the bus tactics implemented with a lack of creativity.

    I sincerely hope Berhalter proves me wrong. But all we can do now is give him a chance to lead us to glory.

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