Berhalter now tasked with turnaround
Gregg Berhalter was hired Sunday to coach the U.S. men’s national soccer team, making him the first person to lead the Americans after playing for them in a World Cup.
Berhalter, who spent the past five seasons as the head coach of Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew FC, represents a generational change for an American team staggered by its failure to reach this year’s World Cup in Russia after seven straight appearances at soccer’s quadrennial showcase.
A native of Englewood, New Jersey, Berhalter grew up in nearby Tenafly and played alongside future U.S. captain Claudio Reyna at Saint Benedict’s Prep in Newark.
Berhalter’s Columbus teams succeeded despite one of the league’s lowest payrolls.
“They try to keep the ball. He’s got ideas and a style of play that they stick to,” U.S. goalkeeper Brad Guzan said. “That guidance will be important going forward.”
The 45-year-old Berhalter was long viewed as the front-runner for a job that stayed open for nearly 14 months. He is the second-youngest coach for the United States in four decades; Steve Sampson was 38 when he took over in 1995.
“He is a coach that is learning at all times,” said U.S. general manager Earnie Stewart, who made the decision that was
approved Saturday by the U.S. Soccer Federation board of directors. “Every single day he tries to develop himself so he can be a better leader for the team that he has. That is something that really stood out with Gregg and went a long way in the decision to offer him the job.”
Berhalter is a godson of baseball Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski. His 47-year-old brother, Jay, is the U.S. Soccer Federation’s chief commercial and strategy officer.
A defender who made 44 appearances for the United States from 1994 to 2006, Berhalter
started on the left side of a three-man back line in the 2002 knockout stage matches against Mexico and Germany after Jeff Agoos got hurt and U.S. coach Bruce Arena changed the formation.
Berhalter was a late addition to the 2006 World Cup roster after Cory Gibbs injured a knee in a pre-tournament exhibition against Morocco, but Berhalter did not get into a World Cup match that year. He also was on the roster for the 1995 Copa America, 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 1999 and 2003 Confederations Cups.
He played college soccer at North Carolina. Months after the United States hosted the 1994 World Cup, Belhalter made his national team debut that October in an exhibition at Saudi Arabia. Berhalter played at the club level with Zwolle (199496), Sparta Rotterdam (1996-98), Cambuur Leeuwarden (1998-00), Crystal Palace (2001-02), Energie Cottbus (2002-06), 1860 Munich (2006-09) and the Los Angeles Galaxy (2009-11).
Berhalter started his coaching career at second-division Hammarby in Sweden in December 2011 and was fired in July 2013. Berhalter was hired by Columbus in November 2013 and led the team to third-, second-, ninth- and consecutive fifthplace finishes. The low-budget Crew lost to Portland in the 2015 MLS final and to Toronto in the 2017 Eastern Conference final.
Arena’s second stint as the Americans’ coach began when he replaced Jurgen Klinsmann in November 2016 after an 0-2 start in the final round of World Cup qualifying. The Americans fell one point short of the tournament when they lost 2-1 at Trinidad and Tobago on Oct. 10, 2017, and Arena quit three days later.