Berhalter’s remaking of US team will take time
ORLANDO, Fla. — Gregg Berhalter and the U.S. men’s national soccer team request your patience.
With a new coach, the elevation of young players into prominent roles and the implementation of a pragmatic system, the rebuilding efforts in the wake of the 2018 World Cup qualifying disaster are in full swing.
Berhalter’s third match at the helm— and first with all players available— went down Thursday with a third consecutive shutout victory, 1-0 over Ecuador on a deflected goal by Gyasi Zardes of Crew SC in the 81st minute.
The victory capped a decent performance, but in the broader scheme, the match was more about the process of setting the program back on course. Positive results in inconsequential games are nice, but there is a larger aim at work.
Berhalter and his players get it: Fans want to win now, external urgency in the joyless aftermath of that fateful night in Trinidad and Tobago 17 months ago.
But at the start of a new World Cup cycle, Berhalter, the former Crew SC coach and sporting director, has a long runway to get it right. He is halfway through a slate of six friendlies — the next stops are Houston, Washington and Cincinnati — before entering this year’s important, if not win-or-else, tournaments (CONCACAF’S Gold Cup and Nations League).
Ideally, Berhalter would like to both further the program and, in an effort to regain the public’s trust and enthusiasm, win a few matches. The primary objective, however, is to enact the system, test the players and forge bonds in time for the 2022 World Cup qualifying quest.
“When you’ve had the year or two we’ve had, there is real motivation from every guy to start to put that all right — to play well, to win, to show individually what you are about and what part you can play,” veteran midfielder Michael Bradley said. “On the flip side, it’s March of 2019 and, in the big picture, these are friendly games and it’s still important we are building a team. Everybody has the right amount of patience and understanding with what Gregg is trying to do.”
Berhalter’s mission began with an Mls-exclusive winter camp — those toiling abroad were not available — and continued in this nine-day FIFA window with players from MLS, plus the European and Mexican leagues.
In introducing his ideas, Berhalter acknowledged, “We know it’s not going to be perfect.”
In evaluating the first few training sessions this week, Berhalter said he noticed some disconnect as players attempted to grasp their coursework. And in the match, before an announced 17,442 at Orlando City Stadium, there was a mix of terrific interaction and learning on the fly in executing his possession-heavy plan.
The first-half positives: Wil Trapp of the Crew sent long balls from deep in midfield to Paul Arriola hustling on the left wing, some of the combination work and buildups, Tyler Adams’ acclimation to a hybrid role as a right back and midfielder, and the defensive fortitude under intermittent pressure.
The mere presence of Adams, Christian Pulisic and Weston Mckennie was a triumph of sorts; the 20-yearolds, all employed by Bundesliga clubs, had never started together at the senior level.
Pulisic left the match early in the second half, presumably so he can start again Tuesday against Chile. Mckennie was forced out midway through the second half after badly turning his left ankle. He hopped off the field and, after continuing his onelegged sojourn with assistance, he went down and waited for the stretcher.
Until Zardes’ goal, the best opportunity for either team came midway through the first half, when Arriola should have scored. Pulisic’s touch placed the ball in Arriola’s unobstructed path on the back side, but the shot was too close to goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez, who made a foot save.
On the goal, Zardes’ 25-yard shot deflected off defender Robert Arboleda, took flight over Dominguez and caromed off the underside of the crossbar for his seventh international goal.
For sure, it was an accidental goal. But the outcome was perhaps the reward for Berhalter’s ambition.
“It’s a breath of fresh air,” said defender Tim Ream, Thursday’s captain. “Before it was, ‘Let’s qualify by any means necessary,’ Chopping and changing, switching things up, whatever it took. (Berhalter) is focused on playing a certain way and sticking to it.”