The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
The USMNT, coachless and chaotic, begins again with new World Cup cycle
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. World Cup adventure in Qatar ended almost eight weeks ago. Since then, there’s been enough controversy and sideshows to fill 8 years.
Nothing, though, will stand in the way of a new 4-year cycle, and so Wednesday night, with an assistant coach in charge, no general manager, a wave of newcomers in uniform and no one quite sure what direction the program is headed, the U.S. men’s national soccer team began its 2023 slate with a friendly against Serbia.
It was to be a low-key affair, as these winter gatherings almost always are, coming when top players are locked into club duties in Europe and the primary aim of the week-long camp is to integrate prospects. And yet, given the events of the past two months, as well as some intriguing new storylines, it’s almost impossible to look away.
To recap: Gregg Berhalter’s coaching contract ran out, and although the U.S. Soccer Federation said he remains in the running for a new deal, that seems less likely than it was after guiding the Americans to the World Cup’s round of 16.
There was Berhalter’s rift with the Reyna clan, a well-known U.S. soccer family, that spilled into the public, exacerbated by Berhalter, who, at a speech in New York days after he returned from Qatar, detailed the reasons the immensely talented Gio Reyna didn’t play much at the World Cup. Reyna’s parents thought that should have stayed within the team, and his mother, Danielle, subsequently told the USSF of Berhalter kicking his future wife when they were students at the University of North Carolina.
“When all this happened, it was one of like, it’s a shame, it’s sadness, because all the attention has gone away from (the World Cup), all the good work has been shifted in another direction,” Anthony Hudson, a World Cup assistant running the show this week, said Tuesday.
An ugly rift between two U.S. soccer families bursts into public
Meantime, the oft-injured Reyna, 20, has returned to club duty with Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in sensational form. He came off the bench to score winning goals in each of the past two matches, the latest coming hours before the U.S. team kicked off Wednesday.
The U.S. soap opera didn’t end there: Brian McBride, a Hall of Famer who was appointed general manager 3 years ago, was cut loose. It happened at least a week ago, though the USSF has remained mum. USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart — a U.S. World Cup teammate of McBride, Berhalter and Claudio Reyna, Gio’s father — apparently made the decision. Stewart, one person close to the situation said, might end up handling team matters himself.
The players in camp this week have gone about their business. Most are too new to the program to feel the effects of the off-field turbulence. While those issues remain unresolved, the roster is much more intriguing than a typical winter camp featuring mostly players in MLS preseason mode.
Hudson received permission from clubs abroad to bring in 18-year-old goalkeeper Gaga Slonina (Chelsea), 19-yearold midfielder Paxten Aaronson (Eintracht Frankfurt) and forward Alejandro Zendejas (Mexico’s Club América), a Texan who is eligible to represent the United States or Mexico.
Hudson said it was “amazing” that Club América allowed Zendejas to leave between league matches. (He was available to the U.S. team Wednesday but is not Saturday against Colombia.)
Like most things with U.S. men’s soccer these days, Zendejas’s situation is messy, though not because the USSF has done anything wrong. He has represented both the United States and Mexico, but because Zendejas was tied to the U.S. program through participation in a 2015 international youth championship, FIFA fined the Mexican federation and forced it to forfeit several matches.
Zendejas, who turns 25 on Feb. 7, could still change his affiliation to Mexico, but the fact he is here bodes well for the U.S. program. Nonetheless, he was noncommittal Tuesday in answering repeated questions about his future.
Whoever ends up coaching the United States in the buildup to the 2026 World Cup on home soil would undoubtedly appreciate Zendejas in red, white and blue. Since summer 2020, he has scored 24 goals in Liga MX for Necaxa, then Club América, which is one of Mexico’s biggest clubs.
Entering Wednesday’s match, Zendejas was among 13 players seeking to make their U.S. senior debut. Among them were FC Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez, whose scoring exploits in MLS came too late for World Cup consideration, and Argentine American attacker Alan Soñora.
It was also a first for Hudson, a 41-yearold British American who has coached Bahrain, New Zealand, the Colorado Rapids and the U.S. under-20 national team. If Berhalter is not re-signed, Hudson would probably move on.