Why Gregg Berhalter of US Soccer should not be renewed

He led the USMNT to a third-place finish (worse Canada and Mexico) in the World Cup qualifying stages, barely booking their ticket to Qatar by goal difference. Gregg was unable to push the inexperienced USMNT talent to win more games outside of Ohio.

Unable to make a plan B, C or D, Berhalter’s ‘system’ was exploited several times before going to the World Cup and especially during their game against the Netherlands.

Let’s not forget the players he brought to Qatar who should never have taken the field. And the players he didn’t use that often (Gio Reyna) should have started games.

How Gregg Berhalter’s brother got him the job

While it’s easy to blame Gregg Berhalter for the elimination of the USMNT, let’s not stop there.

The whole shabang about Berhalter’s mission changing the way the world watches American football was a complete failure, starting with the selection of Berhalter as head coach.

You can blame his brother Jay Berhalter and how the US Soccer Federation was treated during his time as COO (second-in-command to former US Soccer President Sunil Gulati).

Jay Berhalter took over Gulati’s responsibilities in 2018. Before that, his only responsibility was to choose the new sporting director, who would be in charge of choosing the new US head coach.

The COO elected to hire Earnie Stewart as the new sporting director. As reported in 2018Stewart’s newly created position would lead the search for the next U.S. coach and “head up a committee that will evaluate candidates before hiring a new coach after the World Cup.”

Stewart’s so-called “committee” did not conduct interviews with suitors available at the time, such as Julen Lopetegui, Peter Vermes, Jesse Marsch, Tab Ramos, and Tata Martino. Stewart eventually hired his old American teammate Berhalter. At the time, Berhalter had no experience coaching national teams and had a combined winning percentage of 38.7% with Swedish club Hammarby IF and Columbus Crew.

USSF responded to the criticism of their hiring process by saying they interviewed Oscar Pareja, but Pareja would continue to deny that such an interview ever took place.

“No conflict of interest”

In 2019, when U.S. Soccer officials were questioned further about Jay Berhalter’s role in indirectly hiring Gregg, a U.S. Soccer public relations official said that “there were no conflicts of interest in having brothers in two of the top positions in the league.” federation, because Jay Berhalter has nothing to do with the technical department.”

This was completely contrary to what the former US U-20 Head Coach said: “It was clear to anyone who has worked at US Soccer for the last four or five years that the technical message came from Jay Berhalter.”

When Berhalter was unveiled as head coach, then USSF President Carlos Cordeiro was excited about the hiring decision:

“He will take our men’s team forward and with an identity and approach that will be uniquely and fiercely American.”

Berhalter achieved exactly what the USSF wanted

Clearly the hiring process was inadequate along with “Change the way the world views American football.” The USSF knew what they were getting with Berhalter – a pumpjack who would play MLS players on the national team despite the players not being good enough at the international level.

In turn, there would be an increase towards the profile and value of MLS for the owners who also run the Soccer United Marketing (SUM). A win-win for both parties involved.

Founded in 2002 by MLS founders Don Garber and Gulati, SUM linked several MLS advertising and marketing deals to the USSF. The organization created a financial incentive for the United States Soccer Federation and national team to boost MLS’s international profile.

This caused pressure from MLS owners to have their players regularly play at the national team level. So the USSF’s financial incentive to find a head coach who would make this happen was now an easy choice for both Jay Berhalter and Stewart.

Many American football supporters point to the conflict of interest created by this, allowing for the phrase “MLS quota”. The supposed quota was pointed out by the legend of the game, Johan Cruyff, in his autobiography ‘My Turn’.

“Jürgen Klinsmann often couldn’t select the best possible team because he was obliged to include someone from every franchise… Because every franchise contributes to the national budget,” said Cruyff. “I don’t know if that’s still the case, but I do know it’s very limiting as a coach… that would delay the development of the national team by years if it continued.”

SUM and USSF have since severed ties. Jay Berhalter has stepped down from USSF and not coincidentally joined MLS as their new executive vice president.

US Soccer doesn’t want to rock the boat

Of the 32 teams participating in the 2022 World Cup, the United States has the largest population and is the richest country in the world. We have a wealth of wealth based on the standard of nationwide facilities to grow the next generation of world stars.

However, we continue to fail because we lack leadership from the US Soccer Federation, which seems more focused on profit than meaningful results.