US SOCCER HAS officially announced the hiring of Gregg Berhalter as the new head coach of the national team, confirming the long-anticipated appointment on Sunday.
Berhalter’s appointment was formally ratified by the US Soccer Board of Directors on Saturday by a unanimous vote.
“This is a tremendous honor,” Berhalter said. “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.”
The 45-year-old’s hiring ends a 13-month saga that saw the USMNT go without a full-time head coach since Bruce Arena stepped down following the team’s failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Nine of those months went by before Stewart formally began the search after being hired as USMNT general manager. During those nine months, and then the additional four months the search took place, Dave Sarachan served as caretaker coach, leading the team through a dozen matches and compiling a 3-5-4 record.
Stewart’s search included putting together an initial list of 33 candidates, which he eventually whittled down to 11 leading contenders. Stewart spoke to all 11 of those contenders before settling on a final two, after which he decided Berhalter was the best man for the job.
“After a very thorough process, I am absolutely convinced Gregg is the right man to lead the National Team program moving forward,” Stewart said. “He ticks all the boxes with his background as a person, a successful coach and an accomplished former international player.
Berhalter’s managerial career began in 2012, with Swedish club Hammarby. He spent two seasons in Sweden before being fired.
He joined the Columbus Crew in 2014, spending five seasons as head coach and sporting director, helping lead the team to the playoffs in four of those five seasons, including a run to the 2015 MLS Cup final.
During his time in Columbus, Berhalter’s Crew teams developed a reputation for playing attractive, possession-based soccer, and the club enjoyed success despite having one of the lowest payrolls in MLS.
As a player, Berhalter spent much of his career in Europe, with stints in England and the Netherlands before a seven-year run in Germany. He eventually returned to the United States, spending three seasons with the LA Galaxy.
Berhalter made 44 appearances for the USMNT and was part of the 2002 and 2006 World Cup teams. He played in two World Cup matches, starting in the team’s historic 2-0 round of 16 win against Mexico and was a starter in the 2002 quarter-final loss to Germany.
That match is remembered for Berhalter sending a shot toward goal that was blocked by what appeared to be a handball by German midfielder Torsten Frings. The penalty wasn’t awarded, and the Americans were eliminated 1-0.
Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:
There was nothing wrong with the challenge on Gomez. Hopefully it’s nothing too serious as he has been in serious form all season.
Matip and Lovren are liabilities. It’s hard to have confidence in either of em with big games coming up if Gomez is ruled out for a significant period of time.
@Maureen: I can’t understand Klopps logic in Gomez selection at rb. He is much more likely to be tackled at pace running up and down the sideline than at centre half and get injured. 1 of best 2 centre backs at the club this year and klopp plays him at rb. Crazy call considering Matip and Lovren have mistakes in them and one of the will now have to be played.
@Gerard Smith: yea Clyne has obviously dropped well down the pecking order, hes rarely in the squad anymore. When Klopp wants to give Trent a rest there is not many options but to switch Gomez who looks uncomfortable playing there. It looks like that he is going to pay for his mistake now.
Hard to be confident of keeping a clean sheet against Napoli if he ain’t there but Lovren can surprise and look good pretty often. He can’t be any worse than he was against PSG anyway.
@Gerard Smith: We will be watching the next few games through our fingers alright but Lovren can be solid enough when he’s alongside VVD. I know neither of them were great against PSG but they did well as a pair in the second half of the PL last season.