Gregg Berhalter strongly supports the USMNT despite the ‘weirdness’ after the shooting
IRVINE, Calif. – Last week in Chicago, the day before the US men’s national team faced Germany, Gregg Berhalter held a press conference.
This, for five years, would be completely unremarkable. It was unusual here because he who was the coach of any team, officially answering questions about that team before they practice, is not something that usually happens.
Berhalter took the USMNT to the World Cup in Qatar 3 1/2 years ago, until their Copa America group stage exit two summers ago, he was in a position to take them to the World Cup starting this week. He now coaches the Chicago Fire in the MLS – which gave him the opportunity to train at his club’s facility last Friday – and hosts a podcast, titled “Coaches’ Corner,” with fellow former national team coaches Bruce Arena and Bob Bradley. Yes, everything is wrong.
“Yes,” Berhalter told The Post on Monday, hours before the USMNT opened its World Cup camp in Irvine, California.
“I’m trying to say that if you’re part of American soccer, no matter what role you play – win a title, coach a team, play in the World Cup, whatever it is – you’re part of US soccer for life. And your time is not guaranteed. Once you’ve done one cap, it doesn’t mean you’ve finished your second cap, but you’re still part of the program. I’m part of a different journey now in the US. I’m enjoying it just the same.”
His connection to the team is, obviously, deep. Thirteen players on this list were part of the 2022 World Cup squad under Berhalter. More than that was set by him before or after the World Cup. One is his own son, Sebastian, four years ago in Qatar as a spectator and now he looks ready to take an important role in this team.
Seeing Sebastian – who didn’t play when his father was coach, and who, due to the inevitable nepotism charges, might have struggled to break into the team if Gregg had been coach – put on a World Cup uniform added another layer of emotion to the situation.
“From him, what I saw was a lot of focus and hard work to get to this point,” Berhalter said. “It’s easy to talk about him being at this point now, but the work he did to get there was the hardest part and that was the hard part. There were days when it wasn’t easy for him. There were days when it didn’t go his way or he didn’t play in Vancouver. He had to be strong mentally, keep going and have this unwavering belief in himself to get here.”
As for the other 25 players on the team, Berhalter’s pride in their growth is evident.
“What strikes me the most is how much they have grown,” said Berhalter. “And probably, I had a period where they were still finding themselves. It’s still mostly young adults and their brains are still developing and they’re coming to terms with their work and what it takes to be a professional. Now I see them, they’re strong men. They understand.”
“Gregg has been a big part of my national team journey,” said Weston McKennie. “… He’s the type of guy, I went to him with problems on and off the field. I’ve cried in front of him. We’ve had some tough times and some amazing times together.”
In Qatar, Berhalter tried to remind his team again and again – the youngest, on average, at that World Cup – what it would be like to face the full World Cup spotlight. No one needs that reminder now, especially with the competition on home soil, where 5,500 people turned out in Irvine on Monday to watch a light training session.
“The team is ready,” Berhalter said. “I don’t read too much into the results when we play against Germany or Senegal. I’m looking to do well. And they’re ready. They gained confidence in both games. They’ll go to the Paraguay game prepared and ready for this moment.”
