Meet the new coach, same as the old coach’s

For some reason unfathomable to me, US Soccer has decided to retain Gregg Berhalter as the USMNT head coach.

I wish I could say I’m optimistic it will work out, but our feeble ineptness at generating quality scoring chances, much less scoring any goals (three in Qatar last fall, just in case you had forgotten), makes me pessimistic. That and Gio Gate made me think (and I’m sure many of you) that Berhalter’s departure was a foregone conclusion.
Oops.
I guess time will tell.

 

Well I was totally wrong in the Nations League thread regarding the timing (if I had only waited half an hour longer). At least they didn’t take a whole year, like the first time they hired Berhalter.

I am also a bit pessimistic here. Berhalter did well (for the most part), but considering the World Cup effort was basically status quo - neither disappointing nor exceptional - I’m inclined to think that he had reached his critical mass. Time will tell though, and maybe there wasn’t anyone available that could take the team to another level.

The good news is that a number of important players have backed Berhalter’s return so that should bode well for the locker room.

 

Not that I have any QUALIFIABLE SKILLS on the issue, but I would like to point out that this is reminiscent of the debate over Steve Sampson as USMNT Head Coach.
With one major difference. Overall results. Keeping in mind the other teams aren't standing still.
Could be worse, right? We could be Mexico.

 

Read an article describing USMNT fans never being satisfied w/a coach, even if their tenure has been a ‘success’. I thought at best we accomplished the bare minimum given the talent, bordering on underachieving. Let’s not forget we scored 3 goals in 4 games. The team was awful away from home during qualifying, and did just enough to go to Qatar.

Have no choice but to hope this turns out ok, but this will come down to how he handles Gio Reyna, Pepi, and Scally (especially Gio). Was it painful for GB to watch Gio be our best player in the recent Nations League? I’m sure he was happy w/the team winning, but …Is he man enough to somehow smooth over the relationship that he not only threw under the bus, but backed the Greyhound up and ran it over again?

 

Did the US not open up the checkbook? Or is the job not that appealing to "high end" coaches? Either way, or by any other reason, this decision seems like a settlement...the US scanned the room at 2am and went home with whomever agreed to hold its hand on the way out the door....

 

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_...gregg-berhalter-yet-resolve-gio-reyna-dispute


You have to be #^%ING Kidding??? GB is consulting mediation firms??? This is on Matt Crocker for hiring Berhalter back with apparently no answer from GB on how he was going to resolve this issue. The fact GB hasn’t reached out to Gio is unfathomable at this point.

Simple solution: Let the kid know you’re coming, then get your arse on a plane to Germany. Be a freaking man and tell Gio what YOU did wrong in the situation, assure him that what’s going on with his parents WILL NOT affect their working relationship, and that as far as your concerned he has a CLEAN SLATE going forward. It’s not freaking brain surgery FFS!!!

Silly me to think this had already been handled. Throw in Gio is finally back in training from his Nations League injury and won’t be called in for the first Intl Break and the best word I can come up with to describe the current situation..embarrassing.

 

To piggy back on @SoCalJoe , here’s a lovely quote from GB himself.

"It was never about names," Berhalter told reporters on Wednesday. "It was more about an example of our strong team culture, and I felt that if it hurt one player, then it's worth apologizing to the entire group, and that's what I did."​

He apologized to the rest of the team but not the actual player at the root of the issue. Get over yourself GB. Don’t talk about team culture on one hand while throwing a player under the bus after “taking care of it in house.”

 

I'm taking my boy to the USA vs Uzbekistan match today. This will be his first match. He doesn't seem all that excited, but once there I think he will like it.

 

how was it Brad? score line looked entertaining, but I did not have a chance to watch.

 

USA had tons of possession but weren't creating meaningful opportunities. Pulisic played poorly and Ream seemed determined to give the ball away at times. I was expecting a USA blowout so to have just a 1 goal lead for most of the game made it interesting. Credit to the Uzbeck's for stifling our attack.

My boy liked the game overall and it was nice to do something with him that isn't Roblox or Minecraft.