Christian Pulisic has hit out against Gregg Berhalter’s critics, saying that the vitriol directed at the recently returned U.S. men’s national team coach “seems crazy.”
Berhalter was reappointed USMNT head coach last week, six months after he left the team following the expiration of his contract.
While he was away from the team, Berhalter was embroiled in a major scandal surrounding his treatment of Gio Reyna during and after the World Cup, which was compounded by Reyna’s parents attempting to blackmail him by offering information to U.S. Soccer about a domestic violence incident in his past.
Pulisic appeared as one of Berhalter’s earliest and most significant backers, saying in March that the behavior of Danielle and Claudio Reyna was “childish” while endorsing Berhalter for another term at the helm.
After criticism of Berhalter’s return spread online, Pulisic again backed his coach this week.
“I just have to give credit where credit’s due and it does frustrate me a little bit, and just seeing just all the negative press towards him that people tell me about, and I can’t fully understand it exactly,” Pulisic told Herculez Gomez in an interview on ESPN’s Futbol Americas.
“He’s come in and won the Nations League, won the Gold Cup, we win the Nations League again. Had a solid World Cup. Are there things that you can criticize here and there? Sure. And I think he’d agree with that, but it just seems a bit crazy to me.”
Pulisic also had some major praise for Reyna, who starred for the USMNT as the team won a second straight CONCACAF Nations League title over the weekend.
“I’d say that this is the best I’ve seen Gio,” Pulisic said. “I was really happy to see it, he’s going to be a big part of this program moving forward. We all see it. We’re continuing to grow our relationship on the field, off the field. I’m enjoying seeing him grow as a player. Everything that’s happened or whatever, I think it’s so far behind us and I love the player that he’s becoming, and the person he is.”
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