Gregg Berhalter – Page 5 – Syndication Server

Pepi: I’ve never had a problem with Berhalter

The striker was one of the final cuts from the 2022 World Cup roster

Ricardo Pepi has insisted he’s never had a problem with U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter, despite being left off last year’s World Cup roster.

Pepi was one of the last cuts for the 26-man squad that went to Qatar, with Jesús Ferreira, Haji Wright and Josh Sargent preferred over the then-Groningen forward.

After six months away from the team, Berhalter was rehired as USMNT head coach and will return to the sideline in friendlies against Uzbekistan on Saturday and Oman on Tuesday.

After his World Cup snub, Pepi has returned to the USMNT in impressive fashion, scoring four goals in four appearances so far in 2023.

Pepi spoke about his relationship with Berhalter on the Offside With Taylor Twellman podcast, insisting that there has never been an issue between the pair.

“To be honest, I never really had a problem with Gregg,” the 20-year-old said. “We had a phone call before this camp and he just explained to me my role in the squad. He explained to me that he was back. So, it’s all a healthy relationship with him. I’ve never had a problem with him at all.

“So it’s all normal. And of course, we have a good relationship on the pitch. He’s always telling me on video if he sees something, he’s always telling me to improve this, improve that. So, you know, it’s all a good relationship, to be honest.”

Pepi completed an offseason transfer from Augsburg to PSV after starring on loan with Groningen last season. The striker said he enjoys the style of play in the Eredivisie and is looking to stay patient at PSV, where he’s served as a backup to Luuk de Jong in the early season.

“They have a very nice style of football, which is why I like the league a lot,” Pepi said. “And of course, [there are] a lot of opportunities for young players. I feel like it’s a good stepping stone for a young player as well.

“I signed a five-year deal [at PSV], so it’s about patience of course. And it’s about working every day, trying to get better as a player. A club like PSV is known for making big transfer players, they’re always helping players go out to the big clubs. So I feel like I’m in the right spot and I’m just going to keep working until I get my opportunity.”

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McKennie: Berhalter’s USMNT return means ‘picking up where we left off’

Per McKennie, Berhalter was impressed with what he saw while out of contract

Despite a very turbulent start to 2023, Weston McKennie says it’s just like old times for the U.S. men’s national team.

Gregg Berhalter, after the most convoluted head coaching search in the program’s history, has made his return, with this September international window marking his first USMNT camp since being re-hired.

Speaking from St. Louis ahead of the team’s Saturday friendly against Uzbekistan, McKennie explained that despite all the turmoil and confusion, things have stayed on track.

“We kind of picked up where we left off, and training and vibes and everything is as good as usual,” the Juventus midfielder told reporters on Thursday. “We were lucky enough that the two interim coaches that we had were with us the four years [before] as well, so we kind of didn’t have to really change that much. We all kind of have the same ideas. So I mean, having him back in, it’s good.”

‘That’s the culture that we built here’

It’s been a strange year for the USMNT. While a circus broke out surrounding Berhalter, Gio Reyna and his parents, and U.S. Soccer’s protracted search for a permanent head coach, the team played two very different CONCACAF tournaments under interim head coaches Anthony Hudson and B.J. Callaghan.

According to McKennie, the USMNT stuck with the same internal principles that had been established during Berhalter’s first term, giving an anecdote about how the returning head coach took note of that.

“We touched on it a little bit in camp as well,” said McKennie. “I think what’s most important, obviously, is realizing — and I know best myself — that there’s no one person that’s bigger than the program. There’s no one person bigger than the team.

“[Berhalter] touched upon that whenever he came back in, he said ‘it was amazing to be able to see that, even though I was gone, and whoever stepped in, to realize that the brotherhood was strong. To realize that you guys had the same values, have the same approach to the game — with just the intensity, the way that we fight, the way that we want to win games — that’s something, that’s the culture that we built here.'”

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Berhalter tips Buck for big USMNT future amid England interest

Berhalter: “We see him as a player that can compete to make the World Cup team”

Like any great recruiter, the U.S. men’s national team is always on the job.

Noel Buck, the 18-year-old New England Revolution midfielder, was not called up for the USMNT squad set to face Uzbekistan and Oman in September, but the dual national is still very much on head coach Gregg Berhalter’s radar.

Shortly after revealing his first roster since returning to the USMNT job, Berhalter told reporters that he’s been in touch with Buck, who is eligible for the U.S., England, and Wales.

“He’s been great. He’s been really strong,” said Berhalter of the young midfielder. “I have spoken to him. There has been interest from England, which I think is great. Great achievement, when you have a country like England looking at you.

“I’ve communicated with him, told him that we see him as a player that can compete to make the World Cup team in 2026, based on what he’s doing now. We see — if he continues to develop at that rate — I’m sure he can be competitive and compete to be on the roster.”

Buck has previously played for the United States at the Under-19 level, while he has not been called in for any England or Wales youth national team at this point.

U.S. Soccer, based on a recent run of successful recruiting, may feel confident about persuading Buck to stick with the program. Folarin Balogun, Yunus Musah, and Ricardo Pepi are just some of the USMNT regulars who could have chosen another national team, and all have seemed to benefit from going with the U.S. over other options.

Buck having a breakout 2023

Buck has 22 appearances across all competitions for New England, who trail only FC Cincinnati and St. Louis City SC in the race for the Supporters’ Shield.

That number would likely be higher had Buck not missed much of June with an injury. Buck returned to the field for the Revolution in the Leagues Cup, starting all four of New England’s matches in that tournament before going 62 minutes in a 1-0 loss to CF Montréal on Sunday.

Buck has largely played centrally for New England, but with Bruce Arena (who has been on administrative leave for a month) and interim coach Richie Williams toggling between several formations, the youngster has shown some versatility. Buck has been used as a shuttler on the right side of a diamond midfield, as a No. 6, and as a box-to-box option in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

Buck has scored two goals and tacked on an assist in 2023, marking himself out as an essential part of the mix at Gillette Stadium regardless of the formation on the day.

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Berhalter apologized to every USMNT player after HOW Institute talk

The coach’s comments set off a firestorm that ultimately resulted in a major scandal

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has said he apologized individually to all of his players after he unwittingly revealed that he nearly sent Gio Reyna home from the World Cup.

Shortly after last year’s tournament in Qatar, Berhalter gave a talk at the HOW Institute in which he said he nearly sent an unnamed player home from the World Cup. Later reporting from The Athletic, and then an Instagram post from Reyna himself, confirmed that the 20-year-old was the player in question.

Berhalter believed that the event was off the record but his comments were published by the Charterworks newsletter, setting off a firestorm that ultimately resulted in one of the biggest scandals in U.S. Soccer history.

Having now returned to his position after six months away, Berhalter told reporters on Wednesday that he immediately tried to make amends with his players after his comments got out.

“I sent a note to each and every player to apologize for this getting out in the way that it did,” Berhalter said. “It was never about names, 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.”

Berhalter has said he’s yet to speak directly with Reyna since his return as head coach, with the Borussia Dortmund forward left off the USMNT’s September roster as he continues to work his way back from injury.

The USMNT coach said he’s looking forward to eventually speaking with Reyna, adding that he has yet to do so because he is trying to approach the situation carefully due to past events.

“For this, it’s just being a little bit more thoughtful, a little bit more sensitive to the past,” Berhalter said. “And I look forward to having conversations with him. I look forward to watching his progress and hopefully him getting back on the field and then for us, hopefully being able to include him in the October camp.”

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USMNT coach Berhalter hints Richards may soon leave Crystal Palace

Richards has recently been linked with a move back to the Bundesliga

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has hinted that Chris Richards could be set to leave Crystal Palace in the coming days.

Richards has established himself as a key player for the USMNT, but injuries and coaches’ decisions limited him to just 10 total appearances last season after an offseason transfer from Bayern Munich.

This season has been more of the same for the 23-year-old, who has yet to play in any league games for Palace and made his first appearance of 2023-24 in a Carabao Cup win over Plymouth on Tuesday.

After naming Richards to his September roster on Wednesday, Berhalter was asked in a media availability about his lack of minutes at the club level.

“That may change in the next couple of days, right? That’s not set in stone,” the coach said, with the transfer window set to close on Friday.

“We see him as an important piece to what we’re doing,” Berhalter continued. “I think he’s got a tremendous amount of potential. Now for him, it’s about getting minutes and staying healthy. He’s a great guy, great competitor, and looking forward to having him back in camp. His last camp went really well with the Nations League and scoring a goal (in the final against Canada).

“We think that he’ll make a big impact in this camp, but also excited to see what the future brings for him.”

Richards has been capped 10 times by the USMNT, and was forced to withdraw from contention for the World Cup squad last year due to a hamstring injury.

Earlier this month, Kicker reported that Stuttgart was interested in bringing Richards in on loan to help replace Konstantinos Mavropanos, who transferred to West Ham.

Joining Stuttgart would reunite Richards with Sebastian Hoeness, who coached Richards at Bayern Munich and during two loan spells at Hoffenheim. Hoeness was named Stuttgart coach in April 2023.

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Cremaschi headlines USMNT roster for September friendlies

The Inter Miami teenager is a dual-national who is also still eligible to represent Argentina

Inter Miami midfielder Benjamin Cremaschi was named to Gregg Berhalter’s 24-man U.S. men’s national team roster for September friendlies against Uzbekistan and Oman.

Cremaschi, 18, has spent time with the youth national teams of the U.S. and Argentina, and remains eligible for both. The midfielder has impressed with Miami in his first season of senior-team action, and said recently that he’d been speaking with Inter Miami’s Argentine superstar Lionel Messi about his international future.

Along with Cremaschi, Kristoffer Lund is the other newcomer to the USMNT roster. The 21-year-old Palermo left back represented Denmark throughout his youth career, but has filed a one-time change of association to switch to the USMNT.

The USMNT will host Uzbekistan on September 9 at CityPark in St. Louis (5:30 p.m. ET, TNT, Telemundo), before facing Oman on September 12 at Allianz Field in St. Paul, Minnesota (8:30 p.m. ET, TNT).

The two games will also mark the return of Gregg Berhalter, who was re-hired as head coach in June following six months away from the team.

“We are thrilled to have a number of core players in this group while also being able to introduce some new faces to the senior team,” Berhalter said. “Uzbekistan and Oman are types of teams we could face in the World Cup, so it’s an important opportunity to gain that experience.”

Berhalter’s roster features 12 players who were part of the 2022 World Cup squad, including Christian Pulisic, who has the most caps on the current roster with 60.

Some key players will miss out due to injury, including Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Walker Zimmerman, Taylor Booth and Josh Sargent.

USMNT September 2023 roster (club; caps/goals)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Drake Callender (Inter Miami; 0/0), Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest; 8/0), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest; 32/0)

DEFENDERS (9): Sergiño Dest (PSV; 26/2), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo; 0/0), Mark McKenzie (Genk; 11/0), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg; 0/0), Tim Ream (Fulham; 51/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace; 10/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham; 36/2), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 25/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach; 6/0)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional; 7/0), Ben Cremaschi (Inter Miami; 0/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo; 16/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus; 44/11), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; 27/0), Malik Tillman (PSV; 4/0)

FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin; 32/7), Folarin Balogun (Arsenal; 2/1), Cade Cowell (San Jose Earthquakes; 8/1), Ricardo Pepi (PSV; 16/7), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan; 60/25), Tim Weah (Juventus; 31/4)

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USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter admitted that he still hadn’t spoken to Gio Reyna since scandal

What kind of leader is that?

The U.S. Soccer Federation took a huge risk when it decided to re-hire Gregg Berhalter as head coach of the U.S. men’s national team six months after letting his contract expire amid a scandal that shook the program.

Berhalter has yet to coach his first USMNT match since the hire, but the he’s already taking a disappointing approach to resolving the conflict with Gio Reyna and his family.

After the 2022 World Cup — which saw the USMNT lose in the round of 16 to the Netherlands — it was revealed by Berhalter that a player (who ended up being Reyna) was nearly sent home due to a poor attitude. Despite being one of the team’s most talented players, Reyna was told that he’d have a limited role in Qatar. That ultimately led to Reyna’s parents informing the USSF about an alleged domestic violence incident between Berhalter and his now-wife Rosalind from 1991.

With all that drama, it would have made sense for the USSF to go in a different direction. After all, the top team (Reyna included) looked excellent in a dominant Nations League title against Mexico and Canada with B.J. Callaghan at the helm. And at the very least, it would have made sense for Berhalter to view reconciling with Reyna as his top priority.

Well, it’s nearly September — almost three months after Berhalter’s hire — and Berhalter still hasn’t met nor spoken with Gio. He admitted as much in an interview with Vanity Fair:

Berhalter said he has consulted experts in mediation work to ensure the dispute with Reyna is handled “in the right way.” It’s all still raw, and Berhalter is proceeding cautiously. “It’s not something where you just pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey bud, here’s how it’s going to be,’” he said. “There is work to be done.”

But what is he waiting for?

Berhalter has taken trips recently to meet with European-based players in the program, and it would have been so easy to meet with Reyna who is still with Borussia Dortmund. Yet, Berhalter keeps pushing the uncomfortable conversation off, and it’s only going to get more difficult as time drags on. He also hasn’t met with Ricardo Pepi — a surprising World Cup snub at striker — who still should have a major role with the team despite Folarin Balogun’s switch from England to the USMNT.

The news gave USMNT fans another reason to crush Berhalter’s re-hire.

Gregg Berhalter says he still hasn’t spoken with Gio Reyna

“It’s not something where you just pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey bud, here’s how it’s going to be’”

As he nears his return to the sideline as U.S. men’s national team head coach, Gregg Berhalter has admitted that he has yet to speak with Gio Reyna.

After six months away from the team following the expiry of his contract, Berhalter was reappointed USMNT head coach in June.

Berhalter’s return came after a tumultuous period that began when he unwittingly revealed that he nearly sent Reyna home from the World Cup in Qatar.

What followed was one of the biggest scandals in U.S. Soccer history. Reyna’s parents Claudio and Danielle, formerly close friends of Berhalter and his wife Rosalind, attempted to oust Berhalter from his job by telling U.S. Soccer about a 1992 domestic violence between Berhalter and Rosalind, then his girlfriend.

But after an independent investigation found that the Berhalters were forthcoming about the details of the incident, U.S. Soccer said Berhalter was eligible to be a candidate for his former post.

Berhalter will return to the sideline next month, as the USMNT hosts friendlies against Uzbekistan on September 9 and Oman on September 12.

But in an interview with Vanity Fair, Berhaler said that although he’s “had calls with almost every player,” there is one notable exception: Reyna.

“It’s not something where you just pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey bud, here’s how it’s going to be,’” Berhalter said. “There is work to be done.”

As he’s navigated a tricky situation, Berhalter said that he’s consulted with experts in the field of mediation.

Reyna only just returned to training with Borussia Dortmund as he continues to battle a calf injury, and he may not be healthy enough to be called in for the Uzbekistan and Oman matches. If the forward stays healthy, a return for October friendlies against Germany and Ghana may be more likely.

Whenever Reyna returns to the team, Berhalter is eager to repair his relationship with a player who is likely to be key to any success the USMNT has in the future.

“We both want the U.S. to win the World Cup and be very successful,” Berhalter said of Reyna, “and now it’s figuring out a way to cooperate to do that.”

Berhalter added: “Some of it will involve him, some of it will involve us, and eventually, hopefully, it leads towards Gio being comfortable in the team, comfortable that he’s being evaluated fairly and coached fairly and held to the same norms and standards as everybody else.”

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Miazga on Berhalter relationship: ‘The past is the past’

The USMNT defender has made no secret of the issues he’s had with Berhalter

Matt Miazga has downplayed any issues he’s previously had with U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter, saying that “nobody really cares about what happened in the past.”

The USMNT defender has not hid the fact that his relationship with Berhalter has not always been strong, saying last fall that the pair “didn’t see eye to eye on a few things in the past,” which he felt prevented him from being called up.

This April, the FC Cincinnati defender aired out his belief that he “was screwed over multiple times in the past” by the USMNT coaching staff.

Things have changed now for both Miazga and Berhalter.

After making his return to MLS last year Miazga is back with the USMNT, playing in all three of the team’s Gold Cup group-stage matches to earn his first caps in two years.

Berhalter, meanwhile, has returned to his position as USMNT head coach after six months away — though interim coach B.J. Callaghan is still in charge through the Gold Cup.

Speaking to the media ahead of Sunday’s quarterfinal against Canada, Miazga attempted to put whatever issues he’s had with Berhalter in the past as he eyes further call-ups beyond this summer.

“I haven’t spoken to [Berhalter] since right before the World Cup when he called me but yeah, the past is the past,” Miazga said.

“At the end of the day, nobody really cares about what happened in the past. Things move on now I’m excited to be wearing the crest again. Obviously Gregg has the job, so I have to control what I can control and make sure that I can play well. So I’m looking forward to it.”

Miazga has now earned 26 caps since making his USMNT debut in November 2015.

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Pulisic: Criticism of Berhalter ‘seems crazy to me’

The USMNT star said the results speak for themselves

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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