The United States men national soccer team (USMNT) fielded the second youngest squad (An average age of 25.2 years old) in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and ended its journey in the first round of the knockout stage, following a 3-1 defeat to Louis van Gaal’s Netherlands in the round of 16. Since then, the national team had been without a permanent manager, after Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired towards the end of last year. Although there had been talks about renewing the 49-year-old’s tenure in managing the USMNT, an altercation with his wife many years ago may halt the possibility.
Accused for Pushing and Kicking Rosalind Berhalter in 1992
It was revealed that when Gregg Berhalter was a freshman in University of North Carolina in 1992, he was involved in a domestic violence incident with his then girlfriend and now wife Rosalind Berhalter, a fellow University of North Carolina student at that time as well. He is said to have pushed and kicked his partner in a nightclub, prompting an investigation to have launched on him over the matter.
This issue was probed when Danielle Reyna, mother of 20-year-old Borussia Dortmund attacker Giovanni Reyna, reported the incident to U. S. Soccer, as her way of to show her dissatisfaction regarding his son’s poor treatment in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. Gregg Berhalter defended his decision to limit Reyna’s playing time in the first-ever winter World Cup, after the latter behaved unpleasantly in the Middle-East state.
Berhalter Did Kick His Wife
The result of the investigation suggested that Gregg Berhalter indeed kicked his wife during the nightclub incident, but the firm which is responsible for the legal case told U. S. Soccer that it is okay to re-employ the 49-year-old for the managerial position of the United States men national soccer team, leading many to openly discuss about their opinions over the U. S. Soccer’s possible renewal for the Englewood-born head coach.
61.67% Winning Percentage for USMNT
Gregg Berhalter took charge of things for the USMNT in December 2018 and stayed as the manager for four years. Among the 60 games the 49-year-old had managed the United States national team for, he accumulated 37 wins, which is equivalent to a winning percentage of 61.67%. In addition to leading the team to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Berhalter also led the USMNT to win 2019/2020 CONCACAF Nations League and the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
U. S. Soccer’s Full Statement Regarding Berhalter Incident:
“Upon learning of a serious allegation of past misconduct against then-U.S. Men’s National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter, U.S. Soccer immediately engaged a team at Alston & Bird LLP to conduct an independent investigation into the matter. U.S. Soccer takes seriously both allegations of violence and allegations of inappropriate behaviour towards our officials and staff. U.S. Soccer’s process for determining who will serve as sporting director is ongoing, and interviews are underway.”
“The sporting director will lead the process of determining who will serve as head coach of the Men’s National Team. Given the investigators’ conclusion that there is no legal impediment to employing him, Gregg Berhalter remains a candidate to serve as head coach. The report also identifies a need to revisit U.S. Soccer’s policies concerning appropriate parental conduct. We will be updating those policies as we continue to work to ensure safe environments for all participants in our game.”
