Soccer Manager World

[Georgeanna Abson]

Heoriginally served in the role from 2018 to 2022; following the expiration of his contract, U.S. Soccer employed interim head coaches before rehiring him to the post on June 16, 2023. His tenure with United States men's national team ended a week after the team's early elimination in the 2024 Copa Amrica group stage, as the team's performance in the tournament they hosted was perceived as a disappointment.[4] Berhalter previously coached Columbus Crew in Major League Soccer, Hammarby in Sweden and served as an assistant coach for LA Galaxy.

Gregg Matthew Berhalter was born on August 1, 1973, in Englewood, New Jersey, and grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey,[5] and was a high school teammate of Claudio Reyna at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in Newark, New Jersey.[6] He played college soccer for the North Carolina Tar Heels at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[6] In 2002, he was ranked as one of the top 50 players in the history of the Atlantic Coast Conference.[7] In 1993, he spent the collegiate off season playing for the Raleigh Flyers of the USISL.[8] Berhalter is the godson of Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame baseball player Carl Yastrzemski.[9]

Berhalter left UNC after his junior year, signing with Dutch club Zwolle in 1994. He later played for Sparta Rotterdam and Cambuur in the Netherlands (later they also had U.S.-born executive Alex Pama there), and with Crystal Palace in England (where he briefly played alongside Jovan Kirovski). During his time at Crystal Palace, he scored once against Bradford City.[10]

In 2002, Berhalter signed with Energie Cottbus of the German Bundesliga. He went on to make 111 league appearances with the team, captaining them to a promotion back to the Bundesliga. In 2006, Berhalter signed with 1860 Munich of the 2. Bundesliga, and was named captain of the team. He stayed there for a further two and a half years, making 73 league appearances for Die Lwen.

Berhalter played a significant role for the U.S. at the 2002 World Cup, stepping in for the injured Jeff Agoos and starting the last two games against Mexico and Germany, and in doing so became the first Crystal Palace player to play in a World Cup match.[15][16]

On May 25, 2006, Berhalter was added to the U.S. national team's roster for the 2006 World Cup, replacing the injured Cory Gibbs. Berhalter expressed confidence in the ability of the team in the run up to the tournament,[17] but was an unused substitute in all three group games. The U.S. was eliminated after finishing at the bottom of Group E in the first round with one draw and two defeats.

Following a season as Los Angeles Galaxy's assistant coach, Berhalter was named head coach for Swedish club Hammarby on December 12, 2011.[18] Berhalter became the first American-born manager to manage a professional team in Europe.[19] In his first year, Hammarby improved seven positions in the standing, narrowly missing out on promotion. Berhalter was fired on July 24, 2013, for a "lack of attacking play".[20] Hammarby were in fifth place at the time of the sacking.[21]

As coach of the USMNT, Berhalter has built a roster of young players including Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Folarin Balogun, Sergio Dest, Antonee Robinson and Weston McKennie.[28] Sportswriters such as Sports Illustrated's Brian Straus, The Guardian's Nancy Armour and The Athletic's Paul Tenorio have described this as part of an overarching strategy to develop a pool of young soccer talent in the United States in preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[29][30][31] Berhalter is also credited with developing a stronger team culture in the USMNT.[32][33] He prefers to use a possession-based play style with a 4-3-3 formation, which has gradually adapted into a more aggressive, forward-moving style of play over the course of his tenure.[25][28]

Berhalter's contract expired on December 31, 2022, with assistant Anthony Hudson named interim head coach while a search for a permanent replacement commenced. Hudson remained in charge through May 2023 before leaving to become the head coach of Al-Markhiya in Qatar; he was replaced by fellow assistant B.J. Callaghan.[34]

On June 16, 2023, U.S. Soccer announced that Berhalter would return as the head coach of the United States through the 2026 FIFA World Cup.[35] Sporting director Matt Crocker cited Berhalter's "vision, as well as the experience and growth mindset on and off the field to move [the] team forward" as the U.S. prepares to host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada.[36]

In March 2023, an investigation by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) found that Claudio Reyna and his wife Danielle had attempted to retaliate against Berhalter because their son Giovanni was receiving limited playing time at the 2022 World Cup.[41][42] The Reynas were also frustrated by comments made after the Cup about the poor behavior of an anonymous player, who was later revealed to be Giovanni.[43] Danielle Reyna attempted to damage Berhalter's career by contacting USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart and USMNT general manager Brian McBride about a fight between Berhalter and his future wife in 1992.[44][45] A USSF probe into the claim found that it was an isolated incident and found no reason not to employ Berhalter as coach.[46]

Jorge Vilda, the coach of the Spanish women's national soccer team, was fired Tuesday by the Royal Federation of Spanish Football (RFEF) following promises of structural changes amidst the ongoing controversy in the wake of RFEF President Luis Rubiales' kiss of women's team player Jenni Hermoso following their recent World Cup victory.

\"The Royal Spanish Football Federation, in one of the first renovation measures announced by President Pedro Rocha, has decided to dispense with the services of Jorge Vilda as sports director and women's national coach,\" the RFEF announced in a statement.

The statement made no mention of the reason for Vilda's dismissal, but went on to list his accomplishments during his tenure. \"The RFEF would like to express its gratitude to Jorge Vilda for the services he has provided, for his professionalism and dedication during all these years, wishing him the best of success in the future,\" the statement said.

The RFEF also announced Tuesday that assistant coach Montse Tom will take Vilda's place as head coach of the women's national team, the first woman ever to hold that position. Her first game as head coach will be the UEFA Women's Nations League match against Sweden on Sept. 22.

Rubiales kissed Hermoso following the Spanish women's soccer team's first-ever World Cup victory on August 20, when they defeated England 1-0 in Sydney, Australia. Rubiales grabbed Hermoso's head in both of his hands during the post-match medal ceremony and kissed her on the mouth. Hermoso subsequently said the kiss was non-consensual. The resulting backlash and criticism prompted FIFA to suspend Rubiales as they investigated the incident.

Vilda was already unpopular with the players he coached. In September of last year, he refused to step down after 15 players on the women's national team wrote a letter to the RFEF calling for his resignation because of alleged inappropriate methods of coaching, and issues revolving around the privacy and well-being of the players. The RFEF sided with Vilda at the time.

The new board of regional presidents headed by Pedro Rocha, which fired Vilda, was formed after Rubiales' suspension and announced on Tuesday an \"immediate opening of separate disciplinary proceedings against Mr. Luis Rubiales\" in addition to FIFA's suspension.

The statement further offered the RFEF's \"most sincere apologies\" to a long list of people and institutions, \"especially the players of the Spanish National Team\" and to \"fans around the world, for the totally unacceptable behavior of your highest institutional representative during the final and in the subsequent moments, which did not respond in no way to the values of the whole of Spanish society, their institutions, their representatives, their athletes and the leaders of Spanish sport.\"

Noting that \"Spanish society is an example of tolerance and civility, in all social and political spheres,\" the statement further declares, \"The damage caused to Spanish football, Spanish sport, Spanish society and to the set of values of soccer and sport has been enormous.\"

Jorge Vilda, the coach of Spain's world champion women's soccer team, has been fired amid controversy surrounding the head of the Spanish soccer federation kissing a player after the team's World Cup win. Vilda had called the outrage over the kiss "real nonsense."

In a statement on Tuesday, the Royal Spanish Football Federation called Vilda a "key to the remarkable growth" of women's soccer in the nation. This year's World Cup win was a first for Spain's national women's team.

"We value his impeccable personal and sporting conduct, being a key player in the remarkable growth of women's football in Spain. During his long period, Vilda has been a promoter of the values of respect and fair play in football," the organization said. "...The RFEF would like to express its gratitude to Jorge Vilda for the services he has provided, for his professionalism and dedication during all these years, wishing him the best of success in the future."

The kiss in question was initiated by now-suspended federation president Luis Rubiales. Following the team's win, he grabbed player Jenni Hermoso's head and kissed her on the lips, an action that prosecutors in the country's top criminal court said could be considered sexual assault, as the kiss was one without Hermoso's consent.

"[It] generated an unprecedented situation, tarnishing a well-deserved victory for our players and our country," he said, according to Sky News, also reportedly saying at one point, "There is no doubt that it is unacceptable and does not reflect at all the principles and values that I defend in my life, in sport in general and in football in particular."

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