What the…? What on earth is this?
For some strange reason, the United States men’s national soccer team is bringing back Gregg Berhalter as manager, according to The Athletic.
A new deal is reportedly close to being done and would go all the way through the 2026 World Cup. U.S. Soccer is expected to make an official announcement Friday.
The 49-year-old Berhalter stepped away from the program in late December after his contract expired, with interim managers Anthony Hudson and B.J. Callaghan taking his place.
Since the end of 2022, Berhalter has been in a state of limbo because of drama within the U.S. men’s national team involving Gio Reyna and domestic violence allegations regarding his wife that were under investigation.
When the investigation ended and it was concluded that the Berhalters were honest throughout, confirming that the incident between the two happened, the USSF stated that Berhalter was still a candidate to be the United States manager.
And here we are — they actually did it. They actually brought him back (reportedly, of course).
BREAKING: Gregg Berhalter is set to return as manager of the #USMNT, according to multiple sources briefed on the negotiations.
Deal still being finalized, but return is imminent.
Reporting with @MLSist: https://t.co/TnDBwhFB5a
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) June 16, 2023
Oh, man. I can just imagine what Gio Reyna is feeling.
Gio Reyna when he sees Gregg Berhalter show up at training againpic.twitter.com/WiEhLDippm
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) June 16, 2023
And that’s where my beef is. I don’t care about the domestic violence issues, that’s between him and his wife. My problems lie with what’s happening on the pitch, I wanna win. One of my sports dreams is to see the United States dominate soccer like we dominate everything else. It would be so great.
But that’s the thing, Berhalter created so much chaos before, during and after the World Cup, and the fact that we didn’t have Gio Reyna (so what he was lazy at training, PRACTICE! *AIlen Iverson voice*) at our disposal (because of Berhalter) was absolutely despicable. Just think about the kind of damage that we could’ve done if we had Reyna, but no … Berhalter’s ego killed Reyna’s World Cup dreams (which is why his parents went after him the way they did), and then right along with it, every American’s dream of winning the most prestigious trophy in sports.
Like, think about it … we made the Round of 16 without Reyna. If we would’ve had him, we could have potentially upset the Netherlands and sky would have been the limit after that. There’s no telling what this golden generation could have done with him in the mix. And that’s what makes me mad. We’ll never know … because of Berhalter. (RELATED: Kendrick Perkins Predicts LeBron And The Lakers Will Sign James Harden In Free Agency This Summer)
And now we’re bringing him back?
What an absolute disgrace by our United States men’s soccer program … just stupid.