Gregg Berhalter did nothing wrong.
At least not lately.
And the parents of national player Gio Reyna? Well, they’re selfish idiots who should have known better.
Those are actually the findings of a 10-week investigation by an Atlanta law firm hired by US Soccer. The company investigated the origins of a sad, sordid and embarrassing soap opera involving Berhalter, former – and perhaps future – coach of the US team, and the parents of one of its star players.
Now the federation, which released that report Monday, says it’s time to move on. Still, repairing the damage caused by the unnecessary drama can take months, if not years.
In summary, Berhalter, coach of the national team since 2018, told Gio Reyna on the eve of the World Cup last fall that he would play a limited role in the tournament. The player took the news badly and became concerned, which forced teammates and coaches to step in and address his attitude. Reyna eventually apologized, but the water wouldn’t stay under the bridge.
Days after the World Cup, Berhalter spoke at a leadership conference in New York, where he shared an anecdote about an unnamed player whose behavior in Qatar was so disruptive that the coaching staff considered sending him home. Media reports later identified this player as Reyna, who played just 52 minutes in the tournament.
Then things really got out of hand.
Gio’s parents, Claudio and Danielle Reyna, both former internationals, then texted Earnie Stewart, US Soccer’s technical director at the time, to complain about Berhalter. According to the Alston & Bird report, Stewart later had an hour-long phone conversation in which Danielle told Reyna Stewart about a 31-year-long physical altercation between Berhalter and Rosalind Santana, her college roommate and the woman who would become Berhalter’s wife. .
The incident was never reported to police and the Reynas had no plans to go public with it, but according to the report, “contemplated sharing the story privately with others.”
It follows a pattern. According to the Alston & Bird investigation, a person whose name was removed from the report remembered Danielle Reyna talking about Berhalter at an event during the World Cup, saying, “When this tournament is over, I’ll call and give an interview and be cool sneakers and slippers are gone.”
The message, the unidentified witness told investigators, is that Berhalter’s “cool dude” image could end soon and Danielle Reyna could “put him down.”
It’s important to take a moment here to consider the player at the center of this drama. Gio Reyna (20) is a dynamic and talented athlete who could become one of the greatest American players of all time. He is also prone to injury, having played only the full 90 minutes in 16 appearances for the national team. And eleven of his 15 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Dortmund this season have come as a substitute.
He’s used to getting off the couch. He is effectively off the bench. Berhalter’s plan to use him from the bank in Qatar therefore made sense. But even if he’s not, he’s the coach and the calling is his – something Claudio Reyna, four-time world champion and former team captain, knows for sure.
But the elder Reyna has repeatedly used his status in American football to get favorable treatment for his son. From 2016 through the 2022 World Cup, the report said, Reyna appealed to U.S. soccer officials about his son’s playing time, the penalties and suspensions his son received, and U.S. soccer camp selection decisions in an effort to change those outcomes. . Of particular concern were the complaints of a man who replaced Stewart as captain in the 2002 World Cup and wore the armband for the United States for the next seven World Cup games.
Incidentally, Berhalter played in two of those games alongside Reyna.
If anything good comes out of this drama, it’s that US Soccer has pledged to rewrite its policy to include the language that defines inappropriate parenting behavior and communications with the national team. In the short term, however, that can’t undo the massive damage the Reynas actions did – both to themselves and to the national program they once played for.
Claudio Reyna, 49, who was once regarded as one of MLS’ top sporting directors, resigned from Austin FC in January and is listed on the club’s website as a technical adviser. For the young, talented USMNT, the momentum it gained over the last four years has since stopped if not reversed. Although Berhalter publicly acknowledged and apologized for the altercation with the woman who is now his wife in 1991, and the U.S. Soccer-ordered investigation into the incident released the coach, his contract expired three weeks after Reynas’ first phone call with Stewart . the conversation inevitably delayed the federation’s decision on a new manager.
Stewart’s subsequent decision to leave US Soccer and return to his native Netherlands last month further delayed that decision as his successor as technical director must be appointed before a new manager can be chosen. Thus, the national team moves immobilely towards a World Cup cycle that ends with the tournament to be held in the USA.
More importantly, the mudslinging has unfairly tarnished the reputation of Berhalter, a good and decent man who incidentally has the best winning percentage of any USMNT coach who has worked more than two games. Nearly all players on the World Cup squad spoke out in favor of 49-year-old Berhalter, who is expected to be the managerial candidate when the selection process for the position begins.
However, that may not happen until the summer, allowing the US under interim coach Anthony Hudson to play in this spring’s Nations League and this summer’s Gold Cup.
Hudson is one of those ready to move on. Later this week he will announce his squad for this month’s Nations League fixtures with Grenada and El Salvador and while he has not said Gio Reyna will be on that team, he has not said he would either.
“He’s a talented, important player, a young player,” Hudson said after recently meeting Reyna in Germany. “It happened. We as staff decided to take action and there was a reaction from the player – a positive reaction. Other than that I don’t see Gio’s involvement in anything.”
“I don’t approve of what happened. … The other things are separate from the kid, from the player.”
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Source: LA Times