How is the family soap opera, which also involves a player, for which Gregg Berhalter, the coach of the United States, lost his job

Elimination in the round of 16 Qatar 2022 World Cup He did not suggest drastic changes in the management of the US team to face the process which will have the 2026 World Cup as its arrival point in which that country will be one of the hosts together with neighbors Canada and Mexico. However, an incident that has nothing to do with football, which dates back more than three decades and which has resurfaced following a fictitious dispute, fire head coach Gregg Berhalter.

The contract of the DT, who had taken over the team in December 2018, expired on the last day of 2022. Although Berhalter had given no hint of his continuity after the 3-1 defeat against the Netherlands on 3 December, which marked the farewell of the North Americans of the World Cup, everything suggested that he would renew the bond for four years. But in a matter of days everything changed.

On Tuesday, the American helmsman published an extensive statement on his Twitter account, also signed by his mate, Rosalind Santanain which he revealed that in 1991, when he was 18 and in his freshman year of Communications at the University of North Carolina, he had attacked his then girlfriend and is now his wife (they got married in 1997).

The technician said that on that occasion he had “a heated argument” with Rosalind, whom he met four months earlier, in a bar “which continued outside”. “(The dispute) got physical and I kicked him in the legs”He admitted. “There is no excuse for my actions that night. It was an embarrassing moment that I still regret,” said Berhalter, who explained that after that incident he had been looking for “advice to learn, grow and improve” and that “Since then, that kind of behavior hasn’t happened again”.

The couple said that seven months after that attack, They had managed to mend their bond at Rosalind’s initiative and had remained together ever since. “It was an event that formed me, but did not define me, a single and isolated event more than three decades ago and a terrible decision made at a bad time by an 18-year-old,” justified the former conductor of the national team.

Why did Berhalter decide to make this story public? Because, if they hadn’t, sooner or later it would have been known in another way. The coach himself revealed in his statement that during the World Cup, a person (whom he did not identify) had contacted the leadership of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to provide information that could end the DT’s career. That information was related to the assault on her partner now being broadcast.

Just 15 minutes after Berhalter’s statement was released and in a move clearly agreed upon, The USSF said it has hired powerful law firm Alston & Bird to conduct an independent investigation into the complaint against the coach.. “We thank Gregg and Rosalind for speaking up about this incident,” said the American soccer governing body, which stressed it condemned “all types of violence” and took “these types of allegations very seriously.” “.

In the same statement, USSF said Alston & Bird’s investigation would also address “possible inappropriate behavior toward various members of our staff by individuals outside our organization.” What was he referring to? Perhaps to an attempted blackmail of which Berhalter would have been the victim?

The third vertex of this complex triangle was revealed on Wednesday, when the identity of the person who denounced DT was revealed: Danielle Egan, Giovanni Reyna’s motherone of the figures of the US team, which had very few participations in the World Cup (he played only 8 minutes in the 0-0 draw with England and 45 in the defeat against the Netherlands).

But the plot is much more complex, since Danielle Egan, who was a soccer player and came to represent the US team in six games, she was also a friend of Rosalind Santana and a four-year roommate at the University of North Carolina. Also, she is the wife of Claudius Reinafootball legend of his country (played in four World Cups), who was Berhalter’s high school teammate (both graduates of St. Benedict’s Prep in New Jersey) and then on the national team between 1994 and 2006, and was even his witness.

What led the bond between these couples who had known each other for decades to deteriorate until it reached this warp of denunciations and extortions? The situation in the selection of Giovanni Reyna. The talented 20-year-old midfielder, who has endured an injury-ridden year (he hasn’t played a full match since March), came into the World Cup with very little activity at his side, German side Borussia Dortmund, and had very little participation in the competition.

But the conflict did not end with the manager’s decision to demote him to the national team. On 6 December, three days after the elimination by the Netherlands, Berhalter attended a Moral Leadership Summit in New York City by the HOW Institute for Society, an NGO that “seeks to build and foster a culture of moral leadership, principled decision-making, and values-based behavior that enables individuals and institutions to address profound social, economic, and technological challenges” of the 21st century to uplift humanity,” as he explains on his website.

In his exhibition, The DT revealed that during the World Cup, one of the members of the American team had exhibited a behavior of great detachment from training and that for this reason the coaching staff had seriously evaluated the possibility of disabling him and sending him back to the United States. He also claimed to have asked the footballer to apologize to his teammates for his lazy attitude. Though he didn’t identify the player, it became clear that he was talking about Reyna.

Six days later, the midfielder picked up the glove and gave his version of events in a post on his Instagram account. There he said that a few days before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, Berhalter had warned him that he would have very little participation in the team. “I was devastated. I was hoping and desperately wanted to contribute to the performance of a talented group.”he has declared.

The player recognized that this warning from DT had affected him and had a negative influence on his subsequent preparation. “I allowed my emotions to stop me from doing my best and affect my training and behavior for a few days. I apologized to my teammates and the coach for this and they accepted my apology. Then I shook off the disappointment and gave everything I had, on and off the pitch.”He added.

If Berhalter’s revelations were a dagger for young Reyna, they were even more painful for her mother, who intervened in the matter. On December 11, five days after the exposure of the DT and one day before the discharge of the son, Danielle Egan reached out to USSF athletic director Earnie Stewart to share the story of Berhalter’s assault on her partner in 1991.. “I told Earnie that I found it particularly unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immature for his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg asked for and received forgiveness for doing something much worse to her.” age”.Egan explained in statements gathered by ESPN Wednesday.

But not only. During the World Cup, Claudio Reyna maintained communications with Stewart and with Brian McBride, general manager of the selected. According to sources cited by ESPN, in those talks he threatened to reveal compromising information about the past of his former friend Berhalter. “While in Qatar, I shared my frustrations about my son’s experience with several close friends, including Earnie and Brian. However, at no point did I threaten anyone nor would I ever do so.”Reyna senior has disengaged.

The handling of these verbal grenades was left to the USSF. “It’s obviously not a good time for country football and the men’s team”admitted Cindy Parlow, its president, during a press conference on Wednesday. The first reaction, the ongoing investigation by Alston & Bird, was followed almost immediately by another: the announcement of the appointment of a new coach who will temporarily take over the leadership of the national team.

the chosen one was Anthony Hudsonwho had served as Berhalter’s assistant and who previously led the U.S. Under-20 team as well as the Bahrain and New Zealand teams. Hudson, 41, will lead the team in friendlies against Serbia and Colombia in Los Angeles on 25 and 28 January respectively. Then? Nobody is clear. Earnie Stewart has also left the door open for Berhalter, who has led the team in 60 games in four years (W37, L11, D12), to be rehired following his investigation.