Gregg Berhalter

Early life and education

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

Professional

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. 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 Löwen. After a 15-year career in Europe, Berhalter moved back to the United States in…

Hammarby

Following a season as Los Angeles Galaxy's assistant coach, Berhalter was named head coach for Swedish club Hammarby on December 12, 2011. Berhalter became the first American-born manager to manage a professional team in Europe. 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". Hammarby were in fifth place at the time of the sacking.

Columbus Crew

Berhalter became the sporting director and head coach of Columbus Crew on November 6, 2013. Under Berhalter, Columbus Crew qualified for the playoffs four out of five years, in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018. They reached MLS Cup 2015 but lost at home 2–1 to the Portland Timbers.

United States

On December 2, 2018, Berhalter became the head coach of the United States national team (USMNT). He earned his first victory as coach in a friendly match against Panama on January 27, 2019. Berhalter won the first four games of his coaching career. He coached the United States to two continental championships by winning the inaugural Nations League title against Mexico in June 2021, and then defeating Mexico again 1–0 on August 1, 2021, at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On November 12, 2021, Berhalter led the United States to a 2–0 victory over rival Mexico in World Cup Qualifying at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team subsequently qualified for and reached the round of 16 in the…

Berhalter lives in the Lake View neighborhood of Chicago with his wife Rosalind, with whom he has four children. He met Rosalind while they were in college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was playing for the women's soccer team. His son, Sebastian, plays for Middlesbrough Football Club and the United States national team. 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. 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. 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. A USSF probe into the claim found that it was an isolated incident and found no reason not to employ Berhalter as coach.