Soccer-Berhalter wants to stay on as U.S. coach despite recent turmoil

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By Rory Carroll

(Reuters) – Gregg Berhalter said on Thursday he hopes US Soccer will keep him as men’s team head coach despite an ongoing investigation into a domestic violence incident that happened between him and his now-wife 31 years ago.

Berhalter’s comments come a day after it was reported that Danielle Reyna, the mother of US midfielder Gio Reyna, informed the federation about the 1991 episode after becoming frustrated at Berhalter’s criticism of her son after the World Cup.

“When we started in 2018, we wanted to change the way the world saw American football,” said Berhalter, whose contract with the team expired December 31, in an interview with Harvard Business Review.

“And I think if you ask about our team now around the world, the world sees us in a very different light. But now it’s about taking the next step and that next step is something that no US team has finished and that’s until the semifinals and see what happens from there.

“So there are a lot of big challenges and obviously I want to continue in my role.”

Berhalter said at a conference after his return from Qatar that one player in the team “clearly failed to live up to expectations on and off the field” and that he had considered sending that player home.

Gio Reyna, 20, later confirmed in an Instagram post that Berhalter was talking about him.

Gio is the son of Claudio Reyna, who played alongside Berhalter for the USA team at the 2002 World Cup and is now sporting director of MLS club Austin FC.

Berhalter said his wife, Rosalind, 25, has moved on from the incident in which he, as an 18-year-old college student, kicked her legs during an argument outside a bar and is saddened that it is now being discussed so publicly .

“The events of that night 31 years ago and the lessons learned form the basis of our future relationship,” he said.

“And it’s a loving relationship, a devoted relationship and we have four amazing kids to boast about.”

Berhalter led the team to the round of 16 at the World Cup in Qatar, where they were eliminated by the Netherlands.

The federation said on Wednesday current assistant coach Anthony Hudson will lead the team during their January camp while a “technical review” of the men’s national team program is conducted.

(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates)