The Big Lead

Gregg Berhalter praises his USMNT tenure despite posting average results

The Chicago Fire head coach reflected on his six years coaching Christian Pulisic and Co.

By Matt Reed

Jan 9, 2025; Miami Beach, Florida, USA; Chicago Fire FC head coach Gregg Berhalter fields questions during the Major League Soccer Media Day at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images
Jan 9, 2025; Miami Beach, Florida, USA; Chicago Fire FC head coach Gregg Berhalter fields questions during the Major League Soccer Media Day at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images / Jeff Swinger-Imagn Images
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The U.S. Men's National Team has certainly made strides since the 1994 World Cup, which was the first real awakening for American soccer. However, as former manager Gregg Berhalter looked back on his time coaching the USMNT recently it goes to show that there's still significant room for growth for the men's side.

Berhalter took over a new role with Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire recently after being let go from U.S. Soccer, and he was asked about how he would evaluate himself and the USMNT during his six-year tenure.

"It was one of the most successful periods the U.S. National Team has ever had," Berhalter said. "So for me, it was a job well done."

Now, on the surface it's hard to refute the fact that Berhalter and the Americans did find some success, finishing with a record of 44-13-17 during his time in charge.

That record simply doesn't tell the full story of Berhalter's reign though, especially considering the amount of sheer talent within the American men's player pool. The past half decade has presented the USMNT with some of the best players the national team has ever had on the men's side, starting with Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna and Timothy Weah.

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But despite all the quality Berhalter had at his disposal, the only true results he managed were two Concacaf Nations League and one Concacaf Gold Cup titles. Managers that came before Berhalter, such as Bruce Arena, Bob Bradley and Jurgen Klinsmann all had similar or more success in these types of competitions, and Arena actually went further at the 2002 World Cup.

The Americans suffered a brutal one-win showing at last year's Copa America, which was supposed to be another big step forward for the USMNT in preparation for the 2026 World Cup. Instead, the U.S. didn't make it past the group stage and had to watch South America's best teams walk all over the competition and see Argentina hoist the trophy.

Another era has begun for the USMNT under Mauricio Pochettino's tutelege, and with a year and a half left until the World Cup on North American soil there's still plenty of work to be done for the co-hosts to be taken seriously when the tournament kicks off.

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