Berhalter promises to 'rebuild' Reyna relationship

Freshly re-appointed US national team coach admits there is ‘work to do’ to mend ties with midfielder

LAS VEGAS:

Freshly re-appointed US national team coach Gregg Berhalter said there is "work to do" to rebuild his relationship with Gio Reyna but he has no meeting yet scheduled with the Borussia Dortmund midfielder.

Berhalter was brought back as the United States national team head coach on Friday, six months after his contract was allowed to run out amid an investigation into domestic violence.

The American, who led the team to the last 16 in the World Cup in Qatar last year, did not have his contract extended in December amid a bitter, public row with Reyna and his parents.

Berhalter had made comments at a private event which were seen as a criticism of Reyna's attitude in Qatar and which led to Reyna's mother informing US Soccer of a physical altercation in 1991 between Berhalter and his then girlfriend now wife.

That led to a US Soccer investigation. Berhalter did not deny the allegation, apologized for his behavior and the final report made clear that there was "no legal impediment to employing him."

Six months on, Berhalter now faces the prospect of working again with Reyna, who is one of the brightest talents on the US team.

"I'd certainly acknowledge that there's work to do and Gio is an important player to this team. He's an extremely talented individual," Berhalter told a press conference.

"I have the obligation and the commitment to coach him like I coach every other player and I want to get the best out of him. We want to get the best out of him. And we know that if we can unlock his talents, he's going to be a game changer for this program.

"So there's work to do, and part of it is... trying to rebuild the relationship that we know will be important moving forward. I'd certainly acknowledge that."

Berhalter said he had not spoken to the player since the World Cup and did not yet have a meeting scheduled given he's is currently preparing for Sunday's CONCACAF Nations League final against Canada.

"I think the most important thing for him right now is to focus on playing in a final and winning the final. I can imagine after that he'd want some vacation and that meeting with me is not the priority," Berhalter said.

"It's for him to get rest and prepare for the upcoming season. We'll have time to do that. It is a priority, but we'll have time to do that before the September window."

US Soccer's new sporting director, Matt Crocker, a Welshman who had worked with England's Football Association and in the Premier League with Southampton, had led the recruitment search for a new coach.

Crocker said that despite the decision to bring back Berhalter, it was not a case of "business as usual" and insisted that he had been free to approach and interview any potential candidate globally, without restriction.

"There have been zero restrictions on who I've spoken to, whether they're in contract or out contract, what leagues they've come from. It has been a worldwide search," he said.

"I made sure from the beginning that I wanted to bring the best candidates to the table."

Crocker also said there had been no pre-set preference for an American coach but acknowledged that Berhalter's passion for the US team had been a factor.

"Not at one point during the process did I think we needed or we could only focus on a smaller pool of US talent," he said.

"However, coming to the back end of the process, when Gregg spoke about legacy and you could clearly hear and see his passion for the team, for the nation... I actually think it has given us a competitive advantage as well, but it wasn't part of the criteria for the process."

Berhalter had received backing from several leading players on the team, most noticeably captain Christian Pulisic, and the coach said he had welcomed those words of support.

"I think it is always nice to hear when players are supporting you, no doubt about it," he said.

"But what is even deeper is when you hear things like... 'we know how to stick to what we've been doing and keep going. We're a family,' those cultural things are what really excites me and gets me motivated to be back with the team."

Despite Berhalter's appointment, interim head coach BJ Callaghan will remain in charge of the team for Sunday's CONCACAF Nations League final in Las Vegas and this year's CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament, which starts later this month.