By Amy Tennery
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Gregg Berhalter has returned as coach of the United States men’s team to lead them to the 2026 World Cup, the country’s soccer federation said on Friday, nearly six months after he left the post during a shakeup at the federation.
The 49-year-old led the side to the knockout stages of the World Cup in Qatar but only weeks later landed in a bitter public dispute involving one of the U.S. team’s brightest young stars, Gio Reyna, and the midfielder’s parents.
“Gio is an important player to this team, he is an extremely talented individual and I have the obligation and the commitment to coach him like I coach every other player,” said Berhalter.
Berhalter, whose previous contract with U.S. Soccer expired on Dec. 31, had made remarks criticising a player’s commitment to the team at the World Cup and Reyna later confirmed in an Instagram post that Berhalter was talking about him.
Reyna’s mother Danielle responded by informing the federation of an incident more than 30 years ago in which Berhalter had admitted to kicking his now-wife during a dispute.
U.S. Soccer launched an investigation and said in March that the incident would not prevent the body from rehiring Berhalter.
“We know that if we can unlock his talents, he’s going to be a game changer for this program,” Berhalter told reporters.
“So there’s work to do and part of it is working together with (U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker) and trying to build rebuild a relationship that we know will be important moving forward.”
Berhalter will take charge of the team at a critical moment for the sport in the United States, which is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup with neighbours Canada and Mexico.
Crocker said he expected the coach to build a legacy for U.S. soccer.
“(It is) not just about winning in the men’s national team, but about developing the game for the good of the game, the growth of the game in this country,” said Crocker, who was announced as sporting director in April.
“It’s not business as usual. It’s what we call an evolution.”
Berhalter, who first took the reins in 2018, said he believed “the sky’s the limit” for the players.
“To see the progress that they’ve made individually in their careers and collectively as a team made me think about, ‘Okay, what could the next three years look like if we continue to develop in the way that we have?'” he said.
B.J. Callaghan, who took over from Anthony Hudson when he stepped down as interim manager, has guided the United States to the final of the CONCACAF Nations League where they face Canada on Sunday.
Callaghan will continue in the role during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which runs from June 24 through July 16.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru and Amy Tennery in New York, additional reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico City; Editing by Peter Rutherford and Christian Radnedge)
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