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Berhalter Must Go, but Claudio Reyna Not Worth Rooting For Either

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See what happens when nepotism trumps everything else. The United States Soccer Federation needs to take a long, hard look at itself and realize that meritocracy matters. Why do we have a Gregg Berhalter vs Reyna family feud?

Because you have a bunch of people involved here who think that family connections, above all else, should determine one’s occupational standing. USA Soccer is at University of Iowa revenue sports level of egregious nepotism. So let’s break down this case of he said, he said, she also said.

We can start here:

Ok, so United States Men’s National Team Coach Gregg Berhalter, who only got the gig when his own brother was the fourth highest ranking person on the US Soccer corporate hierarchy, had an axe to grind.

Quickly flash back to the World Cup, when USMNT star Gio Reyna was benched due to…conflicting explanations. Berhalther said one thing, Reyna said something else.

Then later we heard that Reyna was being punished because he didn’t have a full commitment, or team first attitude.

This could have stayed in house, and it did for awhile, but Berhalter ran his mouth at some cushy speaking gig he had for one of those bullshit “leadership” pep talks. He didn’t name Reyna specifically, but did say enough that it was clear who he was talking about.

Gio Reyna is the offspring of Claudio Reyna and Danielle Egan, who played for the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams. They both go way back with Berhalter, and his wife Rosalind.

It’s all super nepotism-y, as is the USSF in general, and to get into all of that would give one a headache.

gregg berhalter

It’s so incestual at the highest levels of US Soccer that it’s annoying at best, creepy at worst. So now comes the helicopter parents committing blackmail part of this story, although the Reynas denied that they did so:

The Reyna parents brought it to the attention of Berhalter’s bosses, the higher-ups in US Soccer that 31 years ago he kicked his then girlfriend and now wife. Obviously, a man should never physically strike a woman.

However, you know the rule- you’re not allowed to be more outraged than the victim. And this case, the victim doesn’t even consider herself to even be a victim.

Really can’t disagree with anything ESPN’s Hercules Gomez said here:

Or here:

Basically, this is a no one to root for kind of story. But it is clear that Berhalter must go, and that was clear long before the Reyna parents led to his dirty laundry getting aired.

This was obvious before he benched Gio Reyna for reasons that remain unclear.

He needs to go due to his poor tactics, bad game-planning and awful team selection. Ask Ricardo Pepi about that last one.

This is somehow a massive story, and a total non-story, all at the same time. At its core, it’s just the highest stakes version of every youth sport “hey coach, you’re not playing my kid! So you suck, and I’ll get back at you” tiff.

Berhalter is already out, sort of. His contract expired January 1, and his replacement, for the interim, is already in charge. Just don’t renew him and move on. Time for the USA Soccer brass to step up and be decisive.

gregg berhalter

All of those involved here look incredibly petty, and that makes us look very small and stupid as a soccer nation.

Get it together USSF!

Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”

He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now. Follow the website on Twitter and Instagram.