Gregg Matthew Berhalter (, ; born August 1, 1973) is an American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

coach and former player. He is the current head coach and director of football for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club Chicago Fire, a role he assumed following the end of the 2024 season. From 2018–23 and 2023–24, he was the head coach of the

United States men's national soccer team The United States men's national soccer team (USMNT), officially recognized as USA by FIFA, represents the United States in men's international Association football, soccer. The team is governed by the United States Soccer Federation, which is ...

. He is the first person in United States history to participate in the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

as both a player and head coach. His tenure as coach has been noted for the recruitment of a younger player roster. He originally served in the role from 2018 to 2022; following the expiration of his contract, U.S. Soccer employed interim head coaches before rehiring him to the post on June 16, 2023. His tenure with United States men's national team ended a week after the team's early elimination in the 2024 Copa América

group stage A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

, as the team's performance in the tournament they hosted was perceived as a disappointment. Berhalter previously coached

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew are an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The team began play in 1996 as one of the 10 cha ...

, Hammarby in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and served as an assistant coach for

LA Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

Playing career

Early life and education

Gregg Matthew Berhalter was born on August 1, 1973, in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from portions of Ridgefield Township and the remaining portions of Engle ...

, and grew up in Tenafly, New Jersey, and was a high school teammate of

Claudio Reyna Claudio Alejandro Reyna (born July 20, 1973) is an American former professional soccer player and former executive. He most recently served as sporting director of Austin FC. A former midfielder, he spent most of his professional career in Eur ...

at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

. He played college soccer for the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. In 2002, he was ranked as one of the top 50 players in the history of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. In 1993, he spent the collegiate off season playing for the Raleigh Flyers of the

USISL The United States Interregional Soccer League (USISL) was a semi-professional men's outdoor soccer league that played six seasons from 1989 to 1994. It was the first outdoor league to be operated by the organization known today as the United ...

. Berhalter is the godson of Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame baseball player Carl Yastrzemski.

Professional

Berhalter left UNC after his junior year, signing with Dutch club

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

in 1994. He later played for Sparta Rotterdam and Cambuur in the Netherlands (later they also had U.S.-born executive Alex Pama there), and with Crystal Palace in England (where he briefly played alongside Jovan Kirovski). During his time at Crystal Palace, he scored once against Bradford City. In 2002, Berhalter signed with

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus (Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the German reunification, reunificatio ...

of the German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. He went on to make 111 league appearances with the team, captaining them to a promotion back to the Bundesliga. In 2006, Berhalter signed with 1860 Munich of the 2. Bundesliga, and was named captain of the team. He stayed there for a further two and a half years, making 73 league appearances for ''Die Löwen''. After a 15-year career in Europe, Berhalter moved back to the United States in April 2009. He signed a contract with

, his first club contract in his home country. He was revealed as a

Los Angeles Galaxy The Los Angeles Galaxy are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Gal ...

player on April 3, 2009. In his first season with the Galaxy, their goals against were cut in half—from 61 to 30—with Berhalter being a leader in defense while mentoring Omar Gonzalez to Rookie of the Year honors. On November 14, 2009, he scored in the 103rd minute of the scoreless Western Conference final, propelling the Galaxy to a 2–0 win over the

Houston Dynamo Houston Dynamo Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Houston. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Established on December 15, 2005, the club was founded after their fo ...

and into the 2009 MLS Cup. It was his first goal in 28 appearances with the club. In his second season, the Galaxy won the MLS Supporters Shield and further reduced their goals against to 26 for the season, a Galaxy record. On October 12, 2011, Berhalter announced his decision to retire at the end of the 2011 MLS season. In 2011, LA Galaxy won both the Supporters Shield and MLS Cup in Berhalter's final season.

International

Berhalter earned his first cap for the U.S. national team on October 15, 1994, against

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. He went on to play at the 1995 Copa América and the

1999 FIFA Confederations Cup The 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup was the fourth FIFA Confederations Cup, and the second organised by FIFA. The tournament was hosted by Mexico between 24 July and 4 August 1999. The tournament was won by Mexico, who beat Brazil 4–3 in the fina ...

. Berhalter played a significant role for the U.S. at the 2002 World Cup, stepping in for the injured Jeff Agoos and starting the last two games against Mexico and Germany, and in doing so became the first Crystal Palace player to play in a World Cup match. On May 25, 2006, Berhalter was added to the U.S. national team's roster for the 2006 World Cup, replacing the injured

Cory Gibbs Cory Gibbs (born January 14, 1980) is an American former soccer player. A defender, played professionally for clubs in Germany, the Netherlands and England. He also played 19 international matches for the U.S. national soccer team, including a ...

. Berhalter expressed confidence in the ability of the team in the run up to the tournament, but was an unused substitute in all three group games. The U.S. was eliminated after finishing at the bottom of Group E in the first round with one draw and two defeats.

Coaching career

Hammarby

Following a season as Los Angeles Galaxy's assistant coach, Berhalter was named head coach for Swedish club Hammarby on December 12, 2011. Berhalter became the first American-born manager to manage a professional team in Europe. In his first year, Hammarby improved seven positions in the standing, narrowly missing out on promotion. Berhalter was fired on July 24, 2013, for a "lack of attacking play". Hammarby were in fifth place at the time of the sacking.

Columbus Crew

Berhalter became the

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The ...

and head coach of

on November 6, 2013. Under Berhalter, Columbus Crew qualified for the playoffs four out of five years, in 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018. They reached the

MLS Cup 2015 MLS Cup 2015 was the 20th edition of the MLS Cup, the championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS). The association football, soccer match was to determine the champion of MLS' 2015 Major League Soccer season, 2015 season. The championship wa ...

but lost at home 2–1 to the Portland Timbers.

United States

On December 2, 2018, Berhalter became the head coach of the United States national team (USMNT). He earned his first victory as coach in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sport, sporting event whose prize money and impact on th ...

against Panama on January 27, 2019. Berhalter won the first four games of his coaching career. He coached the United States to two continental championships by winning the inaugural Nations League title against Mexico in June 2021, and then defeating Mexico again 1–0 on August 1, 2021, at the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup. On November 12, 2021, Berhalter led the United States to a 2–0 victory over rival Mexico in World Cup Qualifying at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team subsequently qualified for and reached the round of 16 in the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup was the 22nd FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

. This made Berhalter the first American in history to participate in the

as both a head coach and a player. As coach of the USMNT, Berhalter has built a roster of young players including

Christian Pulisic Christian Mate Pulisic (born September 18, 1998) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays as a Midfielder#Winger, winger for club AC Milan and the United States men's national soccer team, United States natio ...

Tyler Adams Tyler Shaan Adams (born February 14, 1999) is an American professional Association football, soccer player who plays for club AFC Bournemouth, Bournemouth and the United States men's national soccer team, United States national team. Primarily ...

, Yunus Musah, Folarin Balogun, Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson and Weston McKennie. Sportswriters such as ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'' Brian Straus, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' Nancy Armour and ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports journalism department of ''The New York Times''. It provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories ...

'' Paul Tenorio have described this as part of an overarching strategy to develop a pool of young soccer talent in the United States in preparation for the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

. Berhalter is also credited with developing a stronger team culture in the USMNT. He prefers to use a possession-based play style with a 4-3-3 formation, which has gradually adapted into a more aggressive, forward-moving style of play over the course of his tenure. Berhalter's contract expired on December 31, 2022, with assistant Anthony Hudson named interim head coach while a search for a permanent replacement commenced. Hudson remained in charge through May 2023 before leaving to become the head coach of Al-Markhiya in Qatar; he was replaced by fellow assistant B.J. Callaghan. On June 16, 2023, U.S. Soccer announced that Berhalter would return as the head coach of the United States through the

. Sporting director Matt Crocker cited Berhalter's "vision, as well as the experience and growth mindset on and off the field to move heteam forward" as the U.S. prepares to host the 2026 World Cup with Mexico and Canada. On July 10, 2024, Berhalter was relieved of his duties as the US men's national team head coach after the early exit in the 2024 Copa America group stage. He led the team to a 44–17–13 record and titles in the Nations League and Gold Cup.

Chicago Fire

On October 8, 2024, Berhalter was named head coach and director of football for MLS club

Chicago Fire FC Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Chicago. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. The Fire play their hom ...

starting from the 2025 season.

Personal life

Berhalter lives in the Lake View neighborhood of

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

with his wife Rosalind, with whom he has four children. One of his sons, Sebastian, plays for the

Vancouver Whitecaps Vancouver Whitecaps Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Vancouver. The Whitecaps compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. The MLS iteration of the club was established on March 18, ...

. In March 2023, an investigation by the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

(USSF) found that Claudio Reyna and his wife Danielle had attempted to retaliate against Berhalter because their son Giovanni was receiving limited playing time at the 2022 World Cup. The Reynas were also frustrated by comments made after the Cup about the poor behavior of an anonymous player, who was later revealed to be Giovanni. Danielle Reyna attempted to damage Berhalter's career by contacting USSF sporting director

Earnie Stewart Earnest Lee Stewart Jr. (born March 28, 1969) is an American former Association football, soccer player who played as a Forward (association football)#Forward, forward or midfielder. His career spanned 17 years from 1988 until his retirement in ...

and USMNT general manager

Brian McBride Brian Robert McBride (born June 19, 1972) is an American former association football, soccer player who played as a forward (association football), forward for Columbus Crew, Fulham F.C., Fulham and Chicago Fire SC, Chicago Fire. He is the sixt ...

about a fight between Berhalter and his future wife in 1992. A USSF probe into the claim found that it was an isolated incident and found no reason not to employ Berhalter as coach.

Coaching statistics

Honors

Player

Los Angeles Galaxy *

Supporters' Shield:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

MLS Cup:

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

Coach

United States *

CONCACAF Nations League The CONCACAF Nations League (, ) is an association football competition organized by CONCACAF as its secondary continental tournament for men's senior national teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean. The tournament takes pla ...

: 2019–20, 2023–24 * CONCACAF Gold Cup:

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Berhalter, Gregg 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from Englewood, New Jersey Soccer players from Bergen County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Tenafly, New Jersey American men's soccer players Men's association football central defenders St. Benedict's Preparatory School alumni North Carolina Tar Heels men's soccer players Raleigh Express players PEC Zwolle players Sparta Rotterdam players SC Cambuur players Crystal Palace F.C. players FC Energie Cottbus players TSV 1860 Munich players LA Galaxy players Eerste Divisie players Eredivisie players English Football League players 2. Bundesliga players Bundesliga players Major League Soccer players United States men's under-20 international soccer players United States men's international soccer players American soccer coaches LA Galaxy non-playing staff Hammarby Fotboll managers Columbus Crew head coaches United States men's national soccer team managers Major League Soccer head coaches 1995 Copa América players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2003 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2006 FIFA World Cup players 2019 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup managers 2022 FIFA World Cup managers 2024 Copa América managers American expatriate men's soccer players Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate football managers in Sweden American expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands American expatriate sportspeople in England American expatriate men's soccer players in Germany American expatriate sportspeople in Sweden American expatriate soccer coaches 20th-century American sportsmen