By Rory Carroll
(Reuters) – Gregg Berhalter on Thursday said he hopes U.S. Soccer will keep him on as head coach of the men’s team despite an ongoing investigation into a domestic violence incident that occurred between him and his now-wife 31 years ago.
Berhalter’s remarks come one day after it was reported that Danielle Reyna, the mother of U.S. midfielder Gio Reyna, had informed the federation of the 1991 episode after she became frustrated with Berhalter criticizing her son after the World Cup.
“When we started in 2018, we wanted to change the way the world views American soccer,” Berhalter, whose contract with the team expired on Dec. 31, said in an interview with the Harvard Business Review.
“And I think when you ask around the world now about our team, the world sees us in a complete different light. But now it’s about being able to take that next step, and that next step is doing something that no U.S. team has ever done and that’s get to the semifinals and see what happens from there.
“So there’s a lot of great challenges involved and of course I’d like to continue my role.”
Berhalter told a conference after returning from Qatar that a player on the team was “clearly not meeting expectations on and off the field” and that he had considered sending that player home.
Gio Reyna, 20, later confirmed in an Instagram post that Berhalter was talking about him.
Gio is the son of Claudio Reyna, who played alongside Berhalter for the U.S. team at the 2002 World Cup and is now sporting director for MLS side Austin FC.
Berhalter said and his wife of 25 years Rosalind had moved on from the incident where he kicked her legs amid an argument outside of a bar when he was an 18-year-old college student and was sad to have it come up so publicly now.
“The events of that night 31 years ago and the lessons learned from that set the foundation for our relationship moving forward,” he said.
“And it’s a loving relationship, a devoted relationship and we have four amazing kids to show for it.”
Berhalter led the squad to the round of 16 of the World Cup in Qatar where they were knocked out by the Netherlands.
The federation on Wednesday said current assistant coach Anthony Hudson would lead the team during its January camp while a “technical review” of the men’s national team program was conducted.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Stephen Coates)
