Gregg Berhalter wants to continue as America’s men’s head coach but feels ‘saddened’ by emerging revelations he kicked his wife during an argument in 1991 when they were teenagers.
The 49-year-old is being investigated by American football after admitting his role in the incident.
The mother of American midfielder Giovanni Reyna says she reported Berhalter on the incident of December 11, 2022.
“Our whole family is saddened by these events,” Berhalter said.
Addressing the Harvard Business Review, he added: “I think the worst thing for me is that I feel bad for my wife, because it was her story to tell, whether she chooses it or not. It really saddens me, really.
“But it’s moving forward and that’s how we need to see it together as a family. The family has been amazing and taking it one day at a time and moving forward.”
Berhalter, whose contract expired at the end of December. took the United States to the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar where they were beaten by the Netherlands.
The United States will co-host the next World Cup with Mexico and Canada in 2026.
Current assistant coach Anthony Hudson takes charge of the United States’ January camp while a “technical review” of the men’s national team program is conducted.
Berhalter added: “When we started in 2018, we wanted to change the way the world views American football. I think when you ask the world about our team, the world sees us in a completely different light.
“But now it’s about being able to take the next step and that next step is to do something that no American team has ever done, and that’s go to the semi-finals and see what happens at from there. There are a lot of great challenges ahead, and of course I would like to continue in my role.”
How did the controversy unfold?
Berhalter released a statement with his wife Rosalind on Wednesday, Jan. 4, sharing details of the incident after an allegation was made against him.
He said he was contacted during the World Cup by someone saying they were “going to knock him down”.
In a statement on Wednesday, Danielle Reyna, wife of former United States captain Claudio, said she reported the incident to US Soccer. She said it was “unfair” for “people to belittle” her son, 20, when Berhalter had done something “much worse” at a similar age.
Borussia Dortmund player Reyna didn’t start a game for the United States at last year’s World Cup.
During a speech at a leaders’ summit in early December, Berhalter said an unnamed player was nearly fired from Qatar for “failing to live up to expectations on and off the pitch”.
Berhalter believed her comments would be kept private, but after they were wrongly cleared for publication, Reyna posted on Instagram that the coach told her her role at the tournament would be “very limited” and that he had let his “training and demeanor” affect.
He added that he apologized to his teammates and to Berhalter.
Danielle, who earned six caps for the United States Women’s National Team and was Rosalind’s roommate, said she ‘made no threats’ when she reported the incident to the athletic director of US Soccer, Earnie Stewart.
