U.S. Soccer is a nonstop PR nightmare.
The U.S. women’s team went from being arguably America’s most beloved athletes to being disliked by half the country via over-politicizing that resulted in polarizing (but did get them paid more).
Now Claudio and Danielle Reyna are treating the U.S. Soccer Federation like your local school board.
Claudio Reyna is a former U.S. men’s national team player. His son Gio was on the national team during the recent World Cup. Gio, 20, barely played in Qatar, tanking practice and donning the boo-boo face because of his diminished role.
So Gio’s mother, Danielle, did what your typical psycho jerk Little League parent would do: She tried to get the coach fired.
Danielle fed the USSF information about a 1991 incident that saw U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter kick his now-wife, Rosalind, during a public argument. Gregg and Rosalind were 18.
The USSF is investigating. Let me save them the trouble: The Berhalters have been married 25 years and have four children. Their relationship has zero documentation of abuse since 1991. That should be the entirety of the investigation.
Danielle Reyna isn’t concerned about Rosalind Berhalter. Danielle has known about this incident since ’91. She and Rosalind were roommates at the University of North Carolina. Danielle didn’t tell the USSF until after her son had been a spare part at the World Cup. Danielle’s intent was to do damage to Gregg’s career.
It was revenge.
This idiocy has other layers. Claudio and Gregg grew up together in New Jersey. Both represented the U.S. at the 2002 World Cup, helping the team reach the quarterfinals. Claudio and Gregg were close. Were.
Gregg is no coaching wizard. His hiring smacked of nepotism, with his brother Jay holding an executive position in the USSF and playing a key role in the process. The underuse of Gio Reyna seemed inexplicable, Gio being a rare American-born creative force as opposed to a paint-by-the-numbers robot. Gio should have played more.
Gregg lied about Gio being hurt at Qatar. Gio wasn’t injured and wouldn’t play along.
After the World Cup, Gregg spoke about Gio’s listlessness at the World Cup, omitting his name but making it easy to figure out, as everyone did. The Reynas certainly pieced things together.
So Danielle Reyna went running to the USSF.
The timeline is easier to follow upon realizing that every single person involved is a total idiot.
Claudio and Danielle Reyna are the worst sort of stage parents and have somehow successfully applied that to the highest level of soccer. Gio Reyna is a whiny baby. Gregg Berhalter got his job because he was related to somebody.
Embarrassing backdoor antics are nothing new to U.S. Soccer: The men’s team cut its captain, John Harkes, two months before the 1998 World Cup because Harkes was sleeping with teammate Eric Wynalda’s wife.
It doesn’t much matter: U.S. men’s soccer will never be any good because the best male American athletes play other sports. U.S. women’s soccer will always be good because that program got such a huge head start on the rest of the world.
But this is embarrassing.
Now the USSF has a no-win decision to make: Gregg Berhalter’s contract expired Dec. 31. Will he keep his job? Deliberations are ongoing.
Berhalter really isn’t a good coach and probably shouldn’t have been hired in the first place.
But if he isn’t retained, it looks like the Reynas got him fired, and that they run the program. Those optics multiply if the new manager makes Gio a starter.
The entire episode is distasteful and stupid. It makes it difficult to be a fan of U.S. men’s soccer and has made the team a laughingstock internationally.
