The greatest show on earth
And we have the best seats in the house
It’s said that the character of national teams often reflects the country that they represent.
Argentina plays with a chip on its shoulder and a feeling that the world is against them.
Brazil, meanwhile, almost dances as it plays. Style and joy are nearly as important as the results.
Sometimes it is a nation’s neuroses that shows itself. England’s bravado covers up a deep-seated insecurity that things are not what they once were.
Then there’s the USMNT.
Before I get into it, an acknowledgement. I am Canadian. As such, I have a unique view of the American program. I am inundated with news and information about it, but I do not have a cheering interest in it. That’s the same for everything down there. We Canadians know a lot about what’s going on — much to our annoyance, at times — but the fights in the US are not really our fights.
We are just observers with our face pushed up against the window trying to figure out what the hell y’all are on about, most days.
The last couple days have definitely been “most days.”
Which brings me back to the whole “reflect the character of the country” conversation. The USMNT, like the country itself, is combination of chaos, conflict and confidence.
Those three Cs can often be tapped for greatness. And they are always entertaining (again, we have the best seats in the house). But, they can also result in an absolute nightmare of events that is, ultimately, self-destructive.
The problem is that third C — confidence — generally results in most Americans not noticing that they are collectively throwing themselves off a cliff, rather than creating something beautiful.
Keeping this conversation strictly about the soccer — for the love of God leave me out of your politics, please — you can see this playing out with Gregg Berhalter and the question of whether he should remain on as manager after the World Cup.
Rather than a logical conversation about the merits of the job that’s been done, we are instead being served up a truly Shakespearian drama involving alleged blackmail, conflicting Social Media statements, helicopter parenting, and 30 year old stories of a teenager being really stupid.
It’s not very dignified. I’m not getting into the allegations against Berhalter other than to say that it’s not cool that agency has been taken away from the victim at the time. She didn’t consent for an incident from 1991 to be used as a prop in a dispute over playing time in 2022. It’s unfair to go into it again now, other than to say what he did was inappropriate then and shouldn’t be (and apparently hasn’t been) repeated.
I don’t particularly want to get into a debate about playing time either. As far as we can tell, the player didn’t ask for his parents to get involved here. At least I hope not since he’s a professional athlete and, as such, needs to adult the **** up, if he did.
What I will wade into is the question of whether Berhalter has earned an extension of his contract.
To that I’d say…sure. Sort of. He hasn’t done anything in particular to get fired, anyway.
Here’s where there’s an advantage to being a dispassionate but informed observer of the USMNT. I’m not hung up on ideas of what the team should be in my image of an America that doesn’t really exist anymore (and never did in a soccer sense). No, I see it for what it is: A middling soccer nation on the men’s side that has some decent, but still largely untested at the very top levels of the game, players*.
*strikers not included
Within that context, the US had an Ok World Cup. They likely overachieved, actually. How they performed against the Netherlands is where they are. Expecting more is foolish.
The team isn’t good enough to compete with the top European teams yet. Not on any consistent level.
That’s a talent issue, not a coaching one.
Now, that said, Berhalter didn’t exactly inspire either — especially in the qualifying tournament. The Gold Cup and Nations League wins (against an uncharacteristically weak Mexico, we can now say with evidence) kind of make that a wash, but…
It’s a C+/B- kind of performance, really.
Putting the current circus aside, it’s probably enough to give him another year. You’d imagine Mexico will bring in some of the younger players that people there have been calling for and, as a result will be better. Canada should be a legit factor next summer too. So, the Gold Cup and Nations League are significant challenges that will tell us a lot more about whether he is the right person to lead the US to the 2026 World Cup.
No harm will come from extending him to next summer. If it doesn’t work out there is still time to find a top manager. It’s the US. They are hosting. They can find star power if they want.
Of course, you can’t put the current mess aside. If there are enough forces — enough chaos — trying to take him down, nothing that he’s done on the pitch will matter.
I think that would be bad for the program — it would likely make those big names reluctant to join the circus.
But, it will be entertaining. Pass the popcorn, I guess.
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