USMNT - 2026 Cycle - "Early Days"

[mister d]

Maybe its because I don't live in those worlds, but I can't imagine airing out someone very close to my family to a group of professional strangers. Like don't all normal people basically have a tiering system where you don't talk shit on tier 1s to tier 2s and etc, etc?

[The Sybian]

Yeah, sorry Reyna's... That's not going to cut it.

Also, if they'd just settled the fuck down and read the room... The vast majority of the coverage chided Gio for being, well, a teenager. But the other side of that was very harsh on GGG. Grown ass man airing out locker room dirt was a terrible look.

Just... shhhhhhh... You were winning the PR battle, dummies.

Unless I missed something, it sounds like Mrs. Reyna said something to Ernie Stewart around December 10, and he treated it like a formal complaint, then GGG came out to the media yesterday. I don't get the sense the Reyna's leaked this to the media or made a threat to leak, but since there is a formal investigation, GGG wanted to have the first word in the press.

Maybe the Mrs. Reyna was being petty or an overly involved mama bear, maybe she was planning on blackmailing GGG (I can't see a motive here), or maybe she was just angry and lashed out in revenge. The whole thing is making less sense the more info we get.

[HaulCitgo]

I say screw Gio. No patience for that shit. No one is bigger than the team. Guy is a walking distraction and the game doesn't justify the bullshit. Sometimes guys dont play. Sometimes asshole coaches talk shit. Head down, nose clean, keep grinding.

[Rex]

If people who actually live in New Jersey can't understand the motivations of the principals involved in this story, think how the rest of us feel.

[Nonlinear FC]

Yeah, sorry Reyna's... That's not going to cut it.

Also, if they'd just settled the fuck down and read the room... The vast majority of the coverage chided Gio for being, well, a teenager. But the other side of that was very harsh on GGG. Grown ass man airing out locker room dirt was a terrible look.

Just... shhhhhhh... You were winning the PR battle, dummies.

Unless I missed something, it sounds like Mrs. Reyna said something to Ernie Stewart around December 10, and he treated it like a formal complaint, then GGG came out to the media yesterday. I don't get the sense the Reyna's leaked this to the media or made a threat to leak, but since there is a formal investigation, GGG wanted to have the first word in the press.

Maybe the Mrs. Reyna was being petty or an overly involved mama bear, maybe she was planning on blackmailing GGG (I can't see a motive here), or maybe she was just angry and lashed out in revenge. The whole thing is making less sense the more info we get.

Seems pretty clear this was mama/papa bear gone wild. It's ironic (maybe?) that GGG's stuff got "leaked" and then the Reyna's run off to their buddy and don't think about the possibility of this, too, being leaked.

No one's covered in glory on this one.

[The Sybian]

If people who actually live in New Jersey can't understand the motivations of the principals involved in this story, think how the rest of us feel.

For some reason I never made the connection until your post, but my daughter used to go to small group sessions with a trainer nearby. His list of former students includes GGG and Claudio. Since they are the same age, I wonder if they were in the same group. He likes to pit kids in fierce, physical 1 on 1 battles in a tiny space, often with a size 1 ball but they also do a lot of bonding in those sessions, partly because the guy is so weird.

[mister d]

I'm fine holding judgment on Gio because who knows whether or what he even knew, but his mom was clearly looking to use a past incident to settle a score. Maybe not to blackmail or be released publicly, and you can even hold a better view that something really bad happened and she never forgave Berhalter, but there was intent to counter-harm. One of those cases where both sides can look bad and choosing sides seems futile.

[The Sybian]

One of those cases where both sides can look bad and choosing sides seems futile.

Yeah, this. Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well. Wonder if Claudio met his wife through GGG. Fun side note, my wife played* against Mrs. GGG and Mrs. Reyna. I once looked up the roster when she told me she played against UNC. Some famous names including Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini, but I didn't know Mrs. GGG played, and I didn't know Mrs. Reyna by her maiden name.

*When I just told her, she was quick to point out that she didn't leave the bench that game...

[mister d]

Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well.

I don't know if its been confirmed, but I read Claudio was his best man.

[The Sybian]

I'm really confused by the announcement of hiring a law firm to investigate. The language about the investigation broadening to include inappropriate behavior toward members of its staff by “individuals outside of our organization" is weird. Does that mean they are investigating the Reyna's also, or something different? An employer investigating a 31 year old allegation against an employee towards his wife when they were 18 is insane, there has to be something more. One scenario I can see making sense is Mrs. Reyna being annoyed and saying to her longtime friends Ernie Stewart and Brian McBride "GGG criticizes Gio for poor behavior, but when GGG was 18 he kicked his wife!" Then McBride and Stewart, in their official capacities at US Soccer decided they had to treat a friend spouting off as an official employment investigation and this blew up into something nobody wanted. I also have to wonder how much the Yates Report led US Soccer to overreact to this.

[Rex]

Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well.

I don't know if its been confirmed, but I read Claudio was his best man.

Probably down to like 4th or 5th now.

[Rex]

I'm really confused by the announcement of hiring a law firm to investigate. The language about the investigation broadening to include inappropriate behavior toward members of its staff by “individuals outside of our organization" is weird. Does that mean they are investigating the Reyna's also, or something different? An employer investigating a 31 year old allegation against an employee towards his wife when they were 18 is insane, there has to be something more. One scenario I can see making sense is Mrs. Reyna being annoyed and saying to her longtime friends Ernie Stewart and Brian McBride "GGG criticizes Gio for poor behavior, but when GGG was 18 he kicked his wife!" Then McBride and Stewart, in their official capacities at US Soccer decided they had to treat a friend spouting off as an official employment investigation and this blew up into something nobody wanted. I also have to wonder how much the Yates Report led US Soccer to overreact to this.

My understanding is that the investigation was prompted by the info that Mrs. Reyna provided about the DV incident. I could be totally wrong there. But if that’s true, I think it was the right decision by Earnie Stewart, given the current environment, the other investigations involving USSF and the fact that current and former men’s and women’s soccer players were involved.

[Nonlinear FC]

One of those cases where both sides can look bad and choosing sides seems futile.

Yeah, this. Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well. Wonder if Claudio met his wife through GGG. Fun side note, my wife played* against Mrs. GGG and Mrs. Reyna. I once looked up the roster when she told me she played against UNC. Some famous names including Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini, but I didn't know Mrs. GGG played, and I didn't know Mrs. Reyna by her maiden name.

*When I just told her, she was quick to point out that she didn't leave the bench that game...

Not trying to be an asshole, but I keep making assumptions about what ppl know and have read and.. I feel like we need a factual timeline so we all understand the full, known picture.

These folks were family friends like the Gorgas and the Manzos, if that helps.

[The Sybian]

The most shocking thing is all the "GGG is a great coach and shouldn't get fired for this" comments on social media. WTF?!?! How do so many people (mostly comments on MenInBlazers Facebook posts) thing GGG is a good coach?

[Nonlinear FC]

I'm really confused by the announcement of hiring a law firm to investigate. The language about the investigation broadening to include inappropriate behavior toward members of its staff by “individuals outside of our organization" is weird. Does that mean they are investigating the Reyna's also, or something different? An employer investigating a 31 year old allegation against an employee towards his wife when they were 18 is insane, there has to be something more. One scenario I can see making sense is Mrs. Reyna being annoyed and saying to her longtime friends Ernie Stewart and Brian McBride "GGG criticizes Gio for poor behavior, but when GGG was 18 he kicked his wife!" Then McBride and Stewart, in their official capacities at US Soccer decided they had to treat a friend spouting off as an official employment investigation and this blew up into something nobody wanted. I also have to wonder how much the Yates Report led US Soccer to overreact to this.

My understanding is that the investigation was prompted by the info that Mrs. Reyna provided about the DV incident. I could be totally wrong there. But if that’s true, I think it was the right decision by Earnie Stewart, given the current environment, the other investigations involving USSF and the fact that current and former men’s and women’s soccer players were involved.

Yep, not that complicated. Legal CYA.

But that's what has ppl fucked up. They think the Reynas released this and that's not how it went down.

[The Sybian]

One of those cases where both sides can look bad and choosing sides seems futile.

Yeah, this. Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well. Wonder if Claudio met his wife through GGG. Fun side note, my wife played* against Mrs. GGG and Mrs. Reyna. I once looked up the roster when she told me she played against UNC. Some famous names including Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini, but I didn't know Mrs. GGG played, and I didn't know Mrs. Reyna by her maiden name.

*When I just told her, she was quick to point out that she didn't leave the bench that game...

Not trying to be an asshole, but I keep making assumptions about what ppl know and have read and.. I feel like we need a factual timeline so we all understand the full, known picture.

These folks were family friends like the Gorgas and the Manzos, if that helps.

Not even after Googling to see who those people are.

[The Sybian]

I'm really confused by the announcement of hiring a law firm to investigate. The language about the investigation broadening to include inappropriate behavior toward members of its staff by “individuals outside of our organization" is weird. Does that mean they are investigating the Reyna's also, or something different? An employer investigating a 31 year old allegation against an employee towards his wife when they were 18 is insane, there has to be something more. One scenario I can see making sense is Mrs. Reyna being annoyed and saying to her longtime friends Ernie Stewart and Brian McBride "GGG criticizes Gio for poor behavior, but when GGG was 18 he kicked his wife!" Then McBride and Stewart, in their official capacities at US Soccer decided they had to treat a friend spouting off as an official employment investigation and this blew up into something nobody wanted. I also have to wonder how much the Yates Report led US Soccer to overreact to this.

My understanding is that the investigation was prompted by the info that Mrs. Reyna provided about the DV incident. I could be totally wrong there. But if that’s true, I think it was the right decision by Earnie Stewart, given the current environment, the other investigations involving USSF and the fact that current and former men’s and women’s soccer players were involved.

Yep, not that complicated. Legal CYA.

But that's what has ppl fucked up. They think the Reynas released this and that's not how it went down.

What is the DV incident?

[Rex]

That’s how I’m referring to the incident with GGG kicking his now wife. Whatever you want to call it, Earnie/USSF would look really bad if it came out later that they didn’t investigate this kind of claim, given the larger problem of USSF ignoring complaints by women’s soccer players about how they were treated by men.

[Nonlinear FC]

domestic violence

[mister d]

Yeah, he had to, especially if what she described wasn’t Berhalter’s version of a singular bar kick so upsetting he put himself in counseling.

[Nonlinear FC]

Yeah, he had to, especially if what she described wasn’t Berhalter’s version of a singular bar kick so upsetting he put himself in counseling.

The Wife is........ skeptical.

[The Sybian]

That’s how I’m referring to the incident with GGG kicking his now wife. Whatever you want to call it, Earnie/USSF would look really bad if it came out later that they didn’t investigate this kind of claim, given the larger problem of USSF ignoring complaints by women’s soccer players about how they were treated by men.

Gotcha. That’s exactly what I meant by them being overly cautious after the Yates Report. As an attorney who does workplace investigations, I can’t imagine looking into an allegation from 31 years ago unless there is something else. Even with the Yates stuff.

Forgot to mention, one of the attorneys handling the investigation is BJay Pak, former US Attorney from Georgia who famously resigned when pressured by Trump to investigate election fraud.

[Square Rob]

What makes this all so murky is that it's highly likely that GGG just made a naïve, boneheaded mistake. He truly felt it was off the record.

But it wasn't just the comments, it was the leadup where he's inexplicably benching one of his better players despite the families being close, right? Like the weirdness didn't begin when he "confidentially" aired Gio out.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I was very much in the WTF camp with regards to Gio, who was seeing significant minutes at Dortmund before the tournament started.

I have a sneaking suspicion that GGG's propensity to over think things (I've said this a lot) had him thinking he "saw something" he needed to correct with Gio and told the "kid" (almost like a son, according to folks) he was going to have a limited role. Some kind of teachable moment or whatever the fuck. Gio rebelled and the rest is what is playing out now.

But, tb was talking about those comments so I was responding to that aspect. I honestly don't think GGG had the intention of publicly airing out like what occurred.

One other possibility might be that Gio WAS being a bit of a brat with the team. He’s the young ‘star’ that plays for a huge team, but also has personally known the coach his whole life and his dad was best man at the coach’s wedding. It wouldn’t be the first time in the world that an 18y/o in that situation looked to take advantage of things. It’s entirely plausible that he was acting up in training which led to everything else. That’s not to absolve ggg, but in that situation he absolutely would have had to act, and to do so in a way that kept the trust of the whole team. 100% he should have kept that internal, without a doubt. But mama bear acting the way she has also makes me 100% believe that Gio has been coddled his whole life. Regardless of how traumatized mrs reyna was over the incident, it’s not her business to bring it back up, and it’s not her forgiveness or ‘grace’ that matters. It’s frankly a hugely inconsiderate act for Mrs ggg to now have to relive something she has apparently moved well past.

[tennbengal]

Just another reason people that were mad about GGG’s hire being borderline nepotistic were right. Klinsmann didn’t work out like anyone wanted but at least he didn’t have long-standing history with critical future pieces to the men’s national team.

This team and federation really needs a strong coach with fresh eyes and no emotional entanglements to any of the players or admin.

It’s cool though, we got to make sure unqualified MLS players were on the team and opened the team up for weird drama so I assume Earnie Stewart et al are happy…

[HaulCitgo]

That’s how I’m referring to the incident with GGG kicking his now wife. Whatever you want to call it, Earnie/USSF would look really bad if it came out later that they didn’t investigate this kind of claim, given the larger problem of USSF ignoring complaints by women’s soccer players about how they were treated by men.

Gotcha. That’s exactly what I meant by them being overly cautious after the Yates Report. As an attorney who does workplace investigations, I can’t imagine looking into an allegation from 31 years ago unless there is something else. Even with the Yates stuff.

Forgot to mention, one of the attorneys handling the investigation is BJay Pak, former US Attorney from Georgia who famously resigned when pressured by Trump to investigate election fraud.

Bj pak has his own political ambitions. Not sure that resignation was so genuine. More importantly, why would you hire a criminal attorney to run an employment investigation? Almost like they just want cover. Might ask Ime about that shit.

[rass]

One of those cases where both sides can look bad and choosing sides seems futile.

Yeah, this. Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well. Wonder if Claudio met his wife through GGG. Fun side note, my wife played* against Mrs. GGG and Mrs. Reyna. I once looked up the roster when she told me she played against UNC. Some famous names including Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini, but I didn't know Mrs. GGG played, and I didn't know Mrs. Reyna by her maiden name.

*When I just told her, she was quick to point out that she didn't leave the bench that game...

Not trying to be an asshole, but I keep making assumptions about what ppl know and have read and.. I feel like we need a factual timeline so we all understand the full, known picture.

These folks were family friends like the Gorgas and the Manzos, if that helps.

Not even after Googling to see who those people are.

Bro. Do you even Jersey?

[tennbengal]

just to have it here - here was Mrs. Reyna's full statement to the Athletic yesterday:

“To set the record straight, I did call (U.S. Soccer sporting director) Earnie Stewart on December 11, just after the news broke that Gregg had made negative statements about my son Gio at a leadership conference,” Danielle Reyna said in a statement. “I have known Earnie for years and consider him to be a close friend. I wanted to let him know that I was absolutely outraged and devasted that Gio had been put in such a terrible position, and that I felt very personally betrayed by the actions of someone my family had considered a friend for decades.

“As part of that conversation, I told Earnie that I thought it was especially unfair that Gio, who had apologized for acting immaturely about his playing time, was still being dragged through the mud when Gregg had asked for and received forgiveness for doing something so much worse at the same age. Without going into detail, the statements from yesterday significantly minimize the abuse on the night in question. Rosalind Berhalter was my roommate, teammate and best friend, and I supported her through the trauma that followed. It took a long time for me to forgive and accept Gregg afterward, but I worked hard to give him grace, and ultimately made both of them and their kids a huge part of my family’s life. I would have wanted and expected him to give the same grace to Gio. This is why the current situation is so very hurtful and hard.”

“At the time I called Earnie, many people were trashing Gio on social media due to Gregg’s comments, and I didn’t know when or if this would stop. I just wanted Earnie to help make sure that there would be no further unwarranted attacks on my son. I thought our conversation would remain in confidence, and it didn’t occur to me at the time that anything I said could lead to an investigation. I’m not criticizing Earnie here.

“I very much commend the recent efforts by U.S. Soccer to address abuse of women players, and I understand now he had an obligation to investigate what I shared. But I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don’t know anything about any blackmail attempts, nor have I ever had any discussions about anyone else on Gregg’s staff — I don’t know any of the other coaches. I did not communicate with anyone in U.S. Soccer about this matter before December 11, and no one else in my family has made any statements to U.S. Soccer regarding Gregg’s past at all.

“I’m sorry that this information became public, and I regret that I played a role in something that could reopen wounds from the past.”

[L-Jam3]

One of those cases where both sides can look bad and choosing sides seems futile.

Yeah, this. Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well. Wonder if Claudio met his wife through GGG. Fun side note, my wife played* against Mrs. GGG and Mrs. Reyna. I once looked up the roster when she told me she played against UNC. Some famous names including Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini, but I didn't know Mrs. GGG played, and I didn't know Mrs. Reyna by her maiden name.

*When I just told her, she was quick to point out that she didn't leave the bench that game...

Not trying to be an asshole, but I keep making assumptions about what ppl know and have read and.. I feel like we need a factual timeline so we all understand the full, known picture.

These folks were family friends like the Gorgas and the Manzos, if that helps.

Not even after Googling to see who those people are.

Bro. Do you even Jersey?

I hate the fact that I know who those people are. I wish I could do an Eternal Sunshine and wipe that out of my memory.

[Johnny Carwash]

These folks were family friends like the Gorgas and the Manzos, if that helps.

Notorious aristocratic families during the Italian Renaissance?

[Nonlinear FC]

One of those cases where both sides can look bad and choosing sides seems futile.

Yeah, this. Just saw GGG and Claudio played on the same youth club and high school team, so they REALLY knew each other well. Wonder if Claudio met his wife through GGG. Fun side note, my wife played* against Mrs. GGG and Mrs. Reyna. I once looked up the roster when she told me she played against UNC. Some famous names including Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly and Tisha Venturini, but I didn't know Mrs. GGG played, and I didn't know Mrs. Reyna by her maiden name.

*When I just told her, she was quick to point out that she didn't leave the bench that game...

Not trying to be an asshole, but I keep making assumptions about what ppl know and have read and.. I feel like we need a factual timeline so we all understand the full, known picture.

These folks were family friends like the Gorgas and the Manzos, if that helps.

Not even after Googling to see who those people are.

Bro. Do you even Jersey?

[tennbengal]

Just another reason people that were mad about GGG’s hire being borderline nepotistic were right. Klinsmann didn’t work out like anyone wanted but at least he didn’t have long-standing history with critical future pieces to the men’s national team.

This team and federation really needs a strong coach with fresh eyes and no emotional entanglements to any of the players or admin.

It’s cool though, we got to make sure unqualified MLS players were on the team and opened the team up for weird drama so I assume Earnie Stewart et al are happy…

This is what I was trying to say - it lays out the entanglements

[Rex]

What makes this all so murky is that it's highly likely that GGG just made a naïve, boneheaded mistake. He truly felt it was off the record.

But it wasn't just the comments, it was the leadup where he's inexplicably benching one of his better players despite the families being close, right? Like the weirdness didn't begin when he "confidentially" aired Gio out.

Oh, yeah, absolutely. I was very much in the WTF camp with regards to Gio, who was seeing significant minutes at Dortmund before the tournament started.

I have a sneaking suspicion that GGG's propensity to over think things (I've said this a lot) had him thinking he "saw something" he needed to correct with Gio and told the "kid" (almost like a son, according to folks) he was going to have a limited role. Some kind of teachable moment or whatever the fuck. Gio rebelled and the rest is what is playing out now.

But, tb was talking about those comments so I was responding to that aspect. I honestly don't think GGG had the intention of publicly airing out like what occurred.

One other possibility might be that Gio WAS being a bit of a brat with the team. He’s the young ‘star’ that plays for a huge team, but also has personally known the coach his whole life and his dad was best man at the coach’s wedding. It wouldn’t be the first time in the world that an 18y/o in that situation looked to take advantage of things. It’s entirely plausible that he was acting up in training which led to everything else. That’s not to absolve ggg, but in that situation he absolutely would have had to act, and to do so in a way that kept the trust of the whole team. 100% he should have kept that internal, without a doubt. But mama bear acting the way she has also makes me 100% believe that Gio has been coddled his whole life. Regardless of how traumatized mrs reyna was over the incident, it’s not her business to bring it back up, and it’s not her forgiveness or ‘grace’ that matters. It’s frankly a hugely inconsiderate act for Mrs ggg to now have to relive something she has apparently moved well past.

That's exactly what a European would think of all this. Appreciate the post, but let us Americans sort this out. We know soccer mom drama, we invented it.

[The Sybian]

This picture just adds to the bizarre nature of this story.

[Nonlinear FC]

That's exactly what I was talking about yesterday. He basically "grounded" Gio for some unknown reason prior to the friendly in Qatar. He sees him as one of his own, practically. I'll just speak for myself: I coached a group of girls from U8 up through their teen years. They still call me coach and I'm also good friends with a number of their parents. It would be REALLY WEIRD to have to coach them in college or professionally when shit would have to get real real. I never had to bench any of them, they were the core of the team that won the freaking state title. But if I had to bench one... Holy shit the family and friend dynamics would've been off the charts.

The massive hole in this story at this point is what was going on for him to bench Gio. We've talked about it ad nauseum. He was perfectly healthy. He was starting at Dortmund.

That's the piece that will need to come out. And I think it will, if this shit keeps simmering. What rationale did GGG employ to bench Gio.

[mister d]

Were any of Berhalter's kids ever remotely close to national team level?

[wlu_lax6]

Were any of Berhalter's kids ever remotely close to national team level?

1 boy, 3 girls
his son (age 21) plays for Vancouver (originally signed by Crew)

[mister d]

Was curious if there could have been anything between the kids, competitively or not, that could have led to the initial Berhalter vs Gio weirdness.

[Nonlinear FC]

Ok, so another subplot that was (I think, I've been reading and hearing a lot) brought up very briefly here:

Berhalter's son Sebastian originally signed by Columbus and was then loaned out to FC Austin. While Claudio was the GM. Sebastian wasn't signed by FC Austin and is now with the Whitecaps.

I've seen folks trying to tie this into the stuff with Gio. I don't really buy it, but it's out there.

(Another thing about nepotism, snowplow parenting and US Soccer: Sebastian was on Hammarby's youth team... While GGG was the manager. GGG gets the gig in Columbus, guess who gets a spot on the Crew youth team. I'm not saying the kid's not good... He was on the US U17 team.

But, really, if his dad isn't funneling him into high end programs. If he doesn't have that last name?

I dunno, man. Something pretty fucked up about the higher end of US soccer.)

[tennbengal]

Something pretty fucked up about the higher end of US soccer.)

YES. That. Ernie Stewart owns this. As does the process that led to GGG's hire. So tired of the insular bullshit. An outside coach (like, outside the country) really is needed to assess talent and make decisions without any of the historic entanglements.

[tennbengal]

This picture just adds to the bizarre nature of this story.

Gio looks worried in first pic. Probably that GGG was gonna kick him.