These days, an international soccer coach whose form fails to meet the liking of his team’s fans should be steeled to expect the emergence of snarky Twitter handles and hashtags calling for him to be fired. Plus a meme (or a thousand), poking fun at everything from his tactical methods to his choice of clothing.
United States Men’s National Team coach Gregg Berhalter has found himself in the internet crosshairs over the past week and change, a response to a pair of friendly games against Japan and Saudi Arabia that produced desperately disappointing performances and created widespread concern about the squad’s preparedness for the World Cup, now little more than six weeks away.
Yet while the headaches loom large for Berhalter as he gets ready for soccer’s greatest show — even if he steers clear of the online nonsense of @fireberhalter and #firegregg — he may take some solace in the fact he is joining a long line of esteemed soccer men who have had their credentials similarly questioned in the run-up to a major tournament.
Sometimes, the criticism rings true and plays itself out, the warmup performances somehow worsening further in the cauldron of elite competition, and the cries of “told you so” chasing the incumbent out of his job as soon as things are done.
But not always. Some of the most famous triumphs in World Cup history have come from teams that looked unsettled and coaches whom public opinion sneered at just months before glory arrived.
Even the most ardent soccer historian might be hard-pressed to remember specific examples because … that’s how it’s supposed to work. Victory soothes all. No one is minded to recall gloomy predictions that turned out wrong. If a nation finds itself favored enough to raise soccer’s ultimate trophy, it is like the doubt never even existed. But it did.
Argentina’s 1986 World Cup run is one of the most memorable of all time due to the controversial magnificence of Diego Maradona, but heading into that event there was a groundswell for coach Carlos Bilardo to be axed.
“Some even criticized me for picking Maradona as captain,” Bilardo said in later years, according to The Guardian. “We were not even in the list of contenders, but we took advantage of that.”
Same thing for Brazil duo Carlos Alberto Parreira and Luis Felipe Scolari, each widely mocked before spearheading championship runs in 1994 and 2002. Sandwiched between those was France‘s Aimé Jacquet, belittled and derided and accused of over-defensiveness shortly before helping his country win the World Cup on home soil in 1998.
Now, this isn’t a prediction that the U.S. is going to suddenly emerge from the ashes and win it all in Qatar in December. On the evidence of the Japan and Saudi Arabia games, serious improvement is required, not helped any by the reality that the rescheduling of the tournament to winter means there are no more tune-up games.
This isn’t even a call to say “don’t panic,” because soccer fans love to panic, and doing so is a privilege as well as a prerogative. Soccer’s most significant events come around sparingly enough that a high level of urgency, and fan stress, is unavoidable.
“There’s not many players that performed up to their normal levels in this camp, and that’s just how it is,” Berhalter said after the 2-0 defeat to Japan and a 0-0 tie with Saudi Arabia.
But Berhalter is not going to get fired before the World Cup. Doing so at this stage would be outrageously rash and self-defeating by US Soccer, though definitely not unprecedented. The Americans’ Group B opponents Iran recently let their coach go, while Morocco did the same.
In 2018, Spain did it the day before the games began after Julen Lopetegui’s decision to subsequently join Real Madrid caused a ruckus, and they still came within a penalty kick of making the quarterfinals.
Berhalter, who came to the job in 2018 after a long playing career based mostly in Europe and five years coaching Major League Soccer’s Columbus Crew, is going to get his chance after a tenure with no shortage of highs and lows.
With the first game against Wales set for Nov. 21, there is some time for a few things to trend more positively, though not much. Team talisman Christian Pulisic put in a strong showing for Chelsea last weekend and will have some hope of showing new club coach Graham Potter he is worthy of more playing time.
Weston McKennie delivered an outstanding effort for Juventus, and both have Champions League action slated for Wednesday. Pulisic’s Chelsea are preparing for a blockbuster against AC Milan, while Juventus take on Israel’s Maccabi Haifa.
Lower down the U.S. squad, there are still a number of positions to be decided. Being stocked deep in most places, but with only a handful of stars who truly elevate themselves above the pack, is both blessing and curse for Berhalter.
We know only this for sure. The selection won’t be to everyone’s liking, because that is the eternal nature of things. And clearly, right now, there is a section of the fan base that has turned against Berhalter and will criticize what action he takes, deserved or not.
The American soccer public has high demands these days, which is both a reflection on how much more established the game is in this country since the last time the U.S. qualified eight years ago and also a heavy burden for a coach to carry.
There is a lot to deal with, with tweets and hashtags and Berhalter’s own expectations only part of it.
It is not an easy job and probably seems all-consuming, especially right now, as fan skepticism sets in. But this is a World Cup year, and things — as we have seen — can turn around quickly.
That should provide the coach with some consoling, even as he tries to block out the public’s panic.
