Gregg Berhalter on USMNT firing: “It still hurts”

It may have been three months since Gregg Berhalter was fired as head coach of the U.S. men’s national team, but the pain still haunts the 51-year-old.

Berhalter, who was recently hired as the Chicago Fire’s next head coach, spent nearly six years with US Soccer. He led the USMNT for 74 games, winning two CONCACAF Nations League titles, a Gold Cup and helping the Americans advance to the round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.

However, his second stint as USMNT head coach lasted just 14 games, with a group stage exit at the 2024 Copa America sealing the end of Berhalter’s role.

Berhalter now has a new opportunity to look forward to in Chicago, but admitted that being fired from his last job was painful for him.

“It’s a really difficult moment when you’re fired as a coach and I don’t want to compare it to life and death at all because that’s not the case. “You’re still alive, but it’s like mourning a dead person,” Berhalter said in a press conference on Thursday. “And you wake up the next day and feel really bad. Your confidence suffers and it’s a really difficult moment.

“For me, it was really about being with my family in those moments and giving myself the time, freedom and space to be sad and feel bad,” he added. “We didn’t perform well in the Copa América and when you don’t perform well at a high level there are consequences and I take full responsibility for that. “But it still hurts.”

Come March, Berhalter will make his first MLS appearance since 2018 as he now aims to get the Fire back on track. Chicago has not made the MLS Cup playoffs in the last seven seasons and has lost 17 league games this year.

Although the Fire have talented players in Brian Gutierrez, Chris Brady and Chris Mueller, they have failed to perform at a consistent level. Berhalter’s past success with the Columbus Crew will certainly excite Fire fans for the future, and the New Jersey native admitted the Fire has growing potential under chairman Joe Mansueto.

“And from there you get motivated, okay? Now I want the next opportunity. “You get hungry again,” said Berhalter. “And during that time, when I was getting hungry, there were a number of options that I was looking at, and I kept coming back to Chicago and the potential and the direction.

“It’s not every day that you get to work for a man like Joe Mansueto, who knows what top level is and how to build something really good and sustainable,” he added.

The Fire complete their 2024 league schedule at home against Nashville SC on Saturday.