The Guardian: Fans treat USMNT like a club side and it could cost Berhalter his job

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There is a disconnect between what can be realistically expected of Berhalter as USMNT head coach and what a large section of the fanbase demands of him that can be attributed to the unique landscape of US soccer. In most other countries, supporters rank club over country. In the US, though, it is largely the inverse.

It might be a generational thing. MLS has, after all, only been around for 28 years. Soccer culture has grown quickly across the US, but it will take generations to develop the sort of deep-rooted club associations that are common elsewhere in the world. The USMNT, however, has been the focal point for American soccer fandom for decades.

While the American soccer ecosystem at club level has continually shifted, the national team has been a constant. They are for all intents and purposes a club team for many supporters. In other countries, discussion about the national team is parked between international windows. The discourse around the USMNT – and the USWNT – on the other hand, never stops.

This is to the US’s credit – the community around the USMNT is among the most vibrant in international soccer. The knock-on impact, however, is that expectations are frequently warped. The USMNT might be a club team to some supporters, but that doesn’t mean Berhalter can coach them like a club side.

The reality is that national team managers are largely in place as figureheads, not coaches. It is their job to ensure a happy camp and the US’s players appear to be behind Berhalter. Christian Pulisic, for one, publicly backed Berhalter amid US Soccer’s rehiring process after the 2022 World Cup.

None of this is to say Berhalter shouldn’t be scrutinised. The US’s current generation of players is among the best the country has ever produced and the 2026 World Cup on home soil is too valuable for US Soccer to simply cross its fingers and hope for the best. If there’s a chance another path would lead to greater success, they have a duty to explore it.

At this time, though, there is no obvious alternative. If not Berhalter, then who? Jesse Marsch interviewed for the job after the 2022 World Cup, but was ultimately passed over and recently hired by Canada. Jim Curtin was another name linked to the job last year, but the Philadelphia Union head coach has no experience outside Major League Soccer. Tata Martino ticked a number of boxes, but joined Lionel Messi at Inter Miami instead.

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