Gregg Berhalter’s back, and he’s bringing some new faces with him.
From the Gio Reyna situation to Lionel Messi’s MLS impact and beyond, Berhalter addressed a broad spectrum of topics Wednesday as he named the first US men’s national team roster of his second cycle in charge of the program, which begins several months later than usual thanks to the unprecedented drama around Reyna and his family last winter.
The group that will face Uzbekistan (Sept. 9) and Oman (Sept. 12) in next month’s friendlies at St. Louis CITY SC’s CITYPARK and Minnesota United FC’s Allianz Field, respectively, features four current MLS-based players and eight who began their professional careers in the league. And two of its four uncapped members hail from the Inter Miami side revitalized by the mid-July arrival of Messi, including the youngest face on the squad, Argentine-American dual-national starlet Benjamin Cremaschi.
Just another example of “the Messi effect”? Not entirely, noted Berhalter.
“So we had Benja in camp in October prior to the World Cup, he was with the U-20 group and he immediately caught my eye for his just tenacity, and his relentlessness,” said the coach, full of praise for Miami’s “excellent” 18-year-old homegrown midfielder in an online media availability. “He's a kid that, he was playing out of position that camp, played wing or sometimes forward, but he never quit. He never gave up, he kept running – I mean, he was running himself silly. And it really showed me what his mindset was like and I was really impressed with that.
“Now, watching his progress with Inter Miami, he's done a great job. And this, it's not only post-Messi. I think even pre-Messi, you see that he had some ability,” continued Berhalter. “Just a really dynamic player and a guy who gives everything on the pitch. So I'm really excited, the staff is really excited to be working with him, bring him in the camp and see what he can do with our team. And we have high expectations for him at such a young age.”
USA or Argentina?
The son of Argentine expatriates, Cremaschi has also spent time in their motherland’s youth system and his father wore the nation’s colors in rugby. Those ties, plus the obvious influence of the iconic Messi, who continues to lead the Albicelesete in the wake of their long-sought World Cup triumph in Qatar last autumn, have many USMNT fans feeling bearish about the prospects of winning this recruiting battle.
With the Yanks’ track record of winning over dual nationals on his watch, though, Berhalter’s not about to concede.
“All we try to do is put our best foot forward. We try to let the environment speak for itself, we try to let the staffing and the player pool speak for itself and what we can offer the player,” he said. “We talk to Ben about being able to come into the group and fit into what we're doing, to represent the United States of America, which is a wonderful honor.
“He grew up here, he’s played for our youth team programs in the past and that's where it starts. Our youth national teams are really integral in helping us make early contact with these players and then bring them throughout system, and he's another example of that. … It's such a strong culture on the team that I’m sure he’s going to feel welcomed and comfortable in our environment.”
Cremaschi’s teammate Drake Callender is also seeking his first USMNT cap, though it’s his second camp call-up. From his busy shot-stopping during Miami’s woeful first half of the season to his heroics in their Leagues Cup title run, the goalkeeper “really played his way onto the team” with his 2023 body of work for the Herons, explained Berhalter.
“With Drake, it's been more of this steady ascent,” said the coach, who is expected to keep incumbent starter Matt Turner on the top of the GK depth chart for the time being. “This is his second year that he's been playing [regularly] and he's getting games under his belt and you can see that he's growing in confidence. Just really athletic, I think really good timing coming out and catching crosses, very good shot-stopper. Unfortunately for him, he had a lot of action to do early in the year at Inter Miami, but he's done a great job.”
Talks pending with Gio
Reyna was also a central topic of Berhalter’s Q&A with reporters. The coach confirmed he has yet to speak with the New York City FC academy product since he was rehired for the USMNT job, acknowledging the fallout from the stunning controversy that erupted between the two previously close-knit families regarding Reyna’s limited playing time in Qatar.
“Those are conversations that I look forward to, it's just understanding sensitivities around it, right?” said Berhalter of the Borussia Dortmund star, who has not completed his recovery from a calf injury in time for the US September matches. “I mean, he's a young player. I think for everyone involved, there's been a lot over the last six months, and we just want to do it in the best possible way to put him in position to help the team in a way that we know he can. And unfortunately, he was ruled out for this camp, but I look forward to continuing to monitor his progress at Dortmund and hopefully getting him back into camp in October [when the USMNT host friendlies vs. Germany and Ghana].
“For us, it's understanding the sensitivity around the issues, understanding the right time in the right way … we're committed to every single player in this player pool and for us, how do we maximize communication with them and target it in a way that we're getting the most out of each and every player? So for this, it's just being a little bit more thoughtful, a little bit more sensitive to the past.”
