Former USA boss Gregg Berhalter is one of the candidates to succeed Russell Martin at Swansea City, we understand.
The 49-year-old is thought to be an attractive proposition for the Swans' American owners as they prepare for life without Martin, who appears to be inching closer to a move to Championship-bound Southampton. You can follow live updates here.
Berhalter, the former US Men's National Team manager, is a new name in the mix, after the likes of former Watford boss Oscar Garcia and Brendan Rodgers' No.2 Chris Davies had been heavily linked in the last few days.
READ MORE: Former USA boss Gregg Berhalter among candidates in the running for Swansea City job
So, just who is Berhalter? And why did he leave his job at the USMNT? We take a closer look at the American and what has led him up to this point...
Playing career
Berhalter grew up in New Jersey and was, in fact, a high school team-mate of former Rangers, Sunderland and Manchester City man Claudio Reyna at at St. Benedict's Prep, which will become significant later on in this article.
The former defender started his professional career in earnest in Holland in 1994 after leaving the University of North Carolina. He signed for Zwolle and stayed for six years in the Netherlands, taking in spells at Sparta Rotterdam (1996-1998) and Cambuur Leeuwarden (1998-2000).
At the turn of the millennium, though, England was on the horizon. Berhalter signed for Crystal Palace and played there for two years, scoring a solitary goal against Bradford City.
He was already an established international by this point and played a significant role for the US Men's National Team at the 2002 World Cup, in doing so he became the first Crystal Palace player to play in a World Cup match.
Berhalter's longest stint as a player at one club came after he left Palace in 2002, turning out for German side FC Energie Cottbus more than 100 times between 2002 and 2006. A three-year stint at 1860 Munich was to follow, where he captained the second-tier side.
He finished his career off with his first spell in his native USA, signing for LA Galaxy for two seasons before announcing his retirement in 2011.
Coaching background
Berhalter initially moved on to the staff at LA Galaxy, serving as assistant coach for one season. But he then took his first gig as No.1 when he was named manager of Swedish outfit Hammarby in December 2011, a second-tier side.
Having spent less than two years in Sweden, though, Berhalter succumbed to the axe. His side was said to be defensively robust, but the reasoning which was given for firing him was a lack of attacking play, with the club's chairman stating at the time: "Gregg has brought order to our defensive game and has good discipline in the squad, but unfortunately we have not seen good enough dividends in the offense."
The States called again for Berhalter, though, and he was out of work for only three months before taking the reins at Columbus Crew. He took on dual roles of head coach and sporting director in Ohio.
Under Berhalter, the team qualified for the play-offs in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018 and reached the MLS Cup 2015 – but lost 2-1 at home to the Portland Timbers. He held a win percentage record of 38.34 percent at Columbus over the course of 193 games.
His country came calling in December 2018, when he was announced as the head coach of the USMNT and it is from then his managerial reputation really kick off.
His win rate with the US team is hugely impressive, coming out victorious in 37 of his 60 games in charge (a win record of 61.67 percent) over a four-year stint. He won the CONCACAF Gold Cup final with a 1-0 win over rivals Mexico, before he led the US to a 2-0 victory over the same opponent in the World Cup qualifying campaign back in Ohio last year, which saw them progress through to the finals in Qatar.
The Americans were unbeaten in the group stages, their opening game at the tournament being the 1-1 draw with Wales when a Gareth Bale penalty near the end rescued Rob Page's team. Page's side had played second fiddle for most of those 90 minutes and went on to lose in demoralising fashion to Iran and England.
Berhalter's USA side, by contrast, drew 0-0 with England and then beat the Iranians in their final group game to seal a passage to the knockout stages. They found the Dutch too strong at that point, were comfortably beaten and went home.
Recent controversy
At the start of this calendar year, following the fallout from the US's World Cup campaign, the American soccer fraternity was gripped by a feud between two of its most famous footballing families.
Berhalter released a public statement in which he admitted to domestic violence. Berhalter's statement, written on Twitter, claimed he kicked his wife, Rosalind, in the legs outside a local bar following a heated argument during his freshman year in college in 1991. The two reconciled after the fight, married and have four children.
US Soccer said in their own statement that they had hired a law firm to conduct an independent investigation into the matter and a full technical review of the men's soccer programme would take place.
Danielle Reyna, the wife of the aforementioned Claudio Reyna and mother of rising US star Giovanni Reyna, announced that she had disclosed details of a 1991 incident — which involved her college room-mate, and Berhalter's wife, Rosalind — to US Soccer Federation sporting director Earnie Stewart, which triggered the investigation to be launched.
Giovanni, who plays for Borussia Dortmund and made his debut for the USMNT against Wales in November 2020, is thought to be one of the country's most exciting prospects. And there is a school of thought which suggests Danielle took the measures of reporting Berhalter after the former USMNT coach used him sparingly in Qatar. Giovanni was told before the Wales game that his role would be limited and has since revealed he did not take the news well.
Giovanni played just seven minutes against England and came on at half-time against the Dutch. Claudio Reyna was reportedly angered by his son's lack of game-time and fired off messages to general team manager Brian McBride, according to ESPN.
The feud continued for weeks until, ultimately, the USMNT announced they would look for a new manager, after hiring Welshman Matt Crocker, formerly of Southampton, as sporting director last month.
Berhalter has been out of work since, but it appears he is on the radar of a number of clubs. Indeed, Swansea's rivals Cardiff City, who are currently on the lookout for Sabri Lamouchi's successor, were initially interested in Berhalter. We reported that the Bluebirds were looking across the Atlantic and in Europe for their next manager and it's our understanding that Berhalter was a person of interest, although that has cooled in recent days.
Reports in the Netherlands in recent days have also linked the manager with the vacant job at PSV following the exit of Ruud van Nistelrooy.
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