The decades-long relationship that fractured throughout the 2022 World Cup started on grass fields in northern New Jersey. It exploded into the general public eye not too long ago as a feud, a messy net of American soccer insanity; however for over 30 years, it was as tight as may very well be. Danielle Reyna and Rosalind Berhalter “talked every single day for many years,” based on Gregg Berhalter. He and Claudio Reyna, in the meantime, turned “finest pals” as children.
Their worlds collided fantastically on the College of North Carolina, after which with U.S. soccer nationwide groups. They grew collectively as {couples}, then as households, celebrating one another’s marriages and youngsters as they went. They each produced soccer-playing sons, and have become two of the game’s most distinguished households. With Gregg because the USMNT’s coach and Gio Reyna as considered one of its most proficient gamers, their fairytale appeared set to culminate in Qatar.
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As an alternative, it ruptured. Enjoying time disputes and helicopter parenting and mistakenly printed feedback led to an investigation, and the unearthing of a decades-old assault. The story of the Berhalters and the Reynas, as soon as significant and magical, disintegrated into an unpleasant cleaning soap opera.
And an advanced one, with numerous tentacles and twists and turns. Under is a timeline of how issues unfolded.
Beginnings of the Berhalter-Reyna relationship
Nineteen Eighties — Gregg Berhalter and Claudio Reyna develop into pals and youth teammates, and later highschool classmates, in northern New Jersey. They performed collectively on a membership group coached by Claudio’s father, after which at Saint Benedict’s Prep. They have been, in Gregg’s phrases, “finest pals rising up.”
1991 — Gregg, Rosalind Santana and Danielle Egan enroll on the College of North Carolina to play soccer. Rosalind and Danielle develop into roommates and “finest pals,” based on Danielle. Gregg meets Rosalind throughout his first week on campus — throughout preseason, two teammates launched the soon-to-be couple whereas Rosalind and Danielle have been working on the UNC observe, based on Gregg’s 2022 retelling. “There was a well-known feeling once we spoke,” Gregg would later write. “It felt like we had identified one another for years.” They quickly started relationship.
January 1992 — Gregg and Rosalind, out consuming on the Gamers nightclub on Chapel Hill’s well-known Franklin Road, get right into a heated argument. Round midnight, they go away the bar and proceed screaming at one another throughout the road. Rosalind both hits or scratches Gregg’s face. Gregg, in response, pushes Rosalind to the bottom and kicks her. A bystander then tackles Gregg, presumably to forestall additional hurt. Rosalind returns to Gamers, finds Danielle, they usually return to her dorm room.
The next day, each Gregg and Rosalind inform their respective mother and father in regards to the incident, and report it to their respective UNC soccer coaches. Gregg tries to apologize to Rosalind — and in the end sends her an apology observe, a music mixtape and flowers — however Rosalind shuts him down and cuts off the connection.
Over subsequent months, Gregg seeks counseling and largely stays away from Rosalind and different “athlete locations.”
Fall 1992 — Gregg and Rosalind reconcile and start relationship once more. They’ve been collectively ever since.
1994 — Gregg leaves North Carolina to play professionally in Europe. He additionally earns his first call-up to the U.S. males’s nationwide group — the place, over the subsequent decade-plus, he reconnects with Claudio, who had additionally gone to Europe to play professionally after just a few years in school on the College of Virginia. Even outdoors of nationwide group camps, Claudio would later inform Yahoo Sports activities, the 2 spoke “on a regular basis”; they have been “very shut.”
1994 — Danielle debuts for the U.S. ladies’s nationwide group in 1993. In ’94, she and Claudio meet whereas the lads’s and ladies’s nationwide groups are each in camp in Southern California. They start speaking repeatedly, and shortly develop into boyfriend and girlfriend.
Late Nineties — Danielle and Claudio get married. Gregg and Rosalind additionally get married. In line with Gregg’s USMNT gamers affiliation bio, Claudio was his finest man on the Berhalter marriage ceremony. Danielle was additionally within the marriage ceremony, based on Rosalind.
2002 — Gregg and Claudio each play important roles for the USMNT on its run to the World Cup quarterfinals. Over 12 years, Claudio specifically established himself as considered one of America’s most completed male gamers ever.
Gio Reyna rises, Gregg Berhalter turns into his coach
2002 — The Reynas have their second son, Giovanni Alejandro Reyna.
2010s — Gio rises by way of the academy at New York Metropolis FC, the MLS membership the place his dad, Claudio, was technical director. Gio then strikes to Borussia Dortmund in 2019, at age 16, as probably the most extremely touted U.S. youth prospects ever.
2016-19 — As Gio rises, Claudio periodically complains to U.S. Soccer officers about every part from Gio’s coaches to referees. His habits would later be described by one unnamed individual as “inappropriate,” “bullying,” and “mean-spirited.” Particularly, throughout the 2019 Underneath-17 World Cup, Claudio texted Gregg that U.S. U-17 coach Raphaël Wicky is “the worst coach.” (The U.S. didn’t win a sport on the match, ending backside of its group, with one purpose scored and eight conceded.)
2018 — Gregg, after stints teaching in Sweden after which in MLS with the Columbus Crew, will get employed to educate the USMNT. He was picked by Earnie Stewart, then the USMNT’s first GM, and previously a USMNT teammate of each Gregg and Claudio for a decade. (Gregg’s brother, Jay, was the U.S. Soccer Federation’s chief industrial officer on the time.)
2020 — Gio, who has ascended to Borussia Dortmund’s first group, debuts for the senior U.S. nationwide group. Gregg would later describe the sensation of teaching him as “virtually such as you’re placing a member of the family within the sport.” He advised an ESPN podcast in 2022: “Now because the nationwide group supervisor it turns into a unique relationship, however the connection is all the time there. The bond is all the time there. Our households are very shut.”
2021-22 — Gio begins key video games for the USMNT — specifically, the Nations League ultimate and the World Cup qualifying opener — however then struggles with hamstring accidents. He would make it by way of only one full sport between September 2021 and the 2022 World Cup. He appeared off the bench for the USMNT in three March 2022 qualifiers. He felt someplace near 100% main into the World Cup, however had been supplanted in Berhalter’s most popular beginning 11 by Tim Weah.
Drama on the 2022 World Cup
November 2022 — According to Gio, Berhalter advised him previous to the USMNT’s Nov. 21 opener “that my position on the match can be very restricted.” Neither Berhalter nor Gio has gone into element on what, precisely, that dialog entailed.
Gio would later acknowledge that he “let my feelings get the most effective of me and have an effect on my coaching and habits for just a few days after studying about my restricted position.” Throughout a Nov. 17 scrimmage towards a neighborhood Qatari membership group, he “stroll[ed] round, and mope[d] round the entire time,” Stewart would later inform investigators. Berhalter spoke with Gio afterward, however Gio’s noticeable lack of effort continued.
Nov. 21 — Reyna doesn’t play within the USMNT’s World Cup-opening 1-1 draw with Wales. Berhalter, at his post-match information convention, says that he went with Jordan Morris off the bench as a substitute of Reyna as a result of he felt that Morris “might give us one thing with pace and energy” within the second half. Berhalter additionally talked about “slightly little bit of [muscle] tightness that we have been guarding towards.” The group’s employees “did a last-minute verify yesterday to ensure he was OK, and I believe he is gonna be OK, can envision him enjoying some position towards England [on Friday],” Berhalter stated. “However right this moment, we thought, simply given the character of the sport, it was too quickly.”
Reyna, talking shortly thereafter within the combined zone, acknowledged a “little little bit of tightness over the previous couple of days,” however stated he “undoubtedly felt 100% going into right this moment.”
Nov. 21-22 — Claudio texts Stewart that night time: “What an entire and utter f***ing joke. Our household is disgusted in case you’re questioning. Disgusted at how a coach is allowed to by no means be challenged and do no matter he needs.”
He additionally texts USMNT common supervisor Brian McBride — one other former teammate and “shut good friend”: “Our total household is disgusted, indignant, and completed with you guys. Don’t count on good feedback from anybody in our household about US Soccer. I’m being clear to you not just like the political clown present of the federation.”
Danielle, in the meantime, refuses to board a bus that her household had been sharing with Berhalter’s household for transportation to and from matches.
The next day, at a lunch occasion for USMNT households and pals, based on an unnamed witness, she says one thing to the impact of: “As soon as this match is over, I could make one cellphone name and provides one interview, and [Gregg’s] cool sneakers and bounce passes can be gone.”
Nov. 22-24 — Gio’s habits reportedly continues into coaching between the Wales sport and the USMNT’s Nov. 25 showdown with England. In line with Stewart, Berhalter leads discussions amongst coaches and U.S. Soccer officers about whether or not to ship Gio residence. Stewart stated it was a balanced, goal dialog,” investigators would later write. “Finally, on the finish of the dialogue Mr. Berhalter made the choice to let Gio Reyna keep” — so long as he apologized to teammates and corrected his habits. Gio in the end did each of these issues, and the problem subsided.
Nov. 24 — On Thanksgiving, because the group prepares for England, McBride and Stewart meet with Danielle and Claudio to assist the Reynas perceive Gio’s lack of enjoying time, based on McBride. Throughout that assembly, per McBride, Claudio says: “You guys don’t even know what we find out about Gregg.”
Nov. 25 — Gio performs eight forgettable minutes towards England in a 0-0 draw.
Dec. 3 — Down 2-0 to the Netherlands within the Spherical of 16, Gregg inserts Gio as a halftime sub. He performs 21 minutes as a false 9, then the rest of the sport in his typical attacking midfield place, and is basically ineffective. The U.S. loses 3-1. Gio declines to talk with reporters within the combined zone after the sport.
World Cup aftermath: Drama explodes into public view
Dec. 6 — En route residence from Qatar, Gregg attends and speaks on the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Ethical Management. He’s interviewed on stage by the HOW Institute’s founder and chairman, Dov Seidman. However the occasion is adhering to the Chatham House Rule, which means his feedback aren’t presupposed to be printed and attributed to him. He believes every part is “off the file.”
Nevertheless, a third-party publicist representing the HOW Institute advised Kevin Delaney, who was attending the summit as CEO and editor-in-chief of Charter, that Berhalter’s session was “open press.” When Delaney adopted up after the session to double-check, he was once more advised by the publicist that “Greg’s interview is on the file.” (The HOW Institute declined to touch upon the obvious breakdown in communication.)
Dec. 11 — Delaney publishes a lightly edited transcript of Berhalter’s comments, together with the next passage:
“On this final World Cup, we had a participant that was clearly not assembly expectations on and off the sector. One in every of 26 gamers, so it stood out. As a employees, we sat collectively for hours deliberating what we have been going to do with this participant. We have been able to ebook a aircraft ticket residence, that is how excessive it was. And what it got here right down to was, we’ll have yet another dialog with him, and a part of the dialog was how we’ll behave from right here out. There aren’t going to be any extra infractions.
“However the different factor we stated to him was, you are going to must apologize to the group, however it is going to must say why you’re apologizing. It’ll must go deeper than simply ‘Guys, I am sorry.’ And I prepped the management group with this. I stated, ‘Okay, this man’s going to apologize to you as a bunch, to the entire group.’ And what was incredible on this entire factor is that after he apologized, they stood up one after the other and stated, ‘Hear, it hasn’t been adequate, You haven’t been assembly our expectations of a teammate and we need to see change.’ They actually took possession of that course of. And from that day on there have been no points with this participant.
“As a coach, the best way you possibly can cope with issues most appropriately goes again to your values. As a result of it is tough to ship a participant residence. It was going to be a large controversy. You’d have been studying about it for 5 days straight. However we have been ready to do it, as a result of he wasn’t assembly the requirements of the group, and the group was ready to do it as properly.”
Dec. 11 — Hours later, The Athletic publishes a story that it had already reported earlier than Berhalter’s feedback circulated. The story particulars how Gio Reyna “confirmed an alarming lack of effort in coaching forward of the U.S.’s opening match,” and the way he in the end apologized to teammates.
Dec. 11 — With the feedback and studies circulating, Claudio texts Stewart. Claudio and Danielle then converse with Stewart for round an hour on the cellphone. “I needed to let him know that I used to be completely outraged and [devastated] that Gio had been put in such a horrible place, and that I felt very personally betrayed by the actions of somebody my household had thought of a good friend for many years,” Danielle would later say in a press release, referring to Gregg.
Towards the tip of the dialog, Danielle tells Stewart in regards to the early-’90s incident involving Gregg and Rosalind as a result of, she’d later say, “I assumed it was particularly unfair that Gio, who had apologized for performing immaturely about his enjoying time, was nonetheless being dragged by way of the mud when Gregg had requested for and acquired forgiveness for doing one thing a lot worse on the identical age,” Danielle would later say.
Stewart then studies the alleged incident to U.S. Soccer senior counsel Alison Kocoras. Kocoras would later relay to investigators that Danielle advised Stewart that, though she’d by no means “go public” with the 1992 assault allegation, she’d begin speaking about it with folks privately.
Quickly thereafter, U.S. Soccer hires the Alston & Fowl regulation agency to analyze.
Dec. 20-21 — Stewart speaks with the investigating attorneys. So does Gregg, who closes the interview by providing to assist the attorneys organize an interview with Rosalind — who speaks with them the next day, with out Gregg current.
Dec. 31 — Gregg’s contract with U.S. Soccer expires.
Jan. 3, 2023 — In a statement signed by both Gregg and Rosalind, and posted to a newly created Twitter account under Gregg’s name, Gregg particulars the early-’90s incident. He calls it “some private info which a 3rd celebration has used towards my household and me,” and says: “Through the World Cup, a person contacted U.S. Soccer, saying that they’d details about me that might ‘take me down’ — an obvious effort to leverage one thing very private from way back to convey in regards to the finish of my relationship with U.S. Soccer. It is a tough step to take, however my spouse, Rosalind, and I need to clearly and straight share the reality.”
Minutes later, U.S. Soccer releases a complicated assertion saying that the investigation is ongoing, and has been “expanded” to look into “potential inappropriate habits in direction of a number of members of our employees by people outdoors of our group.”
“We admire Gregg and Rosalind coming ahead to talk brazenly about this incident,” the federation stated, and dedicated to sharing “the outcomes of the investigation publicly when it’s full.”
Jan. 4 — Danielle admits to telling Stewart in regards to the decades-old incident. In a press release, she says that Gregg’s description of it a day earlier “considerably reduce[d] the abuse on the night time in query.” She says she thought her Dec. 11 dialog with Stewart “would stay in confidence, and it didn’t happen to me on the time that something I stated might result in an investigation.”
“I perceive now he had an obligation to analyze what I shared,” Danielle’s assertion continued. “However I need to be very clear that I didn’t ask for Gregg to be fired, I didn’t make any threats, and I don’t know something about any blackmail makes an attempt, nor have I ever had any discussions about anybody else on Gregg’s employees — I don’t know any of the opposite coaches. I didn’t talk with anybody in U.S. Soccer about this matter earlier than December 11, and nobody else in my household has made any statements to U.S. Soccer relating to Gregg’s previous in any respect.
“I’m sorry that this info turned public, and I remorse that I performed a task in one thing that would reopen wounds from the previous.”
Claudio, in a corresponding assertion, stated: “I help my spouse, Danielle, and her assertion. I too was upset by Gregg’s feedback about Gio after the U.S. was out of the World Cup, and I additionally appealed to Earnie Stewart on December 11 asking him to forestall any further feedback.
“Whereas in Qatar, I shared my frustrations about my son’s World Cup expertise with numerous shut pals, Earnie and Brian McBride amongst them. Nevertheless, at no time did I ever threaten anybody, nor would I ever accomplish that.”
Jan. 5 — Gregg speaks publicly for the primary time because the World Cup. In a live-streamed interview with the Harvard Enterprise Evaluation, when requested in regards to the Reyna saga, he says his “total household is saddened by these occasions.”
“The worst a part of it for me is, my coronary heart aches for my spouse,” he says. “As a result of it was her story to inform, if she selected to or not. … I really feel tremendously dangerous that my career needed to convey this to the general public gentle.”
Gregg additionally says that he’d “wish to proceed in my position” as USMNT head coach. U.S. Soccer officers, together with Stewart, had stated lower than 24 hours earlier that Berhalter was nonetheless a candidate for the job transferring ahead, however {that a} determination wouldn’t be made till after the completion of the investigation.
Jan. 19 — Stewart tells the U.S. Soccer board of administrators that McBride gained’t return as USMNT GM. McBride later says that he made the choice lengthy earlier than the World Cup, in October.
January — Stewart decides to depart U.S. Soccer and take a job in his native Netherlands, as PSV Eindhoven’s director of soccer.
Jan. 26 — U.S. Soccer broadcasts Stewart’s impending departure, and says it has retained the consulting agency Sportsology to assist lead the seek for a brand new sporting director and reassess the federation’s total sporting construction.
In a press release by way of U.S. Soccer, Stewart says: “When the chance arose to return to the Netherlands to pursue an thrilling and difficult position that was close to my household, I couldn’t flip it down.”
Batson says that the Berhalter-Reyna saga had “no affect in any respect” on Stewart’s departure.
Jan. 26 — A number of hours after U.S. Soccer introduced Stewart’s departure, Austin FC broadcasts that Claudio Reyna is “stepping down” because the MLS membership’s sporting director and “transitioning” right into a “technical advisor position.” The membership didn’t point out the Berhalter saga, and didn’t describe what Reyna’s new position would entail. A membership spokesman didn’t reply to an electronic mail looking for clarification on that and different particulars.
March 13 — U.S. Soccer releases Alston & Bird’s report, which finds no authorized impediments to Berhalter’s future employment. In a corresponding statement, U.S. Soccer says that Berhalter “stays a candidate to function” USMNT coach.
The federation additionally confirms that it has begun interviewing candidates for the vacant sporting director place. The brand new sporting director will then be chargeable for the top teaching rent.