Sport: Soccer
Born: August 1, 1973
Town: Tenafly, New Jersey
Gregg Matthew Berhalter was born August 1, 1973 in Englewood and grew up in neighboring Tenafly, NJ. He excelled in a number of sports, but particularly as a soccer fullback and halfback. As a teenager, he enrolled at St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, where he teamed with Claudio Reyna and Petter Villegas to give the Gray Bees a powerhouse squad. St. Benedict’s won the state championship in 1989 and 1990; both squads went undefeated and the 1990 team was ranked #1 in the nation.
Highly recruited out of high school, Gregg accepted a scholarship at North Carolina and became one of the greatest players in Tar Heels history. In three varsity seasons, playing primarily on defense, he scored 13 goals and had 10 assists. Gregg was an All-American as a sophomore and junior. He left school in 1994, prior to his senior season, after receiving an offer to turn pro with FC Zwolle, a Dutch team renowned for developing young players for first division-clubs. That same year, Gregg made his first appearance for Team USA, against Saudi Arabia in an October match.
Over the next 15 years, Gregg distinguished himself as one of the top American players in European soccer. He played more than 100 games for German club Energie Cottbus, serving as captain. He also captained 1860 Munich for three seasons. During his European career, Gregg made 44 appearances for Team USA in international play. He took injured Jeff Agoos’s place in the starting lineup during World Cup 2002.
In 2009, Gregg returned to the US to play for the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer. He teamed on defense with 20-year-old Omar Gonzalez and cut the team’s goals-against in half. Gonzalez won Rookie of the Year. In the playoffs that fall, Gregg’s first MLS goal propelled the Galaxy into an MLS Cup meeting with Real Salt Lake. Salt Lake won the championship on penalty kicks. In 2010, the Galaxy fashioned the league’s top record, and further reduced their goals-against. Gregg retired at 38 as a player following the 2011 campaign. It was quite a send-off, as the Galaxy defeated Houston in the MLS Cup.
Gregg spent one year as an assistant with the Galaxy and then moved back to Europe as coach of the Swedish team Hammarby Fotball. He became head coach of the Columbus Crew in 2014 and led them to the playoffs four years in a row—including an appearance in the 2015 MLS Cup final (a loss to the Portland Timbers).
Gregg was named head coach of the US men’s national squad in 2018 after the team failed to qualify for the World Cup. He went about assembling a young, fast, dynamic team that won the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup and qualify for World Cup 2022 in Qatar. Team USA performed well enough against Wales, England and Iran in group play to reach the knockout round of 16. In their meeting with the Netherlands, however, Team USA’s inexperience on the world stage shows in a 3–1 loss.
After the World Cup, USA Soccer did not renew Gregg’s contract following an allegation that he had physically abused his wife in an incident that dated back to their college years. After an investigation, Gregg was cleared of any wrongdoing and rehired as Team USA coach. The investigation had been triggered by Claudio Reyna and his wife—teammates of the Berhalters at UNC—after Gregg had criticized their son Gio’s play during the World Cup.