United States forward Christian Pulisic told ESPN there is no need to make wholesale changes to the team as it searches for a new head coach and said the controversy surrounding Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family was “very childish.”
After an independent investigation by the U.S. Soccer Federation, Berhalter was allowed to remain as a candidate for the vacant U.S. men’s national team job, which both Berhalter and his wife, Rosalind, accurately described the nature of the 1992 domestic incident.
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Pulisic said it was “extremely unfortunate” that Berhalter would no longer be the U.S. coach after his contract was not renewed after the 2022 World Cup.
“I’m not here to appoint the next manager – that’s not my job – I’ll play whoever it is and give it 100%,” Pulisic told ESPN’s Graham Hunter in a wide-ranging interview at home. in London.
“Everything that happened with Gregg was handled very childishly, first of all. I think we’ve seen what happens. I think it’s childish, it’s youth football, people complain about playing time. I don’t want to take it too far, but I think Gregg was very unlucky to get to where he is now.”
US interim coach Anthony Hudson previously served as Berhalter’s assistant and he has selected Gio Reina for the upcoming friendlies against Grenada and El Salvador – the midfielder’s first appearance since the World Cup.
Pulisic said the team should waste no time in appointing a permanent coach and he felt the side was heading in the right direction under Berhalter.
The USA finished second in Group B in the Round of 16 after losing 3-1 to the Netherlands at the World Cup in Qatar.
“Do I feel like we have to wait and wait? I don’t think it’s necessary because we’re not like we were in qualifying. [for the 2018 World Cup] then we needed a complete rebuild,” Pulisic said.
“We don’t need new guys coming in. I think we have a strong core — people have seen that and we’ve got to keep it going. It’s hard for me because we’ve got to get it going as quickly as possible. As long as we can and make this World Cup, I think his there were a lot of positives. We want to continue it as soon as possible.”
* Graham Hunter’s full interview with Christian Pulisic will air on ESPN platforms on Friday, March 17.
