Matt Lichtenstadter
After the first four games of the Gregg Berhalter era, the US men’s national team looks incomplete.
That’s nothing new– having an incomplete picture for the US has been the story since the Couva catastrophe, but this incomplete picture is different. Berhalter’s style, selection and details are still coming into their own in the international game, especially against teams like the Chile team the US played Tuesday night that are not going to put ten behind the ball. No friendly or camp at this stage in a World Cup cycle is particularly enlightening, particularly with this program in a full rebuild, but the seedlings of an identity are beginning to sprout. After a year-plus without one, that’s worth its weight, even in small doses.
Against Chile, Berhalter’s system faced its first test against a team that would take the game to them, and the Americans didn’t hold up well. The US looked flustered at times against Chile’s patented high press and were unable to keep the ball when they did win it back. However, Chile didn’t use many of those moments to create golden scoring chances, and the overall shape of the United States didn’t fall apart when being tested. Berhalter’s preferred shape, after only four games in charge is one that has certain flaws, but when played to its full potential, certainly has the look of a system that can win games. It’s a distinct identity that this team has not had since Bob Bradley was coach, and one that takes time getting used to.
Berhalter is in many ways a fully modern manager in the sense that while the shape and the distinct set of tactics may change, the principles do not.
Even when Berhalter added either Cristian Roldan or Wil Trapp to pair with Michael Bradley, the same set of ideas and principles were still being used, though the shape itself changed- even within games- as we saw Tuesday when the US had to drop Roldan inside and deeper to help corral the masterful Arturo Vidal centrally.
But the in-game adjustment doesn’t belie the central point, which was evident in ESPN’s compelling halftime film session with Berhalter and Taylor Twellman. During that clip, you could see how a desired footballing identity was being implemented against a team in a bunker while trying to prevent them from establishing possession after attacks broke down:
While that specific situation is one in a complex, 90 minute tactical battle, it shows how Berhalter and his staff are preparing his team with an overall set of footballing principles and ideas, even if the specific situations might dictate a different shape or tactical wrinkle.
Against Chile, the US needed to learn how to stay within themselves and their plan against a team that has tactical ideas of their own, including a difficult high press, while against Ecuador, the Americans learned how to stay within themselves against an obstinate team in a bunker, similar to the shapes they will see in this summer’s Gold Cup and later, in CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
Gregg Berhalter is faithful to process, and committed to the idea that lessons from one game can be used in future situations to better apply a specific set of principles and ideas. Players can understand and compartmentalize those ideas and principles, and therefore apply them when the situation dictates without needing a direct instruction from their manager. At times, specifically the Pulisic goal against Chile, you can see the team react to a situation rather than process it in real time. That is a step forward for a team that needs to be able to apply its identity in a variety of situations.
However, the US are not “there” yet.
Berhalter’s specific plan against Chile didn’t work as was hoped because while Chile didn’t create much through the press, they did break lines and attempt to overwhelm Michael Bradley defensively by outmanning and overrunning him in the attacking third and Zone 14, though what the US was trying to do with and without the ball didn’t change appreciably. Only when the US adjusted, dropping Roldan deeper to assist Bradley and DeAndre Yedlin, did the Americans stabilize the game.
What will be critical for the US in winning not just against CONCACAF rivals but against elite opposition, will be applying those lessons in maintaining discipline and system in a variety of situations. It is evident that even as the new staff continues to evaluate the roster and player pool, they are closer to being able to do that at a high level than they were in January. That is progress.
Some players will adapt better and faster to this set of ideas than others, especially those familiar with Berhalter’s process and system.
This hints at why Crew player Gyasi Zardes (and to some extent, his teammate Wil Trapp) appeared particularly comfortable in this camp, with Zardes delivering one of his best performances in a US shirt Tuesday night vs. Chile. One non-negotiable constant for players in Berhalter’s system is that they be capable passers. Zack Steffen is a fantastic distributor from the back, and both John Brooks and Aaron Long are some of the best passers at centerback in the pool. Michael Bradley’s pass to Corey Baird is another example of a player capable of thriving in Berhalter’s system. This early in the process,however, there will naturally be more personnel questions than answers, which includes questions at fullback, the continued debate over whether Pulisic a 10 or a winger, where Tyler Adams fits in, and what to do out wide, where players like Baird may not be the best system fit.
Gregg Berhalter’s USMNT has been all about process for its first two camps.
For a program that needed a cultural overhaul, that’s a good thing.
Time and patience are needed to re-instill belief, trust and an identity for the US Men’s National teamm on and off the pitch. That process might be slowing moving at times, but there have been identifiable markers in the first two camps that signify progress being made. Berhalter’s ideal team, system and structure might not be fully in place by the Gold Cup, but with so much progress being made in such a short period of time, it’s not hard to imagine that day will be coming sooner rather than later.
Trusting the process might not be easy, considering the darkest days for the US program are still fresh and visceral. But this early in a radical cultural overhaul for the national team, that might be something worth investing in. The building blocks are there through four games and the early returns are encouraging.
Matt Lichtenstadter is a freelance journalist who has been a guest writer at TYAC. He is based in Pennsylvania. Follow him on Twitter @MattsMusings1.