Gregg Berhalter still hasn't spoken to Gio Reyna, wants to do it 'the right way'
Gregg Berhalter will coach the United States men's national team for the first time since the 2022 FIFA World Cup when the U.S. takes on Uzbekistan and Oman in a pair of friendlies in September.
Berhalter was set to resume as coach of the USMNT immediately following the World Cup, but that process was delayed by an incident involving Claudio and Danielle Reyna, the parents of Gio Reyna. Claudio and Danielle were upset by comments Berhalter made about Gio at a leadership conference during the World Cup and retaliated by reporting a 1991 domestic violence incident involving him and his now-wife Rosalind.
Berhalter was officially brought back as the USMNT coach in June, but in the two months that have passed, he hasn't spoken to Gio, who is expected to be a big part of the United States' future.
"It’s not something where you just pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey bud, here’s how it’s going to be,’" Berhalter told Vanity Fair in an interview published Tuesday. "There is work to be done."
Berhalter also revealed he's consulted "experts in mediation work" in an effort to do things "the right way."
Berhalter said his conversation with Gio will take place before his next call-up. Reyna, 20, only just returned to training with Borussia Dortmund last week, so it's unlikely that he'll be part of the roster that will be revealed Wednesday.
The United States will play Uzbekistan on Sept 9 and Oman on Sept. 12.
