USMNT: Gregg Berhalter building the foundations

The U.S. Men’s National Team have commenced their January camp training sessions. New head coach Gregg Berhalter is now building the foundations for his tenure with the USMNT. These are crucial times indeed.

When building a house, the foundations dictate everything. The height, width, the style, the dissection of the walls. Every little detail of the house is defined by the foundations.

Building an organisation is very similar. And building a football team also. The culture, the philosophies, the tactical elements, the values. They all come together to provide a foundation for the rest of the organisation. And everything that the organisation does flows out of that.

This is the process that Gregg Berhalter is presently embarking on as new head coach of the U.S. Men’s National Team.

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Berhalter is leading his first January training camp this week. Speaking with the media on Tuesday, he acknowledged that the primary aim of the camp is to embed his culture and tactical philosophies:

"“The most important thing we can focus on right now is building the group cohesion and our style of play, and working on that. And there’s no better place to do it than here <…> It’s a great environment to foster one of our main objectives of the camp, and that’s team-building. We’re here, we’re going to be together here, it’s an intensive period but it’s a focused period. I think we’re really going to get quality time together as a team.”"

It is an important and often overlooked process. There is a reason the New England Patriots are challenging for the Super Bowl every year, and it has more to do than who their quarterback happens to be.

D.C. United winger and USMNT hopeful Paul Arriola echoed Berhalter’s sentiments:

"“He’s obviously working on us, to build the culture, to build this new, fresh start for all of us, and I think it’s great. When you get a bunch of guys that have the right mentality, the right energy, and you put a purpose there for us and a way for us to go out onto the field and perform and believe in ourselves, we’re going to be successful.”"

There is a very clear and defined focus of this first training camp: to instill the plans and preparations that Berhalter has for the USMNT deep into his players. Michael Bradley also praised Berhalter’s obsession with football, stating that he approaches coaching with great detail and deliberateness. It is this attention to the minute that Berhalter is now trying to convey. He is building the foundations of his tenure.

This is a critical period for the USMNT. As evidenced by the noticeably instructed style of the Columbus Crew, it is clear that Berhalter has a defined plan that he wants his players to execute. They must first understand his coaching and his ideas if they are to then successfully execute on the pitch.

The foundations are the most important element of any building. The same goes for an organisation. The USMNT is no different. Berhalter is building his legacy. Let’s hope that it is a positive one.