A recent debacle at the top of the game in America caused uproar. But the same patterns are repeated through the sport in the US
The American soccer community is still reeling from the fallout between former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family. It left the men’s soccer program in an absolute shambles – without a head coach, sporting director, or general manager. The whole thing is a mess, and yet we see similar things in soccer across the US every day. It’s a product of the industry we’ve created. Parents feel entitled because they hand over big money for their child to play – they effectively pay to have an opinion.
As the men’s game in America continues to stall – the women’s game is still thriving after two successive World Cup victories – the rest of the world looks at us and wonders why we can’t figure it out. Why is US soccer still a laughing stock?
Eric Wynalda is a broadcaster who scored 34 goals in 106 appearances for USA and played at three World Cups
