gregg berhalter, another great us defender

Great? Berhalter? After the win against Mexico you dont even have to play to be getting rave reviews.

Hes solid, and very strong in the air, but he has some holes in his game, namely, when having to mark players who are very skilled on the ball, and with good speed. because he is neither fast, nor fluid in his movements. Hes ideally suited to the German game, which is why hes doing well there, but lets not get carried away.

Which isnt to say I dislike the guy, but c'mon, lets not go overboard here.

 

wasn't sure how you wrote this, but he did have a full season with cottbus in bundesliga1 two - or 3? - years ago.

berhalter is doing great. sounds like he's having an incredible year.

 

He's another situational player. I'd put him in the Armas category...if the World Cup were this summer, include him on the 23 man roster, because Greg is someone you'd want to start against a tall team, or put in late to hold a lead (when the other team is just putting the ball into the mixer.) Greg also is a pretty decent passer, and can actually make an aggressive pass. If you've noticed how much more fluid the US has been with Pablo Mastroenni playing in the central defense, you know how great it is to have a player like that in the back.

 

we do tend to have short memories here. i feel very comfortable w/ gb on our wc squad- off the bench or via last minute injury- great insurance policy.

 

That's what we been lacking. A player who can start an attack from the back (esp. with Armas as our d-mid since it takes the pressure off him to start the attack). Pablo played a great game from the back but I think Ougchi Onyewu is a better defender plus offensive player.

 

I am curious how you know this- do you get Belgian TV? Seriously.

 

I know by watching him play in U-17 and U-20 tournament. Judging his play in those games and his oversea experiences, I could tell you he's as good as Donovan, Beasley and Convey in terms of development. In fact, I think OO will be the best player in that 1999 U-17 team. We'll all see what he could do in June.

 

My sentiments exactly. Berhalter is perfect for B2, overmatched in B1, and overmatched internationally, mostly because of his lack of speed. He's a smart player, good in the air, with decent ball skills.

 

Doubt it, but I hope you are right.He has certainly not blown people's socks off in Europe.

 

How do you know that? Do you have Belgain TV? Seriously?

 

Berhalter is probably my favorite National team player.

He's big, slow, and good with his head.... like me

Berhalter in a three man backline with pope and bocanegra is a pretty imposing and skilled group. I think that in some positions we have more depth than we might realize. Gregg will be a bit old by 2006, but don't count him out. He's a class player.

 

He is playing for a mediocre team in Belgium. Under no circumstances is a guy on loan from a French team to a Belgian team knocking socks off.

 

Well I wouldnt go quite so far to say as to say hes overmatched in BL1. A journeyman level player maybe, not a bad guy to have on the roster, but not one you want to be building around.

 

The best thing Berhalter has going for him is that he and Eddie Pope have always played well together. I cannot remember a single game when those two teamed up and didn't play a great defensive match. Sometimes the total is more than the sum of its parts. When Berhalter and Pope combine their individual strengths, they each raise their level of play that much higher.

As long as he's partnered with Pope, I've got no problems - against the right opponent - with Greg in the back.

 

I remember watching Berhalter at my first Nats game in Birmingham in 2002. I got back, came on BS, and he was getting slagged. I thought he had played a very good game. One reason is, and this is something that's easier to notice from the stands, he completely intimdated the Ecuador side away from launching long balls. At some point they just stopped, because he was vacuuming them up. They started attacking on the ground, running right into Armas, which of course is cherry-picking for Chris. That's why everyone was deservedly praising Armas for his play that day. I think Chris and Greg tend to be a hidden pair that play really well together. But that was one of those times when I thought a player didn't get the notice because his effect on the game was not what was happening but rather what wasn't happening.

 

Pope and Berhalter have played together since college, so it is no wonder they have a good understanding for one another. The thing about Gregg, is that he is not flashy or overly skilled by any means, but he goes about his job with efficiency and 110% effort. He is good in the air and a threat on set pieces, and a good organiser as well. Our team's backline is going through something of a transition with the emergence of Boca, Gibbs, Dolo, etc in the last few years, and Gregg's experience in this proccess is invaluable. He may not be around for 2006, but he is currently on form and definetly has a role to play in our next cycle of qualifiers. Id take his experience in the center over any other player, with the exception of Boca.

 

His coach did not think he was up to France 1.A good league but not a great league. Metz was fighting for their lives so if they thought he could help they would hardly send him out on a year loan.

 

IMO Berhalter is a good choice for the USMNT when playing teams with tall, powerful, but not particularly quick forwards (usually European teams). Where Berhalter is not a good fit is against forwards with speed, quickness, and great balls skills (usually Latin America teams). As of today, IMO we have three central defenders who can handle both styles extremely well: Pope, Bocanegra, Gibbs. Others are developing but not there yet. Players like Berhalter and Califf are valuable against the "power forwards" and Mastroeni and Garcia are valuable against "speed forwards". It's all about matchups.

 

If Jamaica starts Onandi Lowe, for example, that would be a perfect match-up for someone like Berhalter, whereas I wouldn't want to see him go up against Mastroeni.

Mastro will do better in the El Salvador games, I imagine.

 

Exactly right. I think Pope is the best all-around defender, and Gibbs is looking promising.

 

Uh, why the assumption that Mastroeni cant take bigger forwards? Seemed not to have a problem with size against Poland. Borgetti isnt exactly a midget either.

 

I am not saying Mastroeni cannot play against bigger forward, I just would not rate it as a "strength". IMO Berhalter would be a better choice against a "power forward". While Borgetti is not a midget, he uses skill and quickness more than strength in his game, so Mastroeni was a good matchup. I am overall generalizing, but IMO Mastroeni is not on the same level as Pope, Bocanegra, and Gibbs when it comes to marking a "power forward". If I had a choice between teaming up Berhalter or Mastoeni with say Pope against a team like Poland, I would pick Berhalter. However, if I were in the same position against Costa Rica, I would want Mastroeni.

 

The presumption still is that there is a weakness to Mastroeni's game against bigger physical forwards, which at this time I havent seen demonstrated. Im not saying its not possible that a bigger forward could take advantage of him, Im just saying that I havent seen it yet, so Im not going to assume it will happen because hes not 6'2". On the other hand, Berhalter has demonstrated weaknesses when ive watched him that would make me not want to put him on the field against a team that likes to attack with quick players with the ball at their feet.