U.S. men's national team goalkeeper Matt Turner said the conflict between Gregg Berhalter and Gio Reyna at the 2022 World Cup did not impact the rest of the team, and partially chalked the incident down to a misunderstanding.
Talking to the hosts of Kickin' It on CBS Sports Golazo Network, Turner broke down what happened. "I feel like it didn't," Turner said when asked if the tension affected the locker room. "I know Gio and I know him well and I love the guy, and I know Gregg and I know him well and I love the guy. I just think the whole thing was just a terrible situation, really."
He added that some sort of misunderstanding between Berhalter and Reyna "obviously had to be" part of what caused the fallout because the two had a seemingly solid professional relationship.
"The relationship was there, you know what I mean? They had a preexisting relationship so I just think that the heightened emotions of the moment and the come down from it just made everything sort of spread like wildfire but I just feel like that'll get resolved the way it should get resolved."
“People still want to play for [Berhalter]. The players were involved in those conversations.”@headdturnerr opens up about the Gio Reyna-Gregg Berhalter post-World Cup fallout, and his experience within it. pic.twitter.com/qvjMGqQLBB
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) October 4, 2023
Turner admitted he was not privy to the conversations Berhalter and Reyna had, but confirmed that he and his teammates respected the head coach's decision.
"Coaches have to make tough decisions at all points and by the way, that locker room is so rock solid so again, we were all going to respect whatever decisions that were made," Turner said. "That's just the way that we were and then the culture is that you take the role that you're in and you do it to the best of your ability and that's the expectation from within. Whatever your role is, whatever it might be, you do what you have to do to make this team better and whatever the coach says goes."
The goalkeeper also said that U.S. Soccer reached out to him and other players before Berhalter was re-hired and though he did not want to swing the federation in one direction or another, he feels that Berhalter's re-hiring speaks for itself.
"You turn around and you see that he gets rehired," Turner said. "People still want to play for him. The players were involved in those conversations. … I had a few. I definitely had a few, and that felt good to be in that conversation."
Berhalter's USMNT return to action this month with friendlies against Germany and Ghana on Oct. 14 and Oct. 17, respectively and Gio Reyna makes his return to the squad as the two begin to rebuild their relationship.
USMNT Squad
DEFENDERS (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 12/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 28/2), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution; 7/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 2/0), Tim Ream (Fulham/ENG; 52/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 12/1), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United; 26/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 6/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional/BRA; 7/0), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo/ESP; 17/0), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim/GER; 0/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 46/11), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 29/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund/GER; 20/4), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED;64/0)
FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin/GER; 34/8), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 4/2), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg/GER; 1/0), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 18/9), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 62/26), Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 33/5)
