Gregg Berhalter has been named as the incoming Chicago Fire Head Coach and Director of Football for the incoming 2025 season.
Gregg Berhalter was dismissed from his position as Head Coach of the US Men’s National Team in July after the team crashed out of the Copa America in the group stage following losses to Panama and Uruguay. Berhalter initially took over the USMNT at the start of 2019 and led the team through the 2022 World Cup. Despite drawing attention for the team’s run to the knockout stages in their return to the big stage, when his contract expired at the turn of the year, Berhalter was not immediately resigned. Instead, mired in controversy, the US Soccer Federation spent months deliberating on the direction of the Men’s National Team before rehiring Berhalter in the summer of 2023.
Berhalter was hired in a period of tremendous turmoil, shortly after the USMNT missed out on the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Over the course of 4 years, Berhalter reshaped the team, turning over nearly all the players who participated in the unsuccessful 2018 qualifying campaign and integrating in an entire cohort of younger players. Over the course of his tenure (tenures?) Berhalter won the Gold Cup (2021) and the CONCACAF Nations League (2019-20, 2023-24).
Prior to the USMNT, Berhalter was a club coach, first with an unsuccessful stint with Hammarby in the Swedish second division, and then with the Columbus Crew from 2013 through 2018. Despite leading the club during a contentious — but ultimately unsuccessful— effort by the team’s owner to relocate the club, Gregg Berhalter’s Columbus Crew side were widely acclaimed within the league, qualifying for the playoffs 4 out of 5 seasons and reaching the MLS Cup Final in 2015.
Prior to coaching, Berhalter had a 17-year long career, spent mostly in Europe, with stops in the Netherlands, England, and Germany. Berhalter wrapped up his career in MLS, with 52 appearances with the LA Galaxy over 3 seasons, winning both the Supporter’s Shield (2010, 2011) and MLS Cup twice (2009, 2011) before retiring at the end of 2011.
Berhalter is joining a Chicago side that has struggled for quite some time. While the club was once among the most successful in the league (winning MLS Cup in their inaugural season), the team has qualified for playoffs only once since 2013 and are mathematically eliminated for contention for a playoff spot in the current season (the team is currently last in the Eastern Conference). The team is struggling both on the field and off, with the club notorious for having little presence in the city. This is in spite of a number of major advantages for the market… Chicago is the third largest city in the country, there is a massive Hispanic population (something like the second largest Mexican American population of any city in the US), a major producer of talent and a direct connection to some of the best college soccer programs in the country, an ownership willing to spend money, etc. The Fire have so many of the pieces to be a really successful club but consistency lack the organization and balance to become consistent and successful. It will be Berhalter’s task to address that and he’s most certainly talking about doing so. This is what he said in a public letter released by the club:
As we turn the page to this new chapter, I want to make one thing clear: we are setting our sights on sustained success. We will create an identity on and off the field that you will be proud of and ensure that the Fire are competitive year in and year out.My vision is simple: Build one of the top clubs in North America. We will focus on building a squad that not only competes at a high level but plays in a way that makes you proud to see them wear our famous red.
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Developing talent from Chicago will remain a priority and the bedrock of our Club. We want to continue to develop a pipeline of talent that starts in our academy and leads into our First Team, producing Homegrown Players who will represent this city and its values.
We will be intentional about bringing in talent that is committed to the Club and city and aligns with the values of our community.Finally, the Endeavor Health Performance Center, which is due to be open by January, will be a catalyst with both developing our young players and maximizing the impact of our First Team players. This commitment to excellence will be a major tool in helping us recruit and develop the players we need to move this Club forward.
What do you think? Do you like this move for the Chicago Fire? What are your thoughts on seeing Berhalter return to MLS? Are you excited to see bounce passes in Soldier Field? Drop us your thoughts in the comments below!
