Back for his third season with the Galaxy, Gregg Berhalter has the added responsibility of serving as one of the club’s assistant coaches this season, a position that he took on in January. A natural leader in the heart of the LA defense, injuries limited Berhalter’s playing time last season, especially at the end of the year when he appeared in just one of the club’s final 10 regular season games. The 37-year-old is healthy now and will look to return to the form that saw him help turn the LA defense from the league’s worst to one of the best in 2009, while also mentoring the club’s young core of defenders.
MLS Highlights
2010: Was limited to 16 games in his second season with the Galaxy, missing two months of action at the end of the season with various injuries. After missing the first four games of the year with a knee injury, Berhalter started in each of the next 13 games, playing the full 90 minutes in 12 of those. The Galaxy were 8-2-3 in those games and kept seven clean sheets while allowing more than one goal just once. He was on the field and played the full 90 minutes in the 1-0 win over New York at Red Bull Arena on 8/14, helping LA keep their penultimate clean sheet of the year. However, an injury that he suffered in that game limited him to just one regular season appearance and one postseason appearance, when he came on late in the 1-0 win at Seattle on 10/31, the rest of the year. Berhalter did not play in either of the club’s Open Cup games, but did start the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Preliminary Round series against Puerto Rico at The Home Depot Center. 2009: Signed with the Galaxy on 4/3 and was on the bench for the club a day later for the 3-2 loss vs. Colorado. He made his debut in a U.S. Open Cup Play-In Game against Colorado, playing 74 minutes in central defense. Berhalter’s MLS debut came four days later on 4/11 in the first installment of the Honda SuperClasico vs. Chivas USA. He was sent off in the 79th minute of that game, becoming the seventh player in league history and the first Galaxy player ever to be sent off on his league debut. Berhalter was also sent off in the second half of the 1-1 draw vs. Kansas City on 5/30. He played the full 90 minutes in the other 24 league games in which he appeared in, helping the Galaxy keep a club record 12 clean sheets and allow 31 fewer goals than the season before. His 2,298 minutes played were the second most on the team while his 41 fouls committed were the most on the club and his 29 fouls suffered were tied for the third most on the team. In the postseason, Berhalter was one of three players to play in every minute of all four of the Galaxy’s games. He scored his first-ever goal for the club in extra time of the Western Conference Championship vs. Houston, tallying the game-winning goal from close range in the 103rd minute of that game to send LA to MLS Cup. At MLS Cup, Berhalter played the full 120 minutes and successfully converted his penalty attempt in the game’s deciding shootout.
Career Highlights
2006-09: Spent three seasons with TSV 1860 Munich of the Second Bundesliga, appearing in more than 75 games for the club and scoring nine goals before mutually agreeing with the club to have his contract terminated so that he could sign with the Galaxy. 2002-06: Played for four years with Energie Cottbus, appearing in more than 100 games for the club in both the Bundesliga (2002- 03) and the Second Bundesliga (2003-06). He scored nine goals during his four seasons with Cottbus, serving as the club's captain during his final two years there and helping them achieve promotion back to the Bundesliga following the 2005-06 season. 2000-02: Spent a year and a half with Crystal Palace of the English First Division (now the Championship), where he was joined by current Galaxy teammate Jovan Kirovski. He played in more than 20 games for the club and scored his only goal for the club in a 2-1 win vs. Bradford City on 12/29/01. His performances at the end of the 2000/01 season helped keep Palace in the First Division. 1998-2000: Joined his third Dutch club, Cambuur Leeuwarden of the Eredivisie after the 1997-98 season. He was a regular in the Cambuur team during his two seasons with the club, playing in more than 50 games and scoring twice. However, they were relegated to the Eerste Divisie following the 1999-2000 season and he left the club on a free transfer. 1996-98: Signed with Sparta Rotterdam of the Dutch Eredivisie in May 1996 and spent two years with the club. He missed much of his second season with an ankle injury. 1994-96: Signed with FC Zwolle of the Dutch Second Division in 1994, forgoing his senior season at North Carolina. He was originally spotted by Dutch scouts while playing with the U.S. Under-23 National Team. He went on to appear more than 40 times for the club.
College Highlights
Played three years at the University of North Carolina, scoring 13 goals and adding 10 assists in 58 career games. He set careerhighs with seven goals and six assists as a junior in 1993 and was named First Team All-ACC and Third Team All-American in both 1992 and 1993. Named one of the top 50 players in the history of the ACC in 2002, Berhalter helped North Carolina reach the NCAA Tournament in both 1991 and 1993 before forgoing his senior season by turning pro.
National Team
Played 44 times for the U.S. National Team during an 11-year career with the Red, White and Blue. A member of the U.S. team at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, he made his debut in a 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia on 10/15/94. He also played at the 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 1995 Copa America. He tied a career-high with eight games played in 2002, including two games at the World Cup in Japan/Korea, playing the full 90 minutes against both Mexico and Germany. He nearly scored his first goal for the National Team in a quarterfinal defeat to Germany, only for his goal bound shot to be stopped by the hand of Torsten Frings. Berhalter played in seven games during qualification for the 2006 World Cup, making five starts, and was named to the 23-man squad, but did not appear at the tournament. In 1993, he captained the U.S. Under-20 Team to an eighth place finish at the World Youth Championship in Australia.
