‘We won championships and we hated our coaches’ – Lloyd says USMNT too comfortable under Berhalter

Carli Lloyd has questioned whether the U.S. men’s national team has become too comfortable under Gregg Berhalter, saying that the U.S. women’s national team won titles under coaches they “hated.”

The USMNT suffered a stunning early exit from the Copa América, losing 1-0 to Uruguay on Monday night to confirm that it wouldn’t advance beyond the group stage.

That result led to calls for Berhalter to be sacked as USMNT head coach just one year after U.S. Soccer confirmed he would be re-hired for another World Cup cycle.

Berhalter has always been popular with his players, many of whom publicly backed him to return to his previous position last year.

Speaking on FS1 after Monday’s game, USWNT legend Lloyd said that Berhalter’s popularity with his group wasn’t necessarily a positive — especially after such a disappointing tournament.

“My concern is just how comfortable these players are with Berhalter,” Lloyd said. “I mean, we won championships and we hated our coaches!

“I’m not saying you have to hate your coach, but I question how comfortable it is inside that locker room. Are they being pushed? Are they being held accountable? And it doesn’t look like that from the outside looking in.”

Lloyd, of course, didn’t expand on which coaches she and her teammates “hated,” but she won a number of titles with the USWNT under several different coaches.

The longtime USWNT star won Olympic gold medals in 2008 and 2012, both under Pia Sundhage, while her two World Cup titles came under Jill Ellis in 2015 and 2019. She also won trophies under Greg Ryan, Tom Sermanni and Vlatko Andonovski.

Lloyd had notable issues with both Sundhage and Ellis , both of whom used the midfielder/forward as a substitute at various stages of their tenures — much to the player’s chagrin.

Watch Lloyd discuss Berhalter

Related