BERHALTER NEEDS TO MOVE GIOVANNI REYNA TO THE MIDFIELD ASAP!!

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUT GIO MAKING THE MOVE TO THE MIDFIELD?! SHOULD BERHALTER FINALLY PULL THE TRIGGER?…

It's insane thinking Giovanni is this good and then seeing that he's only 18 years old.

I made a video last week about how the U.S. should start Gio Reyna as a 10, and I also don't subscribe to the school of thought that a midfield three has to have 2 8's as opposed to a 6, 8, and 10.

With Adams and McKennie there, GGG can 'gamble' having Reyna central, preferably higher up the field. We also have tons of winger options that will benefit from a central Reyna. This could mean Musah (when healthy) has to be sacrificed in the 11, a good problem to have, but Reyna in the middle with wingers is more dynamic than Musah in the mid and Reyna in RW, although both options are not bad.

Here's my dilemma when it comes to shifting Gio to a CAM role: Can the USMNT get away with only playing three across my backline? Picture this 3-2-1-3-1 formation…

Backline: Dest, Brooks, Cannon
Defensive Midfield: McKennie and Adams
CAM: Gio
Forwards: Aaronson, Pulisic, and Konrad
Striker: Hoppe or Dike

Is this a formation that Berhalter can win with more often than not? What are your thoughts about the USMNT only playing three across the back?

I'm not saying that playing Gio as a CAM can't work, but I would be mindful of the opposition that the USMNT goes up against or they may be able to exploit a diminished defensive presence.

Agree 100%.

Solid vid Marv!

Do you think Gio is our best player by World Cup '22? (I do)

Completely agree. Without a creative midfielder with vision there will always be a ceiling on the usmnt. I am not sure American coaches understand the creative player enough. I saw coaches growing up regularly not understand the creatve player and favor simple players wh were athletic.

Question: Do you think Gio Reyna will go down as a better/more successful player than Christian Pulisic when both of their careers are all said and done?

Att-Pulsic, hoppe, de la Fuente. Mid- McKennie, Adams, Renya. Def-Dest, Brooks, Sands, Yedlin

Do a video on musah👍🏽

It always baffles me when people say Berhalter plays players out of position. This first became a meme when Berhalter played Adams as a fullback, but it was wrong even then. Not only had Adams played as a fullback for the NYRB academy, but Leipzig has played Adams in the fullback role from time to time. It's always been clear though, even when Berhalter was playing Adams as a fullback that he say him primarily as a DM and eventually as his first choice DM. And as soon as Berhalter had a RB in someone like Dest, he's preferred Adams for the DM role. Perhaps people don't remember how little depth we had at RB? I mean arguably the fullbacks are still some of our most problematic positions to find depth in.

The same goes for pretty much every player supposedly played out of position. Does Berhalter see Hoppe primarily as a #9? Absolutely. Has Hoppe played as a winger before Berhalter used him there? Absolutely he has. It wasn't a stretch to put a talent like Hoppe on the wing rather than say, "Gee, I've got too many #9's – I guess some will have to sit on the bench while I play lesser talents on the wing." It seemed like a perfectly reasonable thing to do given how many of our depth pieces in Europe refused call ups because of their club situation.

One thing that people seem to forget is that Berhalter has just about never been able to get his first choice team together. If the lineup looks weird it's because he's clearly making do with the pieces that he has. And may I remind people that one of the claims made about Berhalter is that he was a club/system coach that wouldn't be able to adapt his system to the playing pieces he has. And now it's like, "He's just too flexible. He keeps using players too creatively."