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Give And Go: Los Angeles Defender Gregg Berhalter
A veteran U.S. international, Gregg Berhalter played for many years abroad, usually in Germany. Most recently with 2nd Bundesliga club 1860 Munich, the centerback moved to California only a week ago, signing up with his former national team coach, Bruce Arena, and the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Apr 10, 2009 1:57:44 PM
Goal.com's Andrea Canales interviewed Gregg Berhalter after his first outing with the Galaxy in a U.S. Open Cup qualifying match.
Andrea Canales: Are you over your jet-lag yet?
Gregg Berhalter: I'm getting over it; I'm getting over it. I still feel it a little bit.
Bruce mentioned that you hadn't played for a while - what in your game play does time off affect first?
Match fitness, but I'm getting back into it. The travel and the fact that I hadn't played for a month, you could see that I was a bit tired, but overall, I'm pleased with the result and the team performance.
What happened with that one backpass - bad communication?
No, no. It just came up a little bit hot on me. I was in an awkward position and I tried to play it back and I just missed it.
Working with a backline that's unfamiliar, what do you rely on most?
Communication. Everyone needs to talk and stay on the same page and working with each other. Everyone needs to be open to listening to each other. All in all, we did that.
Is there a comfort level in LA, given all your history with Bruce Arena?
It's great. It makes it a lot easier. We're all trying to acheive something. We're all trying to make the team better and I think that he has a professional way of going about things and it's great for all the players to be around him.
Open Cup is not a regular league game, but how would you compare the level of play to Germany, where you've played?
It's different. I don't want to start comparing, because they are two totally different leagues. There's great things about both of them. It's difficult to say. It's a good question. It's a little bit different.
I haven't had that many training sessions with the team yet, so we're still going through an adjustment period.
What do you miss most in Germany?
My family is still over there. It's going to be a little bit of a delay, but when I find a place to live, they'll all come out here.
Obviously, in Germany there are many historic local rivalries, but here in LA, there's an across-the-hallway rivalry with Chivas. You've arrived just in time to perhaps be a part of it - what's your take on it?
We need to respect the rivalry. In MLS, this is probably one of the biggest rivalries and that makes it great. For the players, that's exciting. Any time you have a game that means more than just a league game, it has more added to it and that makes it special. For me, I'd be excited to play on Saturday and be a part of that rivalry.
Give and Go runs every week on Goal.com
Go to Goal.com's MLS section for all the latest on the U.S. game.
Andrea Canales: Are you over your jet-lag yet?
Gregg Berhalter: I'm getting over it; I'm getting over it. I still feel it a little bit.
Bruce mentioned that you hadn't played for a while - what in your game play does time off affect first?
Match fitness, but I'm getting back into it. The travel and the fact that I hadn't played for a month, you could see that I was a bit tired, but overall, I'm pleased with the result and the team performance.
What happened with that one backpass - bad communication?
No, no. It just came up a little bit hot on me. I was in an awkward position and I tried to play it back and I just missed it.
Working with a backline that's unfamiliar, what do you rely on most?
Communication. Everyone needs to talk and stay on the same page and working with each other. Everyone needs to be open to listening to each other. All in all, we did that.
Is there a comfort level in LA, given all your history with Bruce Arena?
It's great. It makes it a lot easier. We're all trying to acheive something. We're all trying to make the team better and I think that he has a professional way of going about things and it's great for all the players to be around him.
Open Cup is not a regular league game, but how would you compare the level of play to Germany, where you've played?
It's different. I don't want to start comparing, because they are two totally different leagues. There's great things about both of them. It's difficult to say. It's a good question. It's a little bit different.
I haven't had that many training sessions with the team yet, so we're still going through an adjustment period.
What do you miss most in Germany?
My family is still over there. It's going to be a little bit of a delay, but when I find a place to live, they'll all come out here.
Obviously, in Germany there are many historic local rivalries, but here in LA, there's an across-the-hallway rivalry with Chivas. You've arrived just in time to perhaps be a part of it - what's your take on it?
We need to respect the rivalry. In MLS, this is probably one of the biggest rivalries and that makes it great. For the players, that's exciting. Any time you have a game that means more than just a league game, it has more added to it and that makes it special. For me, I'd be excited to play on Saturday and be a part of that rivalry.
Give and Go runs every week on Goal.com
Go to Goal.com's MLS section for all the latest on the U.S. game.
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