'Need more data!' - Gregg Berhalter warns Europe about ridiculing American coaches after Jesse Marsch & Ted Lasso criticisms

• U.S. Soccer investigation into Berhalter concluded
• Found him still eligible for USMNT return
• Berhalter gives wide-ranging interview

WHAT HAPPENED? Berhalter reacted to an independent report that said he didn't deceive U.S. Soccer about a 1992 domestic violence incident with his future wife, saying he was glad the investigation was behind him, but he also spoke generally about the perception of American coaches. It's been a hot topic of late with the return of streaming show Ted Lasso - based on a U.S. coach in England - and Jesse Marsch's doomed spell at Leeds.

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WHAT THEY SAID: “What I would say is, it is too small a sample size,” Berhalter told The Telegraph. “We just can’t make blanket statements about American coaches based on two coaches [Marsch and David Wagner]. That’s the way to look at it. Everyone has a unique quality. I could see if it had been 100 U.S. coaches and you had more data. If I was trying to figure how, say, players from Poland perform in England and only looked at two cases, I wouldn’t be doing my job very well. Everyone has a different upbringing and a different culture.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Leeds fired Marsch earlier this year amid a relegation battle, and even though their form is mostly unchanged since then, the sacking helped ignite a new round of debate over Americans coaching in Europe.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

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WHAT NEXT FOR BERHALTER? He's in a strange position in that the U.S. Soccer report cast him in just about as favorable of a light as anyone could have imagined, but the saga with the family of Gio Reyna could nonetheless prove off-putting for potential employers wanting to steer clear of controversy. For now, he seems to be holding out hope that the USMNT will bring him back on a new contract.

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