Soccer <\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t much to look at in the moment, the sort of transaction that flies under the radar for all but the most obsessed fans. The baseline General Allocation Money (GAM) involved \u2013 $50,000 \u2013 is the lowest amount MLS regulations allow to be included in a trade.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
\u201cI always joke that I got traded for a couple of ball bags,\u201d Vancouver\u2019s do-it-all central midfielder told MLSsoccer.com with a quick smile this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there’s nothing wrong with that. I got the opportunity, so that’s kind of what matters most.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
It was February 2022. Berhalter had just returned to the Crew from a year-long loan at Austin FC<\/a>, the central Texans having not seen enough in his 651 league minutes (five starts) to take up their option to acquire him permanently. Columbus\u2019 staff didn\u2019t have him in their plans for the coming season, either, offering him only a spot on their reserve squad.<\/p>\n Three-plus years on from that ultimately pivotal juncture in his life, Berhalter finds himself at a drastically different altitude. He\u2019s charting a breakout 2025, having produced a litany of breathtaking performances in both MLS and Concacaf Champions Cup<\/a> play to power the Whitecaps \u2013 completely contrary to just about everyone\u2019s preseason expectations \u2013 to the top of the Supporters\u2019 Shield table and a place in the CCC final against Cruz Azul<\/a> in Mexico City on June 1.<\/p>\n His relentless work on both sides of the ball has been industrious and intelligent, spiked with clutch touches of final-third class to produce goals and assists for his side. It\u2019s earned him Best XI honors in the semifinal and quarterfinal rounds of CCC as he posted three goals, two assists and 12 key passes across eight matches in that tournament, in addition to 1g\/2a in MLS action.<\/p>\n The underlying data drives it all home. Glance at Berhalter\u2019s dazzling scouting report on FBREF.com and you\u2019ll see a whole lot of big green bars<\/a>.<\/p>\n Perhaps most remarkable of all? Essentially no one expected anything of the sort. Even \u2018Caps head coach Jesper S\u00f8rensen, himself a key architect in Berhalter\u2019s breakthrough campaign, admits as much.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, I hadn’t seen this coming from him, that he could play at this level,\u201d the Dane told MLSsoccer.com, alluding to his film analysis of Vancouver\u2019s previous season \u2013 Berhalter had to play several games as a wingback under former manager Vanni Sartini \u2013 as he took the reins over the winter.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not really comparable to what I saw, either, in last year, when I studied the games he played as well; he wasn’t a regular starter always,” S\u00f8rensen noted. “But when I arrived, I saw a very competitive person that was driven towards becoming better all the day, all the time, in preseason.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Thus far neither S\u00f8rensen nor his players have let slip many details about his methodical, possession-centered game model, nor the skillful ways in which he\u2019s coaxed higher levels of performance out of nearly every individual on a roster previously thought to be short on elite talent. One can identify a hint of his cleverness, though, as he describes his early diagnosis of Berhalter.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I studied him, I saw a player that I think ran too much, was running at the same pace all the time, and maybe things became a little bit too hectic sometimes,\u201d recalled S\u00f8rensen. \u201cWe have had some talks about that, that he has to slow down and use his energy the way that it fits him, and fits the team best. And I think that he is constantly developing. Right now he’s also in great shape and great form and scoring, has a lot of confidence, which also accelerates his development.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you put in the work and you study everything, and you just want to have the ambitions, then you have the opportunity to make great progress.\u201d<\/p>\n Berhalter himself views this great leap forward rather differently.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t want to sound arrogant saying I expected it. But it’s something that, when you put in the work every day and you do the right things, it’s going to come, and you\u2019ve just got to trust it, be patient,\u201d he said. \u201cWe’re also 11, 12 MLS games into the season, so there’s still a lot of season to go, and I know that, and I\u2019m taking it one moment at a time, not looking too far ahead.<\/p>\n \u201cI don’t want to say I’m an underrated player or someone who came out of nowhere. Like, I’ve been doing the right things for a couple years now,\u201d Berhalter continued. \u201cJesper has added a different element, and he’s made me better \u2013 you know, that’s something that I credit Jesper to. Now it’s about just keep pushing, keep winning games and winning trophies.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Sebastian Berhalter makes it 2\ufe0f\u20e3 for @WhitecapsFC<\/a>, WOW! pic.twitter.com\/Y7z52CjNn1<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 25, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This weekend, he\u2019ll mark his 24th birthday on Saturday, then host LAFC<\/a> \u2013 so often VWFC\u2019s bogey team in recent years \u2013 in a tasty Western Conference clash at BC Place for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n The Angelinos have inflicted one humbling after another in high-profile meetings with their Canadian counterparts, eliminating the \u2018Caps from the last two editions of the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and the 2023 ConcaChampions \u2013 by an aggregate score of 15-6. Even if last autumn\u2019s postseason duel was decided by much finer margins, it\u2019s been a profoundly discouraging history for the British Columbians.<\/p>\n This time, the Black & Gold are looking up at VWFC, after some spring struggles saw them sink to midtable in the West while crashing out of CCC in the quarterfinals against Inter Miami<\/a>. As thrilling as Vancouver\u2019s 11W-2L-6D record across all competitions has been for their supporters, turning the tables on LAFC would taste particularly sweet.<\/p>\n \u201cIt motivates you, especially how many times they beat us, man \u2013 playoff series, Champions League, all this crap,\u201d said Berhalter. \u201cAs a player, you want to go out there and get the job done. So I think the guys are going to be motivated \u2013 motivated to go out there, especially in front of our home crowd, and get the win.”<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Vancouver Whitecaps FC (@WhitecapsFC) April 28, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n It is both unexpected and somehow quite fitting to delve this far into Berhalter\u2019s story with nary a mention of the family member whose name precedes him: His father Gregg, the head coach and director of football for Chicago Fire FC<\/a> and the US men\u2019s national team<\/a> manager for five years.<\/p>\n Gregg has been a vital figure in Sebastian\u2019s journey, albeit in a different and surprisingly low-key fashion compared to other prominent soccer dads, starting with how rarely he actually coached his son\u2019s teams throughout his childhood.<\/p>\n \u201cGrowing up, my dad wasn’t too involved, honestly. I never trained with him, really; maybe a couple times growing up,\u201d revealed Sebastian. \u201cI know a lot of other parents that took their kids to the field, and he just didn’t have time, you know? And I would always here and there ask him questions, and he would come to games sometimes, and he would give me feedback. But he wasn’t super, heavily involved.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me, \u2018If you want this, you\u2019ve got to do it yourself. I’m not going to sit here and hold your hand.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Here, it must be noted, that Gregg was hardly the only soccer-savvy adult in that household. Sebastian\u2019s mother Rosalind won four NCAA national championships with Anson Dorrance\u2019s powerhouse University of North Carolina women\u2019s teams of the early 1990s, her class finishing their collegiate careers with an incredible 97W-1L-1D record<\/a> over four seasons.<\/p>\n He says both parents let their eldest child find his own way in the game, rather than be guided.<\/p>\n \u201cMy mom was always there as a rock. I’m lucky that she also knows soccer,\u201d explained Sebastian. \u201cShe was always there to support me, and here and there would give me little things. But yeah, growing up was just trying to figure it out by myself, and I think that gave me the biggest motivation to just keep getting better.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving [Gregg] as a resource 1,000% helps,\u201d he added. \u201cThe guy is one of the smartest soccer coaches or people I even talk to about the game of soccer. So having him is really nice. And he’s also been through it \u2013 it’s like having a retired player always in your corner. That’s something that not a lot of people get to have. So I’m super fortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, his father inevitably cast a shadow when Sebastian reached the professional level, earning a homegrown contract from Columbus<\/a> in 2020 after one season of college ball at UNC, both his parents\u2019 alma mater. How could it be otherwise? Gregg had been the Crew\u2019s coach and sporting director for five of the previous six years.<\/p>\n \u201cDefinitely, the microscope was on me a little bit more. I think any time your dad’s the coach of the club, you’re always going to be judged a certain way, always be looked at a certain way. But for me, it was just about doing my own thing,\u201d said the younger Berhalter, who credits the whispers of nepotism for giving him an \u201cedge,\u201d a fighting spirit that proved useful.<\/p>\n \u201cI definitely messed up a couple times, definitely learned the hard way. But I think that made me the person I am today. There’s always going to be talk: \u2018He doesn’t deserve this, it’s given to him.\u2019 But to me, that just motivates me more; I know that I\u2019ve got to work double as hard to prove everyone wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Even that loan stint at Austin wasn\u2019t quite hitting the reset button, since Josh Wolff, Berhalter\u2019s assistant with both Columbus and the USMNT, was in charge of the Verde & Black at the time. It all helps explain why the move to far-flung Vancouver, perched on the edge of the MLS map, proved so timely.<\/p>\n \u201cA change of scenery was good,\u201d said Berhalter. \u201cI was at two teams where, one was my dad’s old club, and then one was my dad\u2019s assistant coach. And I think it was a good time to transition and get away a little bit and just start my own journey.\u201d<\/p>\n He would come to fall in love with Rain City, both on the pitch \u2013 earning a new contract that runs through the current season with a club option for 2026 \u2013 and off it, seduced by its natural beauty, cosmopolitan city life and the Whitecaps\u2019 central place in its deeply-rooted soccer culture.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s the best, honestly,\u201d Berhalter said. \u201cI get home and I get to see the water and the mountains from my apartment, and then just every time I smile. I know that there’s going to be days that I’m looking back in five, 10 years like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I lived in Vancouver for however long I live there.’ It’s such a special place; the people are really cool, too.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a real community, and to see these last couple weeks of the fans just rallying around the team has been something that’s been so special \u2026 it’s just a really cool place to live.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) April 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n \u2018Caps fans have ridden an emotional roller coaster over the past few months. The club exited the \u201824 postseason at the hands of LAFC (again), parted ways with Sartini, and then were put up for sale<\/a>, sparking fears of a relocation akin to that of the NBA\u2019s Grizzlies at the turn of the century, only for the squad to charm the city all over again with this gutsy, inspiring surge into the MLS and North American elite.<\/p>\n It all crystallized in their CCC semifinal first-leg win over Miami. A sellout crowd packed BC Place to not only cheer on their side, but heartily boo Lionel Messi<\/a> and the Herons\u2019 superstars to an extent they\u2019ve rarely encountered on this continent en route, setting the stage for a 5-1 aggregate triumph that Berhalter calls \u201cprobably the biggest games I’ve ever played in.\u201d<\/p>\n He took particular inspiration from a pregame tifo<\/a> hoisted by supporters\u2019 groups in the stadium\u2019s south end, a message he\u2019s carrying onward.<\/p>\n \u201cFor me it was the beginning of the game, seeing the fans saying that \u2018you allowed us to dream again,\u2019\u201d he recalled. \u201cI got a little choked up before the game, just thinking, wow, people count on us, people really believe in us, and that hit me in that moment.<\/p>\n “I had to kind of re-gather myself and say, ‘OK, let’s do this for them, and let’s be dreamers.’ That’s something that I think the fans really installed in us.\u201d<\/p>\n That helped Berhalter power through the gut-wrenching pain of a second-leg yellow card that will force him to miss the final \u2013 \u201cyou’re disappointed, but the biggest thing is just seeing everyone happy in the finals and knowing that we have a chance. And I’m confident that our group\u2019s going to do it,\u201d he said. It also figures to fuel him for what the Whitecaps believe can be a push for trophies on multiple fronts in the months ahead.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 1, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n On an individual level, the $10,000 question is whether he\u2019s done enough to earn the attention of Mauricio Pochettino, his father\u2019s USMNT successor, as the final countdown begins to next summer\u2019s World Cup<\/a> (or even this summer’s Gold Cup<\/a>). Sebastian has only briefly worn his country\u2019s colors, way back in a U16 youth national team camp he calls \u201cpretty much nothing,\u201d and says he hasn\u2019t been contacted by Poch or his staff.<\/p>\n He dreams of doing so again, even more so having spent the past few years on Canadian soil.<\/p>\n \u201cI am American, and I\u2019ve probably watched the most US games out of anyone in the last six years \u2013 there’s not a game I’ve missed in the last six years. And then also, having my dad go to two World Cups, it’s kind of in me,\u201d said Berhalter.<\/p>\n \u201cLiving abroad also helped me realize how proud I am of my country. I feel like growing up, I wasn’t \u2013 it was kind of whatever to me, and I didn’t really understand it. But now I know. Going abroad, and especially living abroad, it gave me a different appreciation.\u201d<\/p>\n Just don\u2019t expect him to argue his own case for inclusion. That\u2019s understandable: He\u2019s doing so via his exploits on the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cI know I can play at that level. I don’t feel like I need to pitch anything,\u201d said Berhalter. \u201cIt’s something that I know I’m capable of, and I know I can step in and do a job. [There\u2019s] always pride in playing for your country. So I think within those two things, if my name is called, I’ll be ready.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nLeap forward<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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SNS showcase<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Family name<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Change of scenery<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Dreaming big<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
USMNT ambition<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n