da jogodeouro： The former Columbus Crew coach isn't a world-class tactician, but shouldn't shoulder the blame for his side's embarrassing defeat.

da gbg bet： After the U.S. Men's National Team's humiliating 5-1 loss to Colombia in a Copa America tuneup on Saturday, manager Gregg Berhalter stood in front of the cameras, and slammed his players: “From the 75th minute on, it was I think a lack of respect for our opponent [and] the game of soccer, what we were doing.We’re not framing it a lesson learned, we’ll frame it as a wake-up call."

Predictably, social media exploded.

USMNT veterans expressed their indignation. Trolls broke out their memes. Seemingly everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Berhalter out! Bring his assistant, BJ Callaghan back! Even better, hire a new manager, right now, two weeks before the biggest tournament since the 1994 World Cup kicks off in the United States! It’s all over!

Sports culture is, of course, rarely rational (the whole thing would be kind of boring if it was.) But the past 72 hours have been a perfect microcosm of the Berhalter era for this US side. First came relentless optimism, then a poor result, then reactionary rage. So often, the manager has taken the blame – and rightly so at times. But on against Colombia, Berhalter didn’t do much wrong. He set up a system to try to beat the sixth-best team in the world, and watched from the sidelines as his players threw it away in a perfect storm of individual errors and defensive lapses.

Geoff BurkeThe Colombia result

A glance at the scoreline suggests that Saturday was a nightmare. And in many ways, it was. The US lost 5-1 to a Copa America rival. They conceded five goals from six shots on target. This all happened on home soil – although FedEx field, outside of Washington, D.C., was awash with Colombia yellow. The search for this so-called "signature win" goes on.

After the game, Tim Weah was asked to search for positives. He spoke of brief passages of play, and a mini surge after half time. Christian Pulisic lamented that the US was simply "nowhere near the level we need to play at."

Both are right. The US were often calamitous at the back. The first goal may have come from a fortunate diversion into the path of Jhon Arias, but veteran center back Tim Ream was caught on his heels as the Colombian ran through on goal. For all of the remarkable technique required for Rafael Barros' overhead kick to make it 2-0, US goalkeeper Matt Turner let it squirm by him far too easily.

The final three goals – conceded in the 77th, 85th and 88th minutes – were all results of egregious giveaways or defensive breakdowns. The USMNT were pushing to get back into the game – as any team down 2-1 really – but lacked the individual quality to protect their own.

At the same time, there was hope. For the first 20 minutes of the second half, the US was in control. Weah's goal was a wonderfully constructed thing, the Juventus winger running onto Folarin Balogun's perfectly weighted pass and finishing well. But Colombia woke up, and seized control of the game. The US was playing a superior opponent – and were made to pay for their errors, right when they could have worked their way back into the game.

AdvertisementGettyHe can't control everything

So, what of Berhalter? The US coach's credentials don't jump off the page. He spent time as a manager in Sweden, before enjoying success with the Columbus Crew, and took the USMNT job in 2018 – left to clean up the mess following the catastrophic loss to Trinidad and Tobago in 2018 World Cup qualifying. He was a manager dealt an awful hand – an aging squad with no public confidence in it.

Since then, Berhalter has steadily undergone bringing in a new wave of talent – the supposed USMNT golden generation. Pulisic has been made the center of everything, while Gio Reyna, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Weah and others have been integrated into the side. Berhalter, for all of his critics, had the courage to tear everything down, and try to build something new.

And in that sense, Berhalter has instilled confidence. Much like Dider Deschamps' France or Gareth Southgate's England, the US coach brought together a group of players of roughly the same age group, who have played together throughout youth levels, and put them on the pitch together with a tactical idea. That took bravery, especially in a soccer culture that was still clinging to names such as Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard and Landon Donovan.

This took a wholesale refresh, with a new system, and Berhalter pulled it off.

But as a coach, that's where his influence ends. Berhalter can piece together his tactics, put the best side out. But once the first ball his kicked, there is only so much he can do.

GettyThe case for his tactics

Such was the case against Colombia. The USMNT boss pieced together an interesting setup on Saturday. With no Adams to turn to at the base of midfield, and an imbalanced forward line, he dropped Reyna into a deeper lying role. In some ways, it made sense. The US needed to keep the ball here, try to move through the thirds and create opportunities. Berhalter knew that Colombia was a good defensive side, who had pace at the back. Kick and run was not going to be an option.

Berhalter responded by asking his best passer to receive the ball further away from the goal than he normally would. It was an interesting idea – and a sensible one, too. But Reyna didn't execute it properly. He wasn't active enough off the ball, while the Colombia midfield, in effect, marked him out of the game. The US forward line constantly made vertical runs. A strangled midfield had no one to pass to.

At the break, Berhalter changed things. Pulisic came off – deemed only ready to play 45 minutes – while Reyna was pushed to a more advanced position. The game became stretched, perhaps too frenetic for his liking, but the US started to create. They were good value for their goal, and could have scored more. The flip side was what happened at the other end. Colombia were smart in their ability to soak up pressure, and frighteningly incisive when they had the ball. In the end, it came down to the visiting side capitalizing on US mistakes.

GettyLicense to experiment?

More broadly, that tactical tweaking was what these kind of international friendlies are for. Berhalter was working with limited resources. Adams, a stalwart of this US side, is still recovering from injury. Yunus Musah – also a likely starter – could only play for 30 minutes. Berhalter remains unsure as to who his starting No.9 might be, while Reyna's best position, or even participation, is up in the air.

So, given the fact that the scoreline of this match meant little beyond the optics, the coach had every right to play around with the system. Reyna's new position was a failed experiment, one that was amended at half time. The inclusion of Johnny Cardoso proved that the US might have a reliable deputy in the position to fill in for a spot that will surely be Adams' to keep. Haji Wright, meanwhile, showed promise on the left when Pulisic exited the game – showing that there's some tactical flexibility to be found on the wing.

To be clear, there were a lot of bad things happening on the pitch. Ream and Chris Richards had poor showings at the back, while Cameron Carter Vickers and Musah turned in abysmal cameos off the bench. Still, these are warm up games, meant to build toward Copa America – lessons to be learned.