As Gregg Berhalter Returns To USMNT, Mexico Owes Tata Martino Apology

As the U.S. men’s national team took the field for its Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Mexico on Thursday night, The Athletic first reported that Gregg Berhalter would be returning as USA manager after a hiatus when his contract expired at the end of last year..

By the time the Americans’ 3-0 dismantling of their border rivals ended, Mexican fans may also have been wishing for the return of last year’s old boss.

Argentine coaching veteran Tata Martino was far from perfect in his time in charge of the national side colloquially known as El Tri.

He was the first Mexico national team manager in 40 years not to lead the side beyond the group stage in a World Cup appearance. His team finished third in its group in 2022 in Qatar while drawn against eventual champions Argentina and sneaky good European darkhorses Poland.

And while Martino had as lofty a pedigree as any Mexico manager — with previous stints in charge of Barcelona and the Argentina national team — there was always the sense of an imperfect fit for a program that, much like the United States, has most often preferred to be guided by one of its own countrymen. His exit became official hours after Mexico was eliminated from the World Cup. By the time that news finally arrived, however, it felt like it had been months or even years in the making.

But based on the evidence compiled since his departure, the oft-embattled Martino may have gotten the most possible out of a Mexico talent pool at its lowest level in recent memory.

Under Diego Cocca, Martino’s replacement, Mexico have played to a 2-1-3 record (W-L-D) in three games between the Nations League and friendlies, which while unimpressive in itself also flatters to deceive. Its only two wins have come against regional minnows Suriname and Guatemala. It drew its only true home game 2-2 against Jamaica at the famed Estadio Azteca, one reason Mexico earned a lower seed in the Nations League final round and was forced to face the Americans in the semis.

And on Thursday night, the Americans were dominant in a way we just haven’t seen in this rivalry, even in several famous USA victories.

The USMNT outshot ElTri 11-5 overall and 5-1 in terms of efforts on target. According to FotMob, the Americans created five big chances while Mexico managed zero.

It was the largest margin of victory ever by the U.S. in an official FIFA or Concacaf competition, and the largest win over Mexico of any sort since a 3-0 victory in 2000 in a USSF-run competition called the U.S. Nike Cup.

It’s true that Cocca did not have two of his best players — Chucky Lozano and Raul Jimenez — on this squad. But Martino faced the same American side on six occasions after taking the helm in 2019, including several times with Jimenez unavailable. And despite seeing his side outclassed later in his tenure as a young U.S. team gained experience, he only lost once in 90 minutes. (His much-maligned three-match losing streak in major competitions included included two cup final extra-time losses.)

Overall, he took Mexico to every single Concacaf final during his tenure, winning one and losing two. And he helped Mexico finish ahead of the U.S. in the final round of Concacaf World Cup qualifying, and even with top finishers Canada on points.

Martino’s side was more defensive minded and conservative than Mexican fans generally desire. But perhaps that was a reflection of his own accurate assessment of this current generation of Mexican talent, whose struggles in the attacking third are glaringly obvious.

Although interim boss B.J. Callaghan gets the official managerial win Thursday night, Berhalter certainly deserves some of the credit. The group that thrived on the field is largely one of his construction, including players who were dual nationals whom he recruited to the fold.

There were some compelling reasons to move on from Berhalter after this cycle. But he clearly did a competent job at the 2022 World Cup, and if he can patch things up with Gio Reyna following an ugly and tawdry episode this past winter, he has a chance to build on that showing in 2026.

However, no coach from the previous World Cup cycle emerged from Thursday night’s thrashing looking better than Martino, who may have been dealt a worse deck in his previous job than most of us realized. Although there’s no reason to feel too sorry for him. His next gig looks like it will be coaching Lionel Messi in Miami.