There was a point a few years back in which Sebastian Berhalter thought he might just be done with soccer. It seems so out of character for him to admit this, particularly now. Fresh off a performance in which he stared down Lionel Messi and Inter Miami without a worry in the world, the Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder can acknowledge he was staring down the thought of life after the sport.
This was during his year-long spell with Austin FC. After a mini-breakout with the Columbus Crew, he was loaned to Austin. Following an 18-appearance season in 2021, the Texas club declined an option to sign Berhalter.
He was a player without a home, and one without an obvious plan.
At a crossroads, he did what most kids would do: he talked to his dad. in Sebastian's case, however, that just happened to mean talking to a former U.S. men's national team player and coach, and the man who now leads the Chicago Fire. But, in that moment, Gregg Berhalter was none of those things.
In that moment, he was a listener, a sounding board, a father for a son in need.
"I think saying this is crazy," Sebastian Berhalter tells GOAL, "because anyone who knows me thinks I love soccer more than anyone they've ever seen. But, at that point, I was just so down, you know? I just thought, 'Maybe I'm not good enough.' I felt like I had to turn something around... That was the biggest moment of my career: almost not wanting to play anymore."
And that conversation was a seminal moment for what has become a stellar season and revitalized career.
"I remember talking to my dad and being like 'Dude, I don't even know anymore,' " Sebastian says. "He said to me, 'Whatever you do, I'll support you. If this isn't you, then this isn't you.' Him saying that made me realize that I had to get my act together. Let me figure this out. I really wanted to do this.
"That's not to say I wasn't working hard before, but I think it actually calmed me down. I kind of dialed it back and started to realize what I needed. It was all about turning the hardest moment of my career into the most important part of my career."
Berhalter is now playing the best soccer of his life, and playing in the most meaningful games of his life. Handed a lifeline by the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2022, Berhalter has repaid that faith slowly but surely, culminating in a CONCACAF Champions Cup run for the ages. The highlight, of course, was Berhalter running circles around Miami's former Barcelona stars, providing two goals and two assists across the two legs to lead the Whitecaps to the finale.
Having taken a huge leap forward as a player, Berhalter is now helping set a tone for a Whitecaps team that may just be the best in MLS. A CONCACAF Champions Cup final is on the horizon, but more could be on the way. Berhalter spent so much of his life living and dying with the U.S. men's national team's results, especially when his father was the USMNT coach. Could he soon be putting on that shirt for himself?
So much has changed. At one point, Berhalter was wondering if he'd ever make it. Now, it's fair for the rest of us to wonder how far he can go.
