After being fired for the first and only time in his coaching career, Crew SC coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter packed his bags and sought soccer enlightenment in some of Europe’s greatest cities.
Berhalter, sacked after just a season and a half with Stockholm’s Hammarby, hit the road to immerse himself in the culture and tactics of some of the world’s super clubs, including Chelsea and Barcelona.
It was a fact-finding mission that helped him get hired by the Crew in November 2013, and it is not over.
On Tuesday, Berhalter’s journey took him to Nationwide Arena, where he and director of soccer operations Asher Mendelsohn paid a visit to longtime Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland, who was in town for the Wings’ 5-3 loss to the Blue Jackets that night.