- Ream reflects on USMNT chemistry
- Days of divide long gone
- USMNT back for Nations League
WHAT HAPPENED? For years, there were rumors and reports of a rivalry between MLS-based players and European-based players, with former USMNT defender Geoff Cameron telling the Players Tribune in 2019 that there was "a poisonous divide" between the two sides. That divide went all the way to the very top, with MLS commissioner Don Garber and then-USMNT head coach Jurgen Klinsmann having a public war of words about what's best for national team players.
Ream, who was part of those teams, says those days are long gone, though, as there's plenty of unity within the current group.
WHAT THEY SAID: "That's probably a fair representation of what's happened in the past, but not necessarily with this group," Ream said. "This is my fourth cycle now, so being part of the program for 12 years since first coming into the program, my first two years in MLS, there definitely was that kind of feeling of not quite the togetherness between the two.
"And that's where I go back to this previous cycle where the togetherness has just been incredible. It's been the closest the guys have been, whether it be MLS, or they're coming in from South America, Mexico, Europe. It's been great team unity and I think that's, that's something that hasn't always been there, but now I think is a mainstay."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Throughout the 2022 cycle, USMNT players praised the unity of the group fostered under head coach Gregg Berhalter, who took major steps to build a culture within the team.
USMNT star Christian Pulisic told ESPN recently that he would like to see Berhalter return, partly because of the culture the coach built during his time in charge.
IN THREE PHOTOS:
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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT? The U.S. will face Grenada on Friday in the return of the Nations League before hosting El Salvador in Orlando on Monday.
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