September 2 2002

Gregg Berhalter

Gregg Berhalter has spoken of his regret at leaving Crystal Palace after his transfer to German side Energie Cottbus.

Berhalter fell out of favour with Trevor Francis, despite playing well for the USA during their World Cup campaign in June.

Speaking of his time at Palace, Berhalter told Planetfootball.com: "It was frustrating. It was disappointing. But I also learned a lot and met some good people. Crystal Palace is a good club."

"There were a lot of different factors that added up to me not being able to make the impact that I would have liked.

"It's disappointing, because you never want to walk away from a club like that.

"My days here were clearly numbered and that was clear from the manager, so I had to do something."

Berhalter added: "Obviously I had people looking because of my situation here.

"I got a call from my agent saying that Cottbus were very interested and they wanted me to come over and look at the city and meet with the team.

"I thought it would be a great opportunity. It only took two days to do the deal. It was very easy.

"They were really straightforward and open with me. I talked to the coach and management, and they made me an offer.

"We came back two hours later and agreed terms. It was quick and simple. They acted very professionally, and I had a good feeling about that."