Former Crystal Palace boss Alan Smith has recalled signing Gregg Berhalter for the club.
Berhalter was recommended by Palace's chief scout Barry Simmonds and Smith has recalled how his signing came about and what he recalls of the USA international, who went on to play for Energie Cottbus and 1860 Munich in Germany, before returning to America with LA Galaxy.
“We went out and looked at him," said Smith, as reported by the Palace club website. “He fitted the bill perfectly. He came over and was a really good lad. Very much an all-American boy. It was quite bold what he had done, because I can't remember now other Americans that were playing in England at the time.
“I liked him. There wasn't anything about his attitude or his personality I didn't like. Gregg [Berhalter] just had his own standards which he got in Holland. He was determined and just got on with it. He was by far one of the best trainers, always in first. He was also a bit of a fitness fanatic, he was always at the gym. When training finished he didn't go home.
“He rented a house in Beckenham. He was self-sufficient – you could see that he had played abroad, that he had been somewhere different, that he was quite well-rounded."
