Sebastian Berhalter cooked Aidan Morris pasta the night before his Middlesbrough debut. Two days later, he was earning an assist in a Carabao Cup win over Wrexham. It's going well so far.
Berhalter and Max Arfsten both made their competitive debuts for Boro in that 1-0 victory — Arfsten for 67 minutes, Berhalter the full 90. Morris, the third American in the house and the most established of the trio at the club, watched from the touchline. The Stars and Stripes was waving in the South Stand. Estelle's American Boy played at half-time. It was, in Arfsten's words, "good vibes."
Three Americans, one Columbus connection
The backstory here is worth understanding. All three have roots at Columbus Crew. Berhalter's father Gregg managed the club. Berhalter and Morris met in the academy there at 15. Arfsten and Morris later played together at Columbus before both made the move to Teesside. Middlesbrough's head of recruitment Chris Jones was the common thread — he scouted Morris for nearly two years before signing him in July 2024, then went back to that same well for Arfsten and Berhalter.
That's not random. Middlesbrough have clearly decided MLS — and Columbus specifically — is a market worth mining. They signed French defender Adilson Malanda from Charlotte FC last year. Former Boro keeper Brad Guzan, who was there a decade ago, recently sent the club three American flag emojis unprompted. Something is shifting.
Berhalter was born in London when his father played for Crystal Palace, and has memories of crying in the stands watching Energie Cottbus win promotion from Germany's second division. He signed from Vancouver Whitecaps. Arfsten, a Californian, came straight from Columbus. Neither arrives without credentials — both were in the USMNT squad at this summer's World Cup, where the U.S. fell 4-1 to Belgium in the round of 16 after promising group stage wins over Paraguay and Australia.
What this means for Middlesbrough's season
Middlesbrough are entering their 10th consecutive Championship season, having lost the play-off final to Hull City on a goal in the fifth minute of added time — after the entire Southampton 'Spygate' saga made it one of the strangest runs to Wembley in recent memory. The club has since sold Hayden Hackney to Everton and collected a significant sell-on fee from Morgan Rogers' £117m move from Aston Villa to Chelsea. That money has been reinvested, with six permanent signings this summer including goalkeeper Radek Vitek from Manchester United.
Head coach Kim Hellberg — only 38, only 10 months into the job — has built a possession-heavy side that Morris describes as having "the humility of running and working, but also this calmness on the ball." West Ham and Wolves, both relegated from the top flight, will likely dominate the automatic promotion conversation. But the play-offs now extend to eighth place, and Middlesbrough will consider anything less a failure.
Berhalter and Arfsten both consulted Pochettino before making the move. The USMNT head coach knew owner Steve Gibson, vouched for the club, and told them to do their research. Folarin Balogun, who spent five months on loan at the Riverside in 2022, said similar things. Antonee Robinson and Tyler Adams backed it too. For two young Americans trying to make a case for regular Premier League football, "Middlesbrough said yes and everyone who's been there says it's worth it" is a reasonable foundation.
Come November, all three will be 25. None are married. The girlfriends are landing soon. The parmo remains untried. Morris has crash-coursed them on Teesside life, and so far the most scandalous thing that's happened is a dinner of pasta and salad.
"We're trying to stay tidy," Berhalter said. That's the line of a man who knows exactly what he came here for.
