The Gio Reyna story and all its surrounding parts defied belief to begin with; juicier, more puzzling, and in many ways sadder than any plot line American soccer had ever been required to previously wrap its collective head around.
The saga involving one of this country’s most promising players has been something the United States national team needed to move on from virtually ever since all the unbelievable details spilled out.
The first steps toward that might have been taken this week.
Goals don’t mend fractured relationships, they don’t erase the past and they can’t undo the swath of negative publicity that came from the explosive and extraordinary falling out between the 20-year-old Reyna and USA head coach Gregg Berhalter around the time of last year’s World Cup in Qatar.
However, Reyna’s pair of strikes in a 4-0 demolition of Ghana in Tuesday’s international friendly was a sign that a couple of key truths hold – that the Borussia Dortmund attacker seems determined to show he can be the difference-maker everyone wishes for, and that Berhalter sees the value in giving him that chance.
“Besides the goals, it was how he brings players into the attack, how he is able to be calm on the ball,” Berhalter said. “To me, this performance was really just an indicator of his entire camp.”
If you never quite got a full grip on what went down in the broiling ruckus that will always be attached to – and in part overshadowed – the team’s 2022 World Cup campaign, worry not, for there were enough moving parts to confuse even the scriptwriter of a Hollywood drama.
It started when Berhalter told Reyna in the days leading up to the team’s first World Cup game against Wales that he would open the match on the bench. Reyna reportedly did not greet the news well, and sulked his way through training.
Berhalter was so frustrated by his player’s attitude that he considered sending him home, largely unbeknownst to the media or soccer public at the time. Reyna ended up making second-half appearances against England and the Netherlands. But when Berhalter gave a talk to a leadership summit soon after returning from the Middle East and mentioned the incident (though not Reyna by name), the matter leaked and then the whole thing blew up.
Reyna’s parents, Claudio and Danielle, are both former national team players and were longtime friends of Berhalter and his family. They called then-U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart to complain, and during the call revealed that Berhalter had assaulted his now-wife Rosalind by kicking her on a night out 31 years earlier when they were student-athletes at North Carolina.
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Those revelations prompted a lengthy investigation into Berhalter by the federation, created doubts about whether the coach would have his contract renewed – he eventually did – and put the national team in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The camp that just passed, in which the Ghana game came days after a defeat to Germany, was the first time Reyna has been part of the USA set-up since Berhalter returned to the helm.
It was difficult to imagine how they could co-exist again. Reyna’s performance in both games, operating in a central role that may enhance his strengths, suggested there may be more than a little light creeping down the tunnel, and that Berhalter has a clear grip on the ways in which the youngster’s attacking flair can help the team.
Ghana didn’t provide much of a challenge after falling behind early, and Reyna ended with a pair of goals, starting with a fierce strike from close range after the ball fell nicely to him in the box. The second required some quick feet and quick thinking from an indirect free-kick in the penalty area, a powerful shot launching the ball through the defensive wall and into the top corner.
There is a wrinkle though. This is a crossroads kind of season for Reyna, who burst onto the scene with Borussia Dortmund three years ago, playing a key role in crucial Champions League games at just 17.
Repeated injuries since have slowed his progress and he is not currently in first-team favor in Germany, having featured just once this season. Now we find the fascinating scenario whereby the national team, for all the prior associations with turmoil, could be a kind of salvation for Reyna as it is essentially the only place where he can show what he’s capable of.
A move from Dortmund at some point in the not-too-distant future is likely, especially if he cannot regain a regular place. His limited usage speaks volumes about how his long-term prospects are viewed there.
He has a point to prove, but probably won’t get enough playing time to prove it.
From the USA’s point of view, this period is an odd kind of transition, too. Hosting the World Cup in 2026 is an incredible opportunity for American soccer and comes with the boost of automatic qualification into the event. The flip side to that is that there is naturally a drastic reduction in the amount of competitive games played in between.
Berhalter has to get a look at his players in friendly games and training camps. Reyna did plenty over the past week to show he was engaged.
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The Americans have a solid midfield core but there isn’t a lot of flair attached to it, which is part of the reason why supporters got so excited about Reyna when he initially broke through.
If Reyna is not going to be used much at Dortmund, performances like the one against Ghana won’t hurt in the bid to grab the attention of a suitable landing spot.
Berhalter will take this version of Reyna, happily and gratefully. National team managers have no option but to let the water flow under the bridge, no matter how unhealthy things became.
So much went down that it is hard to conceive that this all happened less than a year ago. From nowhere, it seems, Reyna and the national team need each other more than ever.
