Anyone who wants to explore the drama of young footballer Gio Reyna with him, from bottom to top, has to look at pictures of him. From Wednesday evening in Mainz, from his triumphant run in the 94th minute of the game. And next to it the tear-stained heap of misery from that evening nine months ago when the same young man – injured again – slipped off the pitch with slumped shoulders. And in between the Hollywood mud fight between Reyna’s parents and US national coach Gregg Berhalter. What a roller coaster.
This Wednesday, however, was the most exuberant Reyna they had known in Dortmund. The substitute offensive man pushed the ball over the line after a header by Sebastien Haller, who came just as late. And then the 20-year-old, whose unpredictability and unconventional movement sequences are reminiscent of the much more famous Thomas Müller, exploded. Apparently everything had to go out at last, like in the winter sale of emotions. 2: 1 for Dortmund. final whistle.
Three days earlier, Reyna, who came on just as late, had already scored the 4-3 winning goal for his BVB against Augsburg, with a dropkick that no instructional video could have shown better. In summary, Dortmund coach Edin Terzic can thank Reyna for four points – for two wins instead of two draws.
With his jubilation, he seemed to be shouting at the Mainz audience all the frustration he had built up over the past few months – although Mainz couldn’t help it and only happened to offer him the stage for the emotional reckoning. The long injuries (especially on the thigh), the tormenting of old fitness, again setback, again single scoundrels. Comeback again, not quite ready for the World Cup in Qatar, and greeted there by his coach with the announcement that he will probably not play a major role for the national team in the tournament. Which was then fulfilled with hitherto unknown background noises.
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“With us,” his club coach Terzic recalled, “he was never guilty of anything.” BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl had already said as a precaution after Reyna’s return from the US camp in Qatar: “Gio is a very good boy. We never had any reason to doubt him. He goes into every training session and every game with great motivation. “
Reyna herself has always avoided interviews. On Wednesday evening in Mainz, when he had the excess adrenaline halfway out of his bloodstream, there wasn’t much to elicit from him either. “Everyone has difficult times in life,” he said. “Football helps me get out of it. I want to work and help my team.” That was the kind Reyna, whom they have known in Dortmund since summer 2019. Reyna has only played for two clubs in his life, New York City FC and Borussia.
At the beginning, at 16, he was a junior player, but Reyna quickly became the favorite player of the BVB coaches. Whether Lucien Favre, Edin Terzic, Marco Rose, the young American was always Everybody’s darling everyone raved about him. The prototype of the over-talented academy player, with family roots in the USA, Argentina, Portugal (of which Gio is also a citizen), a birthplace in England and a footballing home in Germany.
However, Reyna has not yet taken the final step in development. Something always came up. Erling Haaland or Jude Bellingham, for example, who outshined everything. And when everything finally went reasonably well, came the soap opera that his parents, the American Football Association and its coach Berhalter performed around Qatar.
Reyna’s parents are influential in US soccer. Father Claudio, who was a professional in Wolfsburg and Leverkusen, among other places, and later at ManCity, played for the USA at four World Cups, Gio’s mother Danielle Reyna-Egan was also a US national player. When Berhalter, once Papa Reyna’s teammate, classified Gio, who had been injured for a long time in 2022, as more or less unfit for the World Cup, the Reynas apparently sounded the alarm. He is considered by many to be the best American footballer. However, always in the status of a promise that has not yet been fulfilled.
Finally, Berhalter complained that the player lacked attitude. Allegedly, Reyna was about to be sent home from the training camp. The mud fight was on. Reyna’s mom was so furious that she dug up a nearly 30-year-old criminal case against Berhalter. As a young man, the former goalkeeper had to deal with a complaint of abuse due to domestic violence against his wife, with whom Berhalter is still married today. Inside knowledge the Reynas had from old times together. Berhalter stood in the pillory. However, it is doubtful whether the family war will help son Gio.
This evening in Mainz, Reyna has now started to become a real authority. BVB was again not convincing in Mainz. At 2-1 (to which FSV professional Jae-sung Lee and Julian Ryerson contributed the first two goals), Borussia lacked a clear concept. In the end, the team with the better individual players triumphed. One of them was Reyna.