Gio Reyna assured he will ‘play an important role’ with the USMNT following Gregg Berhalter’s re-appointment following World Cup scandal
- Reyna was told he would be important to the USA’s project going to the World Cup
- This comes after a major scandal between Berhalter and the Reyna family
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Borussia Dortmund and United States men’s national team player Gio Reyna seemingly have nothing to worry about when Gregg Berhalter resumes his role as manager.
Berhalter, whose comments about Reyna sparked a scandal started by Gio’s parents that centered on his assault on his now-wife Rosalind, will return to the USMNT head coaching position this fall.
Reyna, who was not happy with the reduced role planned for him at the 2022 World Cup, shared ESPN’s Derek Rae that US Soccer’s new sporting director, Matt Crocker, assured him that he would be a key part of the USMNT project for the 2026 tournament.
“I talked to Matt Crocker in Las Vegas after the Mexico game,” Reyna said. “He said I will play an important role in the program for many years to come.
“It’s my job to keep improving on the pitch and help the team win.”
Gio Reyna said he had received assurances from sporting director Matt Crocker that he would be an important part of the men’s national team in the run-up to the World Cup.
That came after Reyna’s feud with head coach Gregg Berhalter, who is returning to the US
Reyna only played in two games in Qatar, coming off the bench both late in the game against England and early in the second half against the Netherlands.
It was that lack of playing time, coupled with Berhalter’s comments at a press conference about an anonymous player on the team, that led Claudio and Danielle Reyna to inform US Soccer of an incident in the early 1990s.
Berhalter and his now-wife Rosalind got into an argument with Gregg pushing her to the ground. Danielle Reyna, who first informed then sports director Earnie Stewart of the events, said she heard of the incident but did not witness it herself.
Those comments prompted US Soccer to conduct an in-depth investigation into the events.
Berhalter was found not to have committed any similar incidents in the future and his name remained in the pool for potential managers in the quest to coach US Soccer. He was eventually rehired in the same position.
The first games of the second Berhalter era are against Uzbekistan and Oman in St. Louis and Minneapolis in September.
But in the meantime, Reyna is preparing for the upcoming Bundesliga season after his team from Dortmund fell one point short of the title, losing to Bayern Munich on the last day of the season.
“The end of the season was tough for everyone connected to the club,” said Reyna. “We know how close we were and it was so disappointing not to pull it off.
Reyna was not happy with Berhalter’s plans for a smaller role at the World Cup and the coach’s subsequent comments led to a scandal between Berhalter and the Reyna family.
Until the two meet again, Reyna will prepare for his upcoming club season with Dortmund
“The experience has taught us that we have the potential to win trophies and has made us all stronger as we look forward to the season ahead.”
As part of that preparation, Dortmund will go on a US preseason tour with matches against USL Championship side San Diego Loyal in San Diego, Manchester United in Las Vegas and Chelsea in Chicago.
After that, Dortmund will start their Bundesliga season with a home game against Köln on August 19.
But after this upcoming season, Reyna will likely be part of an American squad that will host the Copa America 2024.
“The Copa America in the US will be a great experience for our team as we continue to make progress,” said Reyna.
“We have to adjust our expectations. There’s no reason why we shouldn’t compete for the trophy in front of our fans in our country. That’s the mentality.’