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Gio Reyna has continued to block out the noise surrounding his career with the US national team with another home service goal for Borussia Dortmund.
For the second time in a week, the midfielder came off the bench to score the winner for the Bundesliga team.
Reyna came on for former Liverpool midfielder Emre Can in the 62nd minute and found the back of the net in the 93rd minute to seal Dortmund’s three points against Mainz and score his second goal in a row.
Gio Reyna has continued to block out the noise surrounding his career with Team USA.
Following a corner kick, the 20-year-old ran to the back post to catch a headed pass from Sebastien Haller to seal a 2-1 win over Mainz in the game’s dramatic closing minutes.
He immediately ran to the corner to celebrate with the visiting section as his teammates ran after him before congratulating him at a meeting.
Reyna then turned towards the stands with her fingers to her ears in a ‘block out the noise’ celebration with her teammate, England striker Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, joining.
His teammates ran after the 20-year-old before congratulating him at a meeting.
On Sunday, in his first match back since an eventful World Cup, Reyna also scored the winner to help Dortmund beat Augsburg in a thrilling 4-3 goal fest and held a similar celebration.
The American ran to the corner to celebrate with the home fans, putting his finger to his mouth in a gesture of silence before sticking his fingers in his ears.
Reyna’s prowess on the field has been completely overshadowed in the past month by reports of misbehavior at Camp USA and a bombshell ‘blackmail’ scandal between Gregg Berhalter and his family.
After finding the back of the net, the midfielder celebrated ‘blocking out the noise’
He put a finger to his mouth to make a gesture of silence, after a month of controversy.
Reyna played a very limited role for her country in Qatar, despite impressive domestic performances, leaving many American soccer fans confused and furious at her omission.
In December, Berhalter revealed at a summit in New York City that an unidentified player was nearly sent home from Qatar.
While Berhalter did not name the player in his comments, MLSSoccer.com first reported that it was Reyna he was referring to.
Additionally, the USMNT voted on whether or not Reyna should stay with the team in Qatar, with the winger winning a 13-12 vote.
Reyna later admitted that she was emotional and lacked motivation, but added that she was told before the World Cup that her role would be limited and that all team disputes would be kept ‘at home’.
Surprisingly, Reyna was given a limited role for the US in their World Cup campaign.
Reyna’s mother, Danielle (left), told US Soccer that Gregg Berhalter kicked his wife in 1991
In response to Berhalter’s belittling of Gio Reyna during the World Cup, Danielle Reyna, Gio’s mother and wife of former United States midfielder Claudio Reyna, notified US Soccer last month about a 1991 incident in which Berhalter kicked her future wife, Rosalind, the wife of Danielle Reyna. college roommate.
After seeing off the winner on Sunday, many believed Reyna’s celebration was a response to the controversy surrounding her mother’s ‘blackmail’ plot.
Alexi Lalas, who played 96 caps for the USA during his playing career, suggested that the celebration may have been inspired by certain “motifs.”
“No one is debating how talented Gio Reyna is or what he can become as he progresses. Not me, not you, not anyone out there, not Gregg Berhalter and certainly not Gio Reyna’s parents,” said the former defender in his State of the Union Podcast.
Lalas has not tired of asking that Berhalter continue to lead the USMNT despite the incident
“But everything he does takes on additional, more significant meaning, especially when you celebrate like this, and don’t think for a second that players have no reason for the way they celebrate.” It’s that moment when you know all the cameras and all eyes will be on you and what you do will be interpreted and sometimes misinterpreted.
Lalas then added: ‘Ultimately, Gio Reyna is gone from the World Cup. We’re not going to move on, and him doing this celebration guarantees that this story will continue, which is what we’re talking about right now.
‘So mission accomplished if that’s what you wanted to do, Gio.’
After two goals in two games, Reyna certainly seems to have moved on and is flying for the German side.