What could have been among the most fraught conversation in U.S. men’s soccer history appears to have worked as intended.
U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker says that head coach Gregg Berhalter and midfielder Gio Reyna have spoken, and that the Borussia Dortmund man is — if fully fit — in line for a USMNT return in October.
“Gregg has had conversations with Gio. They’re in a place where as soon as Gio is fit, he’ll be in the next camp,” said Crocker in quotes published by The Athletic. “I think both Gregg and Gio are in a good place to move forward and that’s the best thing to say.”
Last month, just before making his return to the touchline for the USMNT, Berhalter admitted that he and Reyna had not yet spoken.
“It’s not something where you just pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey bud, here’s how it’s going to be,'” Berhalter said in August. “There is work to be done.”
The fracturing of the relationship between Berhalter and Reyna is extraordinarily complex. The ordeal started with a simple on-field decision, with Berhalter informing the attacking midfielder that his role at the 2022 World Cup wouldn’t be particularly substantial.
From there, things spiraled. Reyna, by his own admission, gave inadequate effort in a subsequent closed-door match, and Berhalter later revealed at a HOW Institute event that he considered dismissing the 20-year-old from the World Cup squad.
Berhalter’s remarks going public were followed by Reyna’s parents, former U.S. internationals Claudio and Danielle Reyna, bringing an incident of domestic violence involving Berhalter and his wife Rosalind from 1992 to light.
A U.S. Soccer investigation eventually found that Berhalter was still eligible for consideration for the USMNT job, while also casting a very dim view of the elder Reynas.
Crocker: ‘A clear way forward’ for Reyna, Berhalter
In the aftermath, Berhalter said that he had apologized in writing to every USMNT player for his discussion of internal issues at the HOW Institute. Reyna, meanwhile, returned for the U.S. under interim coaches Anthony Hudson and B.J. Callaghan, playing well in the team’s CONCACAF Nations League triumph in June.
However, an injury sustained in the Nations League final prevented Reyna from participating in Dortmund’s preseason. On September 8, he participated in a Dortmund U-23 match, but has yet to make his season debut for the senior team.
“Clearly, there’s been a lot of emotions over the last 12 months, but the common connection is they both want the program to be successful,” said Crocker. “That’s the starting point. There is a clear way forward and a professional way of working and they’re both ready. Gio’s looking forward to the next camp, since he’s fit, and Gregg’s looking forward to working with him, the same as all the staff and all the players that want to welcome him back.”
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