Tag: Borussia Dortmund

‘Cream always rises’ – Bellingham boosts Reyna after USMNT masterclass

If anyone knows about Gio Reyna’s quality, it’s Jude Bellingham

If anyone knows about Gio Reyna’s quality, it’s Jude Bellingham.

The pair were teammates for three seasons at Borussia Dortmund before Bellingham departed last summer to join Real Madrid, where he’s added to his growing reputation as one of the world’s top players.

Reyna hasn’t had nearly the same level of club success since Bellingham left Germany. The 21-year-old didn’t get a sustained run of playing time at Dortmund before departing at midseason to join Nottingham Forest on loan.

But things haven’t been any better in England, with Reyna totaling just 38 minutes of action with Forest thus far.

The international break came as a much-needed respite for Reyna, who showed what he can do over two Concacaf Nations League matches with the United States.

Reyna assisted two Haji Wright goals in extra time of a 3-1 win over Jamaica in the semifinal, and then scored himself in a 2-0 win over Mexico in the final on Sunday. For his efforts, Reyna won the Golden Ball as the Nations League’s best player.

After taking home more individual and team hardware, Reyna posted a series of photos on Instagram. Bellingham jumped into the comments section with a boost to his old friend, saying: “Cream always rises to the top.”

The challenge for Reyna will now be to translate his international form to the club level. His next chance to impress for Forest could come on Saturday in a Premier League match against Crystal Palace, which features his USMNT teammate Chris Richards.

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Reyna returns for Borussia Dortmund in U-23 match

The USMNT forward will hope to make his season debut after the international break

Gio Reyna is one step closer to making his season debut with Borussia Dortmund.

The Bundesliga club said on Friday that the U.S. national team forward had played in a game with its U-23 team, marking his first match action of the 2023-24 campaign.

Dortmund’s Instagram account said that Reyna played around 60 minutes in a 1-0 defeat to Schalke’s U-23 squad.

Reyna missed all of Dortmund’s preseason and the club’s first four regular season matches with an injury he sustained in June’s CONCACAF Nations League final.

Reyna was also left off the USMNT squad for this month’s friendlies against Uzbekistan and Oman as he nears a return to full fitness.

Dortmund is off to a sputtering start in its Bundesliga campaign, winning its opener against FC Köln but then drawing consecutive games against likely relegation battlers Bochum and Heidenheim

The 20-year-old will hope to make his season debut after the international break when Dortmund travels to face Freiburg on September 16.

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USMNT players in UEFA Champions League 2023-24

11 U.S. players are in the world’s biggest club competition

There was once a time where a U.S. men’s national team player being on a Champions League squad list — even if they might have no shot at playing in any actual games — was a very big deal.

It’s safe to say those days are gone, with no fewer than 11 U.S. players on the books for clubs that qualified for this year’s competition.

Sure, in some cases the player in question is probably a major longshot to even dress on gameday, but between Christian Pulisic’s sublime start to life at AC Milan and a USMNT trio at PSV, USMNT fans are likely going to be watching games on multiple screens just to keep up.

Here is the complete list of U.S. men’s players to make it to this year’s Champions League proper:

Reyna returns to training with Borussia Dortmund

The USMNT star is back on the training pitch for the first time this season

Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić confirmed that Gio Reyna has returned to training for the first time this season.

Reyna has been battling a lingering calf injury that he suffered with the U.S. national team in June, when he was forced off at halftime of the CONCACAF Nations League final.

The 20-year-old American has been forced to miss the entirety of Dortmiund’s preseason as well as its first two regular season matches.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s Bundesliga match at VfL Bochum, Terzić said that Reyna was back training with his teammates, though he could only participate in some parts.

“Gio Reyna is on the pitch for the first time today and can participate in parts of training,” Terzić said.

Reyna’s return to training this week could be viewed as something of a pleasant surprise. Prior to Saturday’s Bundesliga opener at FC Köln, Terzić said he was hopeful the American could be back on the pitch within two weeks.

“Gio is OK, but Gio is not game ready at the minute, so he didn’t train with the team,” Terzić said. “So we hope that he can join us next week or the week after.

“He’s on a good way, he’s doing his running program. He’s working on his fitness level. And now we hope that he’s going to be pain free and that he can help us.”

Reyna scored a career-high seven Bundesliga goals last season despite only making four league starts.

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Terzic hopeful Reyna can rejoin training within two weeks

It sounds like the USMNT attacker will miss at least another game or two

Borussia Dortmund head coach Edin Terzić has said he’s hopeful that Gio Reyna can return to training within the next two weeks.

Reyna has missed Dortmund’s first two games of the season as he continues to battle a calf injury suffered with the U.S. national team in June’s CONCACAF Nations League final.

The attacker, who has dealt with fitness issues for a significant portion of his stint with Dortmund, was forced to miss the team’s entire preseason as well as matches in the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga.

Terzić spoke to ESPN prior to Saturday’s Bundesliga opener, which Dortmund would win 1-0 over FC Köln.

The coach was non-committal over exactly how long the 20-year-old would be sidelined, indicating the attacker would miss at least another match or two.

“Gio is OK, but Gio is not game ready at the minute, so he didn’t train with the team,” Terzić said. “So we hope that he can join us next week or the week after.

“He’s on a good way, he’s doing his running program. He’s working on his fitness level. And now we hope that he’s going to be pain free and that he can help us.”

Dortmund will return to action on Saturday with a Bundesliga match at VfL Bochum.

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Reyna’s injury woes continue as USMNT star ruled out of Bundesliga opener

The USMNT attacker is still fighting off a calf injury suffered in June

Gio Reyna has been ruled out of Borussia Dortmund’s Bundesliga opener this weekend due to an ongoing calf injury.

Reyna suffered the injury in June’s CONCACAF Nations League final against Canada, getting two assists before leaving at halftime after a tough tackle from an opponent. The United States would go on to win 2-0.

Two months later, the 20-year-old has yet to fully recover. He missed Dortmund’s entire preseason and its regular season opener last week, a 6-1 DFB-Pokal win against Schott Mainz.

In a press conference ahead of Saturday’s league opener against FC Köln, head coach Edin Terzić said the USMNT attacker has yet to recover.

“[Julien] Duranville, Reyna and [Thomas] Meunier are definitely out,” Terzić said. “There are question marks with Felix Nmecha and Karim Adeyemi, but there we are confident that it could work out for Saturday.”

Reyna has suffered through various injury issues during his time with Dortmund, though he managed to stay healthy throughout most of last season after being brought along slowly in the early going.

As the campaign wore on, however, Reyna found himself struggling for minutes due to the stellar form of the attackers above him on the depth chart. Still, he made the most of his opportunities by scoring a career-best seven league goals, despite only getting four starts all season.

Reyna came off the bench in Dortmund’s season finale against Mainz, grabbing two assists as his side agonizingly fell short of a Bundesliga title with a 2-2 draw in a game they needed to win.

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Gio Reyna on Dortmund future: ‘I can’t think of a better club to play for’

Reyna says he wants to stay put

For Gio Reyna, the grass isn’t greener on the other side.

The U.S. men’s national team midfielder, after being very effective in limited minutes during the 2022-23 season for Borussia Dortmund, said in an interview that rather than looking for the exit, he’s angling for a more regular role under manager Edin Terzić.

ESPN Bundesliga commentator Derek Rae published quotes from an interview he conducted with the 20-year-old, with Reyna saying that he “can’t think of a better club to play for” than Dortmund.

“I’m lucky that my first professional club is also a club that has the chance to win the Bundesliga, the Pokal, and Champions League,” said Reyna. “There is no moving up from Dortmund. It’s a top, top club so I’m happy here and could play here forever.”

A June report in Bild said that Dortmund was prepared to listen to offers for Reyna, setting a €20 million line on a transfer fee to open talks. However, there are conflicting reports on the accuracy of that claim, with Sky Sports Germany reporting earlier this month that Dortmund had no plans to court interest in Reyna.

Reyna produced seven goals and added two assists for Dortmund this past season, but owing to injuries and the volume of talented players competing for time, saw just 609 minutes of playing time. In the interview, Reyna was clear on wanting to stay at Signal Iduna Park, with a focus on making more starts during the 2023-24 season.

“What I’ve learned is coming off the bench was helpful to the team winning and sometimes late in the game, it opens up a bit,” said Reyna. “I’m going to push as hard as I can to start more this season though. That’s my goal for sure.”

Reyna has not yet played for Dortmund in their preseason preparations, with Terzić saying last week that he was still working back from a calf injury suffered during the USMNT’s CONCACAF Nations League final win over Canada.

Regarding Gregg Berhalter’s return as the USMNT’s head coach, Reyna said that U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker gave him assurances about his role within the program, but did not directly address how their relationship is. After a winter plagued by scandal, Berhalter acknowledged that “there’s work to do” in building trust between himself and Reyna.

Reyna was more expansive on the USMNT’s participation in the 2024 Copa América, which will take place in the United States.

“We need to raise our expectations,” said Reyna. “There is no reason we shouldn’t compete for the trophy in front of our own fans in our country. That’s our mentality.”

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Dortmund boss Terzic provides Reyna injury update

It sounds like Reyna may not be back in training for a little while yet

It sounds like Gio Reyna may not be back on the training pitch for Borussia Dortmund for a little while yet.

The club’s head coach Edin Terzić offered updates on Reyna and several other injured players after Wednesday’s 7-0 preseason-opening win over fifth-tier Westfalia Rhynern.

When asked about Karim Adeyemi, Youssoufa Moukoko and Felix Nmecha, Terzić told Dortmund’s official website: “Five players are not yet completely fit.

“The aforementioned trio are joined by Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Gio Reyna, who unfortunately got injured with their national teams.”

Reyna was injured last month in the CONCACAF Nations League final, a game in which he provided both assists as the U.S. defeated Canada 2-0.

Speaking after the match, interim head coach B.J. Callaghan said he didn’t know the severity of the injury, only saying that it was a calf issue.

Nearly a month later there still haven’t been many updates on Reyna’s injury, but Terzić did not include the USMNT star in a list of players he was hoping to see in training next week.

“The lads are on a good path,” the coach added. “Four of them will be on the training pitch tomorrow and then we hope to have them all fit by the end of preseason at the latest. In Karim, Youssoufa and Felix’s case, we hope that they will already be able to participate fully in team training next week.”

Dortmund is set to continue its preseason in the United States later this month, as it has matches scheduled against Premier League giants Manchester United and Chelsea, as well as USL Championship side San Diego Loyal.

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Forbes ranks 20 most valuable soccer teams in the world

Valuations of the world’s biggest clubs are sky high

Who are the most valuable soccer teams in the world?

With success being more and more tied to an ability to spend, being a “big” club — at least in financial terms — is the clearest indicator of whether a given team is going to contend for trophies in the world’s top leagues.

That said, what defines value doesn’t necessarily require a team to be in the Premier League, La Liga, the Bundesliga, or Serie A. MLS has three teams in the top 20, including LAFC becoming the first club to break the $1 billion valuation barrier.

That said, Europe is still the home of the world’s biggest clubs, and its most valuable. In particular, eight of the top 20 hail from the Premier League, which will not be a particular surprise given the league’s global reach.

Here are Forbes’ 20 most valuable teams in global soccer.

Reyna apologizes to Dortmund fans after devastating collapse

Reyna did his part, but his side still suffered a devastating final-day outcome

Gio Reyna has posted a note of apology to Borussia Dortmund fans after his side threw away a golden opportunity to win the Bundesliga title on the final day of the season.

Needing only a win against mid-table Mainz to seal the championship, Dortmund was held to a 2-2 draw. At the same time, Jamal Musiala’s 89th-minute winner for Bayern Munich at Köln snatched the title away in dramatic fashion.

Reyna played his part in Dortmund’s comeback from a two-goal deficit, assisting both of his team’s second-half goals after coming on as a substitute. But ultimately, Dortmund fell short in front of a packed Signal-Iduna Park ready to celebrate a first league title in 11 years.

On Tuesday, Reyna apologized to his side’s supporters on social media, trying to keep up some semblance of positivity after a devastating end to the season.

“It was in our hands and we let something we worked so hard for, slip away,” he wrote on Instagram. “Remember that setbacks are a part of life, and even though it may be tough right now, it’s important to keep pushing forward and learn from the experience. Sorry to the fans and city of Dortmund but we can’t thank you enough for the incredible support shown throughout all the ups and downs.”

Despite making just one league start after the World Cup break, Reyna finished the campaign with a career-best seven Bundesliga goals.

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