Tag: gio reyna

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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The Americans Abroad Five: Turner makes Premier League bow at Emirates — against Arsenal

Turner probably envisioned making his Premier League debut at the Emirates Stadium, but not exactly like this

Matt Turner probably envisioned making his Premier League debut at the Emirates Stadium, but not exactly like this.

Just days after completing a transfer from Arsenal to Nottingham Forest, the U.S. national team No. 1 made his debut for his new club. Coincidentally, it came at the home of his old club.

Turner failed to see any Premier League action in his lone season with Arsenal, but the 29-year-old now looks like Forest’s top choice in goal — at least for the time being.

It seems like he’ll get plenty of save opportunities as well. Turner made five saves from seven shots against the Gunners, as Forest fell 2-1 to the title-chasers in week one.

After some time on the beach, the Americans Abroad Five returns for a whole new season this week. What better way to begin than checking in with an old friend in a brand-new locale?

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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Pulisic: Criticism of Berhalter ‘seems crazy to me’

The USMNT star said the results speak for themselves

Christian Pulisic has hit out against Gregg Berhalter’s critics, saying that the vitriol directed at the recently returned U.S. men’s national team coach “seems crazy.”

Berhalter was reappointed USMNT head coach last week, six months after he left the team following the expiration of his contract.

While he was away from the team, Berhalter was embroiled in a major scandal surrounding his treatment of Gio Reyna during and after the World Cup, which was compounded by Reyna’s parents attempting to blackmail him by offering information to U.S. Soccer about a domestic violence incident in his past.

Pulisic appeared as one of Berhalter’s earliest and most significant backers, saying in March that the behavior of Danielle and Claudio Reyna was “childish” while endorsing Berhalter for another term at the helm.

After criticism of Berhalter’s return spread online, Pulisic again backed his coach this week.

“I just have to give credit where credit’s due and it does frustrate me a little bit, and just seeing just all the negative press towards him that people tell me about, and I can’t fully understand it exactly,” Pulisic told Herculez Gomez in an interview on ESPN’s Futbol Americas.

“He’s come in and won the Nations League, won the Gold Cup, we win the Nations League again. Had a solid World Cup. Are there things that you can criticize here and there? Sure. And I think he’d agree with that, but it just seems a bit crazy to me.”

Pulisic also had some major praise for Reyna, who starred for the USMNT as the team won a second straight CONCACAF Nations League title over the weekend.

“I’d say that this is the best I’ve seen Gio,” Pulisic said. “I was really happy to see it, he’s going to be a big part of this program moving forward. We all see it. We’re continuing to grow our relationship on the field, off the field. I’m enjoying seeing him grow as a player. Everything that’s happened or whatever, I think it’s so far behind us and I love the player that he’s becoming, and the person he is.”

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USMNT coach B.J. Callaghan: Gio Reyna has ‘absolutely risen to the occasion’

“Gio’s performance tonight, is a performance that you expect”

So much of the talk about Gio Reyna and the U.S. men’s national team has focused on off-field issues.

On it? He may well have just delivered a signature performance for the USMNT.

Reyna was stellar as the USMNT confidently defeated Canada 2-0 in the CONCACAF Nations League final, getting the assist on both goals before leaving at halftime with an injury.

The assists were the deserved end product on a day where Reyna was borderline unstoppable. He finished the match with three key passes, eight duels, a successful tackle, and an expected assists total of 0.63 (significantly ahead of any other player on either team).

For U.S. interim coach B.J. Callaghan, that’s the standard the USMNT expects the Borussia Dortmund man to meet.

“Specifically Gio’s performance tonight, is a performance that you expect,” Callaghan told reporters after the match. “It shows his quality that’s on the field, his ball security, his ability to take on two or three players and connect passes.”

One stated reason that Reyna didn’t see as much playing time at the World Cup — a choice from Gregg Berhalter that set off a domino effect involving scandal, disgrace, and a protracted coach hiring process that ended right back where U.S. Soccer started — was that he didn’t offer the defensive effort and cover the team needed.

Per Callaghan, this Nations League window saw Reyna step up on that front in a big way.

“What I’m really proud of him [about], is we’ve challenged Gio to do more work off the ball on the defensive side,” explained Callaghan. “He’s absolutely risen to the occasion.”

Reyna injury status unclear

All that said, Reyna left the match in some clear pain after a tackle just before halftime. Luca de la Torre replaced him during the break. While Reyna was able to cheer the USMNT on from the bench as the half wore on, he was moving very gingerly even with a brace.

Callaghan said that while he had a general sense of what the problem was, the severity remained unclear.

“The only thing I know currently at [this] time, is that it’s a calf injury,” said Callaghan. “I don’t know the severity of it. We haven’t had an opportunity to do a full [evaluation].”

Callaghan chuckled at the idea of how the team’s celebrations were delaying that examination, but added that he was sure Reyna wouldn’t have come off if he could keep going.

“I can tell you that he would be someone that wants to be on the field,” said the USMNT coach. “For him to come off the field, it must be something because he’s not wanting to want to come off. But I don’t have specifics regarding it, I can just tell you that it’s a calf.”

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Berhalter admits there’s ‘work to do’ to repair relationship with Reyna

The returning head coach is aiming to regain the trust of one of his top young players

U.S. men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter has admitted that he has “work to do” to repair his relationship with Gio Reyna.

After six months away from the team following the expiry of his contract and an extensive process of interviews, Berhalter has returned as USMNT head coach.

The end of Berhalter’s time in charge was marred by a scandal that began with him unwittingly revealing that he nearly sent Reyna home from the World Cup in Qatar.

Reyna responded to Berhalter’s comments by admitting he let his “emotions get the best of me” at the World Cup, but also expressing his dismay that the coach’s words made their way into the public sphere.

Reyna’s parents Claudio and Danielle would then kick off a painful and public imbroglio by telling U.S. Soccer leadership the details of a 1992 incident of domestic violence between Berhalter and his future wife.

Speaking at his introductory press conference on Friday, Berhalter admitted that he will have to fix his relationship with the Borussia Dortmund attacker.

“I’d certainly acknowledge there’s work to do,” Berhalter said.

“Gio is an important player to this team. He’s an extremely talented individual. And I have the obligation and the commitment to coach him like I coach every other player, and I want to get the best out of him.

“We know that if we can unlock his talents, he’s going to be a game-changer for this program. So there’s work to do and part of it is working together with Matt [Crocker, U.S. Soccer sporting director] and trying to rebuild the relationship that we know will be important moving forward.”

Crocker said he put all of the USMNT coaching candidates through stress tests around communication and leadership, and he came away convinced that Berhalter would be able to fix the Reyna situation.

“We went through the whole process of stresses in those areas,” Crocker said. “And it came out clear that Gregg was an individual that had a huge amount of of leadership skills and competencies.”

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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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