Berhalter: Gio Reyna possesses similar on-field grace to his father Claudio
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SBI Soccer
3 Yrs Ago
Gio Reyna is taking part in his first U.S. Men’s National Team camp, and the comparisons to his father, former USMNT captain Claudio Reyna are bound to emerge. As much as comparisons between the two as players might be a stretch given their very different playing profiles, USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter can see some similarities.
Few people know Claudio Reyna better than Berhalter, who played high school soccer and with the USMNT with Claudio, one of his closest friends. Berhalter knows full well that, at least stylistically, Gio Reyna is different from his father, but Berhalter does see some things that remind him of the former Manchester City, Sunderland and Glasgow Rangers midfielder.
Gio and His dad have a very similar grace to them, how they how they move around the field,” Berhalter said. “Gio and Claudio both kind of just move around the field in a very fluid way, and I think that's something that's a really big comparison of both of them.
“They're both competitive,” Berhalter said. “I know Claudio was was really competitive, you can see Gio also has that competitive fire. In these games that we've been watching from Dortmund, you can see how badly he wants to win the games. So those are two probably a major similarities that I see between them.”
While Claudio was more a deep-lying central midfielder who provided the ability to keep possession and provide intelligent distribution, Gio is a more attack-minded player, capable of operating either as a winger or attacking midfielder.
Those qualities have helped Gio become a regular starter for Borussia Dortmund, earning starts ahead of some established veterans. His success this season at Dortmund has also raised the expectations surrounding his looming USMNT debut, with his new national team teammates fully aware of how much he brings to the squad.
“Adding someone of Gio’s quality to the team, that's obviously had quite the experience of the past year and playing a lot of important games, and representing Dortmund at a high level, it's good to bring his quality into the team,” USMNT and RB Leipzig midfielder Tyler Adams said. “He brings a skill set where he's very comfortable on the ball. You can give him the ball in tight areas on the field. He maneuvers with it. He can beat players one-on-one. And as of late, he's really showing off his his end product with a lot of assists and adding some goals to his game as well.”
The ties between the Berhalters and Reynas date back 30 years, to when Gregg and Claudio were high school teammates at St. Benedict’s Prep, then with the USMNT. They were both on the 2002 U.S. World Cup team that reached the World Cup quarterfinals, a team which Claudio captained.
Eighteen years later, Berhalter is USMNT head coach, and will coach Gio Reyna for the first time as he prepares to give the Dortmund standout his international debut on Thursday against Wales. Reyna’s rapid rise at Dortmund has helped him go from long-term USMNT prospect to a player talented enough to step in and play a key role as a teenager, and as much as Berhalter was preaching patience regarding Reyna at the start of 2020, he knows the youngster is ready for bigger challenges.
“For Gio, for being that young and playing at Dortmund, a top club in the world, you know, is really exceptional, and it's been great to watch him grow.”