To write about Gio Reyna over a four-year period was to write about his potential—specifically, the unease about his unfulfillment. Once touted as perhaps the greatest prospect in U.S. men’s history, a series of injuries kept him from just getting on the court, let alone making his mark.
Since his inaugural 2020-21 season, when he joined Erling Haaland, Jude Bellingham and Jadon Sancho in nearly 2,000 Bundesliga minutes, Reina has finished each of the following five seasons without even completing 630 league minutes. “Rotational” is a generous descriptor for his role on loan at Nottingham Forest and then at Borussia Mönchengladbach last season. Yet Gregg Berhalter and Mauricio Pochettino continued to lure Reyna to the U.S. team based on that pesky potential—betting that he still had the raw talent to do what few of his countrymen could do in his time.
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This year, those days are finally coming regularly. After doing well in a World Cup role, Reina moved to France with Strasbourg, where he remains first choice in a young squad whose average age of 21.6 looks more like a postgraduate program than a Ligue 1 roster. Coupled with his newfound status as a two-time World Cup selection, Reyna looks more comfortable as a rookie leader than the expected wunderkind with an unfortunately long injury record. Life is simpler this way.
“Keep showing up every day, keep training, keep getting better,” Reyna said while speaking to reporters at the latest U.S. window in the spotlight. “[I’m] I do whatever it takes to prepare mentally and physically for every practice and game. However, I feel good and every time I step on the court I feel more confident.”
Reyna, the only player to start in four friendlies during the September/October international window, was understandably left out of Strasbourg’s starting line-up after returning to France before being reinstated for Saturday’s visit of Paris Saint-Germain. It ended like most Ligue 1 matches involving PSG, with the two-time defending European champions doing enough to claim all three points.
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But it was Reyna’s opener that preceded PSG’s three goals. Reyna, who started to recover in the attacking half from a poor pass by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, collected the ball and did a one-two before dribbling into the penalty area. Lucas Digne drifted into the center before Reyna slotted well between the bewildered Filip Jorgensen and his near post.
Run to the fans. Knee slip. Random hello. In the end, Reyna is more suited to his exploits as a player than as a concept – but the reason for that is far from the goal. For the first time in his career, Reyna managed to start eight games in a row for club and country, a streak that only ended as he returned after the window. A month shy of turning 24, his body is finally allowing him to live up to the promise he’s made since turning heads as part of New York City FC’s academy.
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It doesn’t hurt that he has less pressure than before to carry the team. Like Christian Pulisic, the impressive arrival of Javan Sullivan and a host of other young players has eased the pressure in the spotlight, and Reyna can once again act as a veteran voice. To start the window, Justin Ellis said he looked up to Rayne in particular during his academy days in Orlando. Shortly after, Ellis opened the scoring for the United States from Reyna’s free kick.
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Finally, the USA produces enough players boasting the potential to play in Europe’s big five that no individual is seen as “make or break.”
Still in his early 20s, Reyna has plenty of time to carve out a fine career, away from the shadow of his father Claudio’s stunt double and the preconceived notion of what he could have been in his Dortmund heyday. Finally, in a comfortable situation in Strasbourg, he begins to write his own story.