Giovanni “Gio” Reyna US National Team Discussion

From that link:

..."In a case like Gio, great you signed with Borussia Dortmund, great you went on loan to Forest. You don't play soccer," Donovan said..."

Well, I kinda agree with Donovan. Reyna's been a highly paid spectator, watching other people do a job he isn't doing.

For whatever reason, he isn't playing. He didn't play at Forest, he didn't play for Dortmund before then, and he isn't playing much now.

 

you would really think if anyone understood that fit is as important as quality it would be donovan...

 

Against Jamaica in the comeback Gio shifted into a “deeper” role when we went 4132 after Haji had come on. It was like a Steven Gerrard at the 8 kind of free role in a game state where we were throwing numbers forward and had Wes at RB.

 

Yet that isn’t the discussion. No one is talking about players whose pro choices are between the Dynamo and Malmo. To add, MLS is chock full of Americans. None of the numbers support some weirdo suggestion most players only look at Europe. It is a tiny % it even applies to. Usually either the top 30-40 Americans or the top 1% of prospects, the elite YNTers.

And what makes Landon’s comments even dumber is he has named drop two players. Pulisic and Gio. He actually said Puli should sign with LAG instead of AC Milan.

This has nothing to do with your statement of Europe vs college.

 

They're right about this one. He'd be penciled in at his club in MLS, would have access to good health care, and would have a supportive situation with American staff and fans.

 

There have been much, much better players than Gio in MLS for 20 years.

Landon and Tim are two of those players.

MLS really does make sense for Gio.

I'm going to go ahead and start the rumor: Gio to Chicago.

 

Germany, like most of western Europe and the EU doesn't have "access to good health care" and certainly not millionaire pro athletes employed by multi-billion superclubs like Borussia Dortmund... brilliant analysis thank you for your contribution you've really outdone yourself with this take.

 

I think the whole discussion is a little premature.
He's come back from injury (again) and is in the Dortmund first team.
He played the last two weeks off the bench.

If Gio proves he's fit and healthy, he'll have other suitors in Europe too.
Heck, if PSV sells Tillman...................................

[Earnie Stewart and Dortmund should do a swap deal. Tillman for Gio and cash.]

Was Gio Reyna a flash in the pan? No.
Matthew Hoppe was a flash in the pan.............................

Was it a mistake for Gio Reyna to go over to Europe at 16? No.
In fact, a great number of our prospects that go over at 16-18 fade away and we forget they e even existed. The Sebastian Soto, Uly Llanez, Kobe Hernandez-Foster, Bryang Kayo, etc. gang. Jonathan Gomez is fading into oblivion after the dual-national fight we had with Mexico over him.

The exception is Christian Pulisic. Just like, by the way, a great number of the highly-thought-of Brazilians and Argentines that go over at 16-18 fade away. That's just the way this industry works.

Could Gio come back to MLS and excel? Yes. Could that be a way for him to get back on track?? Maybe. But the list of players that have come back to MLS from Europe, excelled in MLS, and then returned to Europe at a high level................is a freakin' short list. But they do exist. Brad Friedel and company.

 

Cool idea even if it’s unlikely. But Gio is definitely a guy a bunch of MLS teams should be make a strong offer for just in case the player is open to a unique change.

 

Though the European approach to injury treatment and rehabilitation of pro athletes can seem pretty sus at times, the fact is the player simply has often not been fit and in form. MLS isn't going to be a magic cure for that. What would help would be a situation where he doesn't have to fight with 375 other young players for playing time. Dortmund is the biggest of the 'develop and sell' teams. Gio ideally would've been sold before the start of last season. But the Dortmund conveyor belt isn't going to stop for him. Still, Gio doesn't have to move to MLS to find a good playing situation. He also doesn't have to move out of the Top-4. Admittedly, MLS could pay him significantly more over the short term.

 

It should be noted Gio was third* in xGBuildup on that Forest team. He did manage to show some measurable quality in limited minutes.

* 200 minutes min

 

But it only seems to affect Americans. Could it be another reason like playing too much youth soccer?

Or, and here's my pet theory, too much travel at a young age while the body is still developing. Tyler Adams mom drove him 90 minutes to and from training, after school, several times a week. That can't be good for connective tissue especially the return journey when every muscle is going to contracting, stretching the connective tissue. You can't just jump out of the car and stretch. The hamstrings are going to be tight, which can effect the back and tight hammies, quads and calf muscles can affect the knees.

Someone mentioned here or in another thread that European medical teams tend to favour rehab and non-intrusive treatment and only recommend surgery as a last resort. Platelet Rich Plasma is a common treatment in Europe which is meant to help the body heal naturally. American health insurance companies consider us it "experimental" and won't cover it but baseball teams use it extensively.

If a 20 year-old baseball pitcher gets a paper cut it's immediate Tommy John surgery.

 

There seems to be significantly less talk about additional attacking midfielders in the BVB ecosystem. Probably nothing, but they seem comfortable with Brandt and Gio, and the last time Gio was actually fit they felt the need to have Marco Reus for security. Sahin really does seem to think highly of him as well.

To me, it will be telling if he doesn’t start one of the next 3 games.

 

It's a shame for him that they were knocked out of the DFB Pokal.

 

He makes so much money, his options are
limited on loans. Big Liga Mx teams, EPL, Saudi and MLS are the ones that come to mind.
I think he’s going to be fine at BVB goi g forward but I do wish he’d gone to Mexico or MLS instead of Forest last year.

 

He did his job. Forest were on a knife edge when they took Gio on - very close to relegation. They had only one "creative" midfielder, the Capt. Gibbs-White. Had he missed any games, back up would have been required and Gio qualified nicely in that aspect. Sit on the bench for Gibbs-White and break glass in case of emergency. Not sure why people have a hard time understanding that. Forest survived to fight another day. It's better than going down, like Leeds, e.g. Just ask Marsch and Aaronson.

 

I'm getting some jealousy / justification vibes here. Donovan also went to Germany at a young age, didn't stick it out and went to MLS. Does he think that them succeeding makes him look bad? Good grief he had a great career and I bet the Pulisic and Reyna family learned from why he struggled and made sure their kids didn't have those same struggles.

 

I’m getting some “it would be cool for some top Americans to play at home” vibes. While the global hierarchy will most often be adhered to it’s still okay for people (even former pros) to emphasize our own league and root for local clubs to make a splash. LA Galaxy meant a lot to Donovan, of course he would want Pulisic there instead of Milan. He’d probably want him at Everton over a UCL contender as well come to think of it.

 

He had a great career, he knows he has a great career, he doesn't see why others can't have a great career in MLS.

I don't think there's any jealousy. Ex players start to say weirder things as they get older to try and stay relevant.

He was player of the month twice in two short spells at Everton when they were good. They would have signed him in a heartbeat.

 

I don't see the same recovery problems with American players in MLS. Tim Weah: 3 hamstring surgeries. Cat Macario: two years to recover from an ACL! Keven Paredes: 14 weeks of rehab only to then have surgery?! I don't follow foreign players as closely, Ansu Fati's post-surgery rehab was a joke. They ruined that kid's career.

 

I believe all those fade away guys you listed went at 18.

 

Right................

Many of the guys who go over younger (with Euro passports) don't ever tend to get on the radar of the USMNT forum. They make the radar of the USYNT forum.

Pulisic and Reyna were high profile going over at 16. Like Mathis Albert, who's been a USYNTer for years now. The first mention of him on the USYNT forum was with the US U14s.

But the success rate with that next level down is quite low. Evan Rotundo, maybe, is an example of that. The kid that went to Schalke at 16 with a French passport. But there are lots of others.

 

It stands to reason that a real off-season is good for the body. Kasey Keller once mentioned that it was only when he came to MLS that he actually had an off season to work on himself.

 

I think that LD is just passionately pro-US. He wants MLS to grow.