Midfielder Giovanni Reyna from Bundesliga soccer team Borussia Dortmund and US national coach Gregg Berhalter are trying to make a fresh start around ten months after their falling out at the World Cup in Qatar. The 20-year-old will be in Berhalter’s squad for the US team’s international matches on October 14th (Saturday/9:00 p.m. CEST) in Hartford/Connecticut against the German national team and three days later in Nashville against Ghana for the first time since the upsetting quarrels .
Coach Berhalter (l.) and midfielder Reyna
Photo: IMAGO/ANP/IMAGO/ANP/IMAGO/ANP
In addition to Reyna, Berhalter nominated four other Bundesliga professionals. Defender Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), midfielder Lennard Maloney (1. FC Heidenheim) as well as Brendan Aaronson (Union Berlin) and Kevin Paredes (VfL Wolfsburg) are also part of the upcoming team in Germany’s first game under new national coach Julian Nagelsmann and against Ghana World Cup co-host.
In Qatar, Reyna and Berhalter had a falling out. Reyna was upset about the lack of playing time during the tournament, while the coach clearly indicated his dissatisfaction with the BVB professional’s training performance. The dispute escalated outside of sports because Reyna’s parents then denounced Berhalter to the US association for an assault in 1991 against his then girlfriend and current wife. What made the process even more piquant was that both couples had been close friends for years.
Due to the allegations, the US association initially decided not to extend Berhalter’s contract, which expired at the end of 2022, and, after initiating an investigation, appointed Berghalter’s assistant BJ Callaghan as interim coach of the World Cup round of 16. However, the investigations against Berhalter, who was active for Energie Cottbus and 1860 Munich in his own professional days, did not provide any evidence of further violent acts by the 49-year-old in the past.
Last June, Berhalter took over the position of national coach again. The former defender will also be in charge of the USA selection at the 2026 World Cup finals in his own country as well as Canada and Mexico. Reyna, who played under Callaghan several times last summer, was not available for the first international matches after Berhalter’s return last September against Oman and Uzbekistan due to an injury.
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2023-10-05 16:43:04
#Dortmunds #Reyna #Berhalter #restart
