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Gio Reyna back with USMNT after report details parents' bullying of US Soccer officials

Well, this is going to be interesting.

Gio Reyna is on the Concacaf Nations League roster released Wednesday, two days after a report showed the lengths his parents went to to ensure Gregg Berhalter didn’t continue as the U.S. men’s coach. The report also detailed multiple earlier attempts by Claudio Reyna, a former USMNT captain, to influence his son’s playing time and environment.

Interim U.S. coach Anthony Hudson met with Gio Reyna during a trip to Europe last month and has said repeatedly the forward remains “a part of our program.”

“The situation during the World Cup was handled as a group, there was a positive response from the player, and we all moved forward,” Hudson said.

“He’s a good guy and a top talent and he is evaluated like any other player,” Hudson added. “We made the roster decisions based on what gives the team the best opportunity to win these games, and we brought him in because we think he can help us do that.”

The USMNT is currently second in its Nations League group ahead of games at Grenada on March 24 and in Orlando, Florida, against El Salvador on March 27. The group winner advances to this summer’s Nations League semifinals while the top two teams in the group qualify for the Gold Cup.

When did the USMNT become a soap opera?

USMNT forward Gio Reyna
USMNT forward Gio Reyna

The World Cup.

Unhappy about his limited role, Gio Reyna pouted during training. He'd missed most of World Cup qualifying and the 2021-2022 season with a nagging hamstring injury, and the USMNT – and Dortmund, the German team for which Reyna plays – staff didn’t want to rush him back into a central role. 

Berhalter called Reyna out and threatened to send him home if his attitude didn’t improve. It did, Reyna apologized to his teammates and everyone moved on.

Or so they thought.

The elder Reynas were also upset their son wasn’t playing more – he appeared in two of the four matches, both times as a sub – and made their displeasure known to U.S. Soccer officials. Both also suggested they had personal information that could be damaging to Berhalter.

“Once this tournament is over, I can make one phone call and give one interview, and his cool sneakers and bounce passes will be gone,” Danielle Reyna told someone during the World Cup, according to the U.S. Soccer report.

Berhalter and Claudio Reyna had played together growing up and were USMNT teammates. Berhalter’s wife Rosalind and Reyna’s wife Danielle were best friends dating from their playing days at North Carolina.

Claudio Reyna also was friends with Earnie Stewart, U.S. Soccer’s sporting director during the World Cup, and Brian McBride, general manager of the USMNT, from their playing days. Reyna, Stewart, McBride and Berhalter all played together on the 2002 World Cup team, of which Reyna was the captain.

That familiarity gave the Reynas access to U.S. Soccer officials other parents wouldn’t have had.

“Mr. McBride commented that such a meeting would not typically occur with parents of players, but they agreed to it as a courtesy to Mr. Reyna given their long friendship and history as former teammate,” the U.S. Soccer report said, detailing a meeting during the tournament between the Reynas, Stewart and McBride.

Was that the end?

No. After the World Cup, Berhalter appeared at a leadership conference and gave details on the problems with the younger Reyna at the World Cup. Though Berhalter didn’t mention Reyna by name and believed his comments were off the record, it soon became public he’d been talking about Gio Reyna.

The Reynas were, again, unhappy and made their displeasure known to Stewart. During a phone call, Danielle Reyna told Stewart about a domestic violence incident involving the Berhalters when they were freshmen at North Carolina. Stewart said he believed the Reynas disclosed this information, which they’d never shared previously, in hopes it would hurt Berhalter’s chance of being retained as the USMNT coach.

Stewart reported the incident to U.S. Soccer, and an investigation was done to see if Berhalter had violated any of the federation’s rules.

What did the investigation find?

Investigators determined the domestic violence incident between Berhalter and his then-girlfriend was a one-time occurrence. It was never reported to police, so Berhalter would not have been required to disclose it to U.S. Soccer.

However, he and his wife were fully transparent about what had happened and the steps Berhalter took afterward, self-reporting to his coach at North Carolina and family, undergoing counseling and doing community service. As a result, U.S. Soccer determined there’s nothing to prevent him from being considered for the USMNT job.

United States of America manager Gregg Berhalter consoles forward Christian Pulisic (10) after losing a round of sixteen match against the Netherlands in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
United States of America manager Gregg Berhalter consoles forward Christian Pulisic (10) after losing a round of sixteen match against the Netherlands in the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Is that all?

No. Investigators found Claudio Reyna has had a long history of meddling in his son’s USMNT career, complaining about his coaches, travel accommodations and availability to play. Claudio Reyna even displayed some casual misogyny in one email to U.S. Soccer, complaining about a female referee.

“Can we get real and have male refs for a game like this. Its embarrassing guys. What are we trying to prove?” the elder Reyna wrote.

Neither of the Reynas cooperated with U.S. Soccer’s investigation.

In a statement, U.S. Soccer said the report had revealed “a need to revisit U.S. Soccer’s policies concerning appropriate parental conduct and communications with staff at the National Team level. We will be updating those policies as we continue to work to ensure safe environments for all participants in our game.”

Is there anything else of interest about USMNT roster?

This is the first time much of the World Cup team has been together since the Americans were eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16 in Qatar. There are 13 members of the World Cup team on the roster, though captain Tyler Adams is missing because of injury.

The roster marks the return of Miles Robinson and Daryl Dike, both of whom missed the World Cup because of injury. Longtime goalkeeper Zack Steffen is also back after being left off the Qatar roster.

Alex Zendejas, who announced Tuesday that he will play for the USMNT over Mexico, is also on the roster.

Follow Nancy Armour on Twitter @nrarmour

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gio Reyna back with USMNT as report shows parents' US Soccer bullying