Gio Reyna returns to USMNT for a complicated Berhalter reunion

The long-awaited, potentially-fraught, multi-stage reunion of Gregg Berhalter and Gio Reyna will culminate next week at a U.S. men’s national team training camp in Nashville.

Berhalter on Thursday named Reyna to the USMNT’s 23-man roster for friendlies against Germany and Ghana later this month, and confirmed that the two recently spoke via Zoom. Next, they’ll re-unite on the field for the first time since a messy post-World Cup soap opera pulled their families apart.

Reyna already returned to the USMNT in March and June — but with Berhalter absent, out of contract and in limbo. Then, just as U.S. Soccer re-hired Berhalter, Reyna picked up a calf injury that hindered him until last month.

The 20-year-old playmaker missed out on a September camp, Berhalter’s first back at the helm. All the while, the two had not spoken, not since Dec. 11, 2022, when Berhalter mistakenly revealed that he’d almost sent an unnamed player (Reyna) home during the World Cup.

That revelation led Reyna’s parents — who until last fall had been best friends with the Berhalters — to complain to Berhalter’s boss, and mention that he’d assaulted his now-wife when they were college freshmen in 1992. The resurfaced allegation triggered an investigation, during which Berhalter’s contract expired, interim coaches took charge and U.S. Soccer’s sporting leadership changed, making Berhalter an apparent long-shot to reclaim his job.

But in June, U.S. Soccer brought back Berhalter — while Reyna starred in two CONCACAF Nations League wins over Mexico and Canada. Their relationship, and the question of whether they could mend it, hung over Berhalter’s reintegration with the team. Reyna had said in a Dec. 12 Instagram statement that he was “disappointed” and “extremely surprised that anyone on the U.S. men’s team staff would contribute to” ongoing coverage of his World Cup drama. He hasn’t spoken publicly since.

Berhalter acknowledged in June that there was “work to do.” He said he planned to connect with Reyna later in the summer. Two months on, with Reyna still recovering from his injury, that initial conversation hadn’t yet happened. Berhalter told Vanity Fair in August that he’d consulted mediation experts as he navigated the delicate situation.

The two finally spoke in September. Berhalter, on a Thursday Zoom with reporters, called it “a positive conversation.” But he again acknowledged that resolving everything “will take time.” There’s a difference, he said, “between a Zoom call and being in person.”

Their first in-person meeting will be next week. Reyna’s return to training and matchday squads at Borussia Dortmund, his German club, paved the way for his USMNT return.

But the coach-player relationship is not the only tricky aspect of it. Berhalter also must navigate the other thorny question that, in a way, initially sparked this yearlong saga: Where and how much will Reyna play?

Reyna’s USMNT role still up in the air

Reyna’s talent has been evident ever since he was a young teen, and certainly since he broke into the USMNT at age 17. But his role has never been clear. Berhalter pegged him as a winger. Then injuries halted his ascent, and left him buried on the USMNT depth chart behind Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah.

That left him frustrated. In training a week before the USMNT’s 2022 World Cup opener, he showed an alarming lack of effort. It was unclear whether he was sulking or protecting against an injury, perhaps the hamstring that had failed him so often over the previous year.

Thus began the feud between the Reynas and Berhalters. Gio eventually righted his behavior and apologized to teammates, but his parents bristled at how their son had been treated. Meanwhile, a very solid USMNT took shape with Reyna largely uninvolved.

Weah and Pulisic combined to create the team’s first goal at the World Cup. Pulisic scored the second. And the midfield three of Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams were primarily responsible for the USMNT’s staunch defensive record — zero goals conceded from open play during the group stage. Fans continued to plead with Berhalter to insert Reyna. But, with the three midfielders and two wingers seemingly undroppable, nobody had a clean answer for whom Reyna should replace.

And 10 months later, that dilemma still exists.

In March and June, interim coaches slotted Reyna into an attacking midfield role, as a traditional No. 10, with Musah and McKennie in a double pivot behind him. Berhalter could take a similar approach. U.S. Soccer listed Reyna as a midfielder on the roster it released Thursday, while Brenden Aaronson is listed among the forwards. (On the World Cup roster, Reyna was a forward, while Aaronson was a midfielder.) Berhalter said he sees Reyna “being able to play three positions: center midfielder, attacking midfielder and winger.”

The problem, though, remains unsolved. The common thread in March, June and now is a hamstring injury to Adams. The USMNT’s captain and defensive midfielder recently aggravated the injury playing for Bournemouth in the English Premier League, and will be “out for some time,” according to head coach Andoni Iraola.

Reyna, meanwhile, is also still working his way back to full fitness. He has returned to Dortmund’s bench, but hasn’t played a single minute of competitive soccer since June. It’s therefore unlikely that Berhalter will throw him straight into the USMNT’s starting lineup, at least not for a full 90 minutes. Berhalter spoke Thursday about “build[ing] him up, build his minutes up, [so] that he goes back to Dortmund in a better place.”

“We’re gonna be creative with the minutes,” Berhalter said. “We want to certainly get him on the field, and work through both the Germany game, seeing what position he plays, and then in the Ghana game same thing, seeing how we can get him in different positions throughout the camp.”

So the reunion, in a word, will be complicated. It will require sensitivity off the field and on it. Berhalter will have to address the drama of the past 10 months, and rebuild his relationship with Reyna, all while managing his fitness and perhaps limiting his playing time once again.

The one certainty is that he won’t shy away from doing any of that.

“Gio is an important player for this team, he’s an extremely talented individual,” Berhalter said in June. “And I have the obligation, and the commitment to coach him like I coach every other player. And I wanna get the best out of him, we wanna get the best out of him. And we know that if we can unlock his talents, he’s gonna be a game-changer for this program.”

After their conversation last month, none of that has changed. “The idea is that we work together for the team to be successful,” Berhalter said Thursday. “And I think we’re both prepared to do that. So, although it may take some time, we’re both aligned with what we want to accomplish.”

Full USMNT roster for October friendlies

Below is the full roster for a camp that will begin in Nashville, and for games against Germany (Saturday, Oct. 14, 3 p.m. ET, TNT/Telemundo) and Ghana (Tuesday, Oct. 17, 8:30 p.m. ET, TNT/Universo).

Goalkeepers (2): Ethan Horvath (Nottingham Forest), Matt Turner (Nottingham Forest)

Defenders (8): Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), DeJuan Jones (New England Revolution), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Tim Ream (Fulham), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Miles Robinson (Atlanta United), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach)

Midfielders (7): Johnny Cardoso (Internacional), Luca de la Torre (Celta Vigo), Lennard Maloney (Heidenheim), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards (6): Brenden Aaronson (Union Berlin), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Kevin Paredes (Wolfsburg), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Juventus)

Projected USMNT starting lineup

If Reyna isn’t ready to start, the USMNT’s first-choice starting lineup would likely be:

Either de la Torre or Johnny could take Adams’ place at the base of midfield. Johnny, who was born in New Jersey but raised in Brazil, has been starting for Internacional. When not injured, he featured prominently in their run to the Copa Libertadores semifinals — which ended in heartbreak Wednesday night. He’s currently the second-best defensive midfielder in the U.S. pool.

Or, Berhalter could stray from his traditional single-pivot midfield setup, rein in Musah and McKennie, and put an attacking midfielder — Reyna, Tillman or Aaronson — ahead of them.

Adams’ absence, Berhalter said, “gives us an opportunity to have a Plan B, when and if Tyler isn’t available. And we’ll work through this.”

The only other question marks are at the back. Antonee Robinson is “dealing with pubalgia,” a chronic groin problem, Berhalter said. He was left off the roster, leaving the left back spot temporarily up for grabs. Scally, Lund and Paredes are the contenders. Dest could also move from right to left, and Jones could start at right back.

The center back depth chart is also subject to change. Elsewhere, the preferred lineup seems fairly set.