Gio Reyna on moving past injuries and his road back with the USMNT: Men in Blazers 11/07/25

0:00You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network Suboptimal Radio. I believe and everyone around me believe that I can still do big things in this sport. I'm still trying to reach for all my goals. And if it sort of hasn't broken me yet, then I don't really think anything can.

0:23My guest today is a gentleman who has experienced the full volume of emotions that football can give. A young American raised in Bedford, New York. He moved to Dortmund, aged just 16, made his first team debut at 17, was hailed as the American dream. A team we saw effortlessly destroy all comers with a young girl in Haaland as his partner in crime. Five years of challenge have ensued, but he's arrived. Borussia Mönchengladbach, eager to prove himself all over again. Live from Dusseldorf. Welcome back. It's Mr. Gio Reyner. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Nice to be here. It's good to see you. I've not spoken to you in a while.

1:03I know it's been a time of challenge for you on the field. Tell us where you are in your journey, in your own words, and how you're feeling. Yeah, I feel great to start here at Klopp now. It's been an eventful start, but I have a really good feeling from the club and everyone around here and the players as well. Obviously not where we are on the table, but I'm sure we'll turn it around. Just a good opportunity for me to play and finding joy back again on the field and getting back to full me, I guess. God, I mean, in a way, we're all going through life trying to find the full me. But it is for you, eight games into this Bundesliga season, playing, finding joy again.

1:42What is your footballing goal right now, G? Yeah, kind of like what I said before, just to get back to my full best, full fitness. And I feel like once that happens, sort of the rest will fall into place in terms of playing time and, yeah, feeling good again. And of course, National Team is somewhere where I want to be in June, July, obviously. So, yeah, I want to play, enjoy it, obviously perform well. I want to get to the national team and that dream and that World Cup in one moment. But you left Dortmund in August. You completed the permanent move to Borussia Mönchengladbach. When you surveyed your options, what made you think Mönchengladbach would be the place, the springboard, the place you wanted to move to?

2:23Yeah, I mean, I've obviously played against Gladbach for years. it's always been a tough game home and away. So, yeah, and then obviously the interest from them too, from the whole club that really pushed me and wanted me. And then, yeah, I guess the cherry on the top was Joe Scali being here too. Not that that's the only reason, but of course it's nice that he's here. I mean, Joe Scali's been your mate since you were like under 15s, right, with the US team. Yeah, we started playing together when we were 12. And now we probably, I think we live 200 meters away. So I drive him every day to training.

2:54And I think now we probably spend a little bit too much time together. But did you think about MLS as an option or was it always you? No, no, that was never an option. No. Obviously, I saw the rumors, but a lot of those I didn't even hear about. So it must have been fake. And this is incredible. You are you're still just 22 years young. So much of your career ahead of you. When you think about what you've been through since 2022, to what extent do you think about the fitness challenges as the main obstacle that you're grappling with and to what extent was it just the fallout from the the last world cup no i uh that i don't think it really had anything to do with the last world cup i think it was more just consistent playing time i think that's you know the hardest for for everybody if you don't play consistently then it's really hard to progress and make really big steps in your career so me and my team my family spoke that this move most important for me was just to be able to be somewhere where I feel valued and where I can play so that's why I feel really good that I made this choice to come here to pick the road up to the present what happened after the World Cup it's been well documented so we don't have to rehash it but when you think about it would you have done anything different in hindsight during or in the week I don't know I mean it's it's hard to say now it's I think it's so far removed from everybody, to be honest.

4:19So I don't really think about it at all. So it's hard to really say what would anyone have done different. But I don't know. Maybe people would have. Maybe people wouldn't have. But to me, it doesn't even matter at this point. And I don't really think it should to anybody else, as we do have another World Cup coming up in eight months or whatever it is. So I think, obviously, that's the priority for – should be for sort of the country of American soccer fans in the whole organization, especially for me. So that's sort of what I'm definitely looking more forward to, to that than the last World Cup.

4:57I did think about you a lot when you were going through it, Gio. You were such a young kid. With everything in your life that you cared about going through, a very public upside down, how did you find the mental strength to cope? Was it like, did you develop a mental regimen? Did you work with sports psychologists? Did religion help? No, I think it was more just sort of, yeah, those things you can kind of find a way, but you just sort of have to stick with the people that are closest to you. So I have my best friends and my family with me the whole time, and obviously all together and getting through it.

5:33At the end of the day, things like that happen in competitive sort of environments and in professional sports. It's not the first time something like that's happened in sports before, and I'm sure it won't be the last. But yeah, we sort of just try to put it behind us as quick as possible and move forward. So yeah, it's behind all of us, I'm pretty sure. Is there a singular moment that's fueled you the most since that 2022 World Cup? Probably arriving to Gladbach, to be honest. Yeah, a fresh start can, you know, relight a lot of fire inside Swan, and that's what I've definitely felt more than anything right now is that, yeah, I feel like I'm in the right place to sort of show myself again.

6:12And yeah, that's probably what I've been most excited for. How today are you different to the Gio Reina of 2022, do you think? I guess I'm married now. So to start, I think I like to say four years ago when I was 18, 19, whatever it was, when I was, I think I was 19, I would like to say I was, I'm probably more mature than I was then. and I'm not just saying for I guess it's things that came out or what have I'm more just saying in general as a as a human being so yeah I mean married now I have a dog so I guess you could call it a little family yeah it's it's more responsibility it's just growing up now got to sort of take on the chin and then uh yeah mature which I feel like I have and will continue to do what kind of a dog have you got Jim a catapoo oh he's uh he's the best his name's mellow after Carmelo Anthony.

7:06So we love him. He's the best. I hope he doesn't. I try to speak to him for so he doesn't bark. Melo can chime in at any time. God bless. Also, the real Carmelo, a huge football fan in every single regard. There is another side to the journey since the last World Cup. And you've hinted at it, the playing time, the injuries. It's incredible. Right after the World Cup, you had a burst of emphatic form for Dortmund. Coming out of it, January 2023. you netted two quite ecstatic crucial goals for Borussia Dortmund, both of which were match winners. But then the injuries kicked in. I think you've experienced, I don't know if you know how many, I counted up at least eight in the last five years, heel injury, calf injury, soft tissue, muscle problems, one leg fracture.

7:53I mean, I can't imagine when I looked into this, just the mental side of the experience and the toll that's taken. yeah i mean it's it's some of those were kind of i guess the calf and the leg fracture were kind of the same thing it was yeah a leg fracture and some were muscular and you know some like the leg fracture you can do absolutely nothing about and it's just pure um yeah being unlucky wrong place wrong time and stuff and that's just sometimes how it is so yeah i'm still still I mean going it's it's I don't it's obviously it sucks it is what it is but I believe it's I'm still trying to reach for all my goals and if it's sort of hasn't broken me yet then I don't really think anything can so now it's more just sticking with it staying fit you know doing all the routines I have to do to make sure I'm good to go and then hopefully everything will fall into place I mean I do I admire you greatly when you say that if it hasn't broken me yet then it's not going to I mean, it's been a brutal run for you.

8:57The last three years at Dortmund, it was hard to complete 90 minutes. The Nottingham Forest loan was tough. I went to watch you at Forest, watch you desperate to play, but unable to go on the field. What do you tell yourself internally, G? Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to lie to you and say it's easy. I guess you feel bad for yourself in the moment, but then the next day you just have to kick on and go on with it. I believe and everyone around me believe that I can still do big things in this sport, which is I'm still sort of, of course, reaching for. And my belief is that when I sort of get to that, wherever I want to be, and obviously I can't put a statement of where I want to get to, but it's definitely high.

9:34And yeah, all these sort of challenges and tough moments will make it so much nicer when I get there. Your ceiling is wherever you want it to be. I remember watching you play when you were 17 for Dortmund, seeing you make your Champions League debut year against PSG in the round of 16. You came on as a substitute, immediately assisted Erling Haaland's winning goal 2-1. Do you remember that? Yeah, I mean, obviously, of course. Yeah, it was good times. Obviously, it was nice. We had an amazing team. And, yeah, I was just happy to be on the field at that age and got the opportunity from the right coach that loved me.

10:10And then, yeah, sort of took it from there. But, yeah, that was an awesome night. Right afterwards, Erling Haaland called you the American dream in an interview. Yeah, I only need to say a couple of words and that's, yeah, he's the American dream. You are capable of playing beautiful football. I remember writing in my game notes right afterwards, you scored. I wrote, I looked this up today, Gio Reyna scores, brilliantly time run, the exquisite first touch, a lethal finish, and perhaps best of all, not even a smile of celebration as if it was all no big deal and there was much more to come. When you're playing now, I mean, you talked earlier about finding the joy again.

10:54Does it feel different to you now? Yeah, I think that I'm not going to lie and say that there weren't times in the field where maybe I was a little bit less confident and a little bit, not doubting myself, but just second guessing things where obviously I think any player can tell you that's not what you want to do. You want to play soccer relying on your instincts and feel and sort of not thinking too much. So yeah, now it's really just, like I said, building up and training hard every week and you know getting pushed by the coaches and the athletic coaches around me to to keep me going so yeah I feel I feel really really good physically and mentally so yeah looking forward to what's come is that what happens to you it does feel different in your head like things have felt effortless you're starting to like have different signals in your head and and have different questions yeah I mean of course if you're not playing and you know maybe you start every four games of course you're gonna think that one game you start you have to perform a little bit better than than uh than in the past and you know maybe you're you know overthinking a little bit too much so it's it's just how it happens i think everyone will tell you the same and sometimes maybe you take the chance maybe sometimes you don't so it's nice to sort of have a real feeling of like people backing me here and being valued so it's uh yeah it's it's it's just natural i think every athlete would say the same if you're overthinking too much then it's hard to perform at your best level do you wish you'd left dormant a little earlier in retrospect.

12:15Yeah, I mean, I hate to say that, but I mean, obviously, I have only good things to say about them in terms of the fans and overall just my experience at the club and what I've taken away and the teammates, obviously. So, you know, different situations sort of popped in at the wrong time, you could say. And then, yeah, at the same time, I'm here now and I couldn't be happier to be here now. You've said publicly that you want to use this season to convince US coach Mauricio Pochettino that you belong in his squad, his culture at the same time as just four planned u.s friendlies before the world cup camp kicks in um first of all has poch been in touch with him no but it's it's it's not not a problem that he has and i think he's even said it publicly that he likes to speak more in person and you know when i was in the camp with him he you know we spoke pretty often and it was a good relationship so So, yeah, now it's, I don't feel like I'm really on the outside looking in.

13:13It's more just like everybody else. If you perform and you play well, then I believe that I should have a chance back in for sure. So it's not really like I have to work back in. It's more like I'm there. I just need to sort of play, perform, and then I believe I'll be back in. You had a great spell back with the team early 2024. Under Greg Berhalter, you scored the goal that ensured the US beat Mexico to win the Nations League final. You played in every US game from March to July 2024, a span of seven games, and then the injuries kicked in, which ended that run of form. How has that been for you to watch the team from the outside?

13:51It stinks. Obviously, it was also Club World Cup, with Dortmund not being able to go, and then obviously with transfer to Gladbach, I didn't play yet, so I didn't go into that camp. In the last camp, I was also injured too a little bit. But yeah, it's thanks, of course, representing your country with the group. And obviously with the World Cup being close, you want to be there. You want to be there as much as you can. You want to be there playing every game. It's simple. It's your country. It's the biggest stage in the world. It's what you dream of when you're a kid. So it's definitely one of the things in the back of my head that I want to push for and be as important as possible for the team.

14:33What's one part of your game you think can separate you from that really packed midfield group? I think we have many capable midfielders in that team. I think maybe my flexibility and sort of a variety of positions I can play. Not saying that they can't, but I think I can play all the positions pretty well. So that's one of the things that I think I'm pretty good for a squad in terms of being able to be through the middle or on the wings also. And the reality to carry the ball and hurt opponents creatively. That stuff, I think, is my strength is, you know, going forward and, you know, being around the goal, creating goal scoring actions, creating goals and, of course, scoring goals, too.

15:08So, but at the same time, I have no problem feeling like playing a little bit deeper at times, which I did in that Nations League run and also in the Cope Americas, play a little bit deeper if needed. I guess sort of the ability to play different positions and different structures is sort of something that I think I can really help with. Joe, how much is your focus on rebuilding your club form? And how much do you let yourself think about the World Cup and making the 2026 team? Or are they almost one and the same? No, I think it's for me, it's more getting on the field with Mönchengladbach and performing there, performing well.

15:41And then I believe that if I perform well enough here, which I think I will and believe I will, then I'll be back with the Nash team. So it's sort of, if you do one, then the other one will sort of follow. That's kind of the way I'm looking at it. Do you let yourself think about the World Cup at all, Gio? Does it not work like that? And if you do, what comes to mind on American turf, a World Cup, when you think about it? The idea of, you know, being with the group and, you know, I've known these guys for so long. We've all been together for so long. You know, from the last World Cup, it's a lot of the same group.

16:12It'd be really special to sort of, you know, take soccer in America to the next level. And I think, you know, make kids dream like we did when we were little too. And, you know, sort of make kids fall in love with the sport. So, yeah, it's not easy. It's a lot of really good teams around the world competing for this trophy. I'm not saying we're going to win it. But, you know, our goal should definitely be to go as far as possible and, you know, make a run and make our country proud. But you've always been seen as one of the faces of this generation. Do you still feel that pressure or is there something different that's driving you right now?

16:47Yeah, I like to have responsibility in terms of, you know, being an important player for the team. But yeah, it's that sort of outside noise. I think, you know, we need 11 guys in the field and we need whatever it is, 26 guys on the roster for the World Cup. So, yeah, it's more than just faces. It's the team, it's the staff, the physios, obviously the coaches, and so much more beyond that that come together. But for me, it's really just doing as well as possible to help the team in any way. How does it work mentally? Even for a moment, have you thought about if you do not make the World Cup team or do you not allow yourself mentally to think about what that would feel like?

17:27Obviously, I've not thought about it really in depth. Of course, it's crossed, but I think it crosses everybody's mind. It could be anything. It could be an injury. It could be, who knows, could be out of form, could be not playing, it could be whatever. So you try not to think about it. It doesn't cross my mind much. But I more look at the other side in terms of believing in myself and believing what I'm going to do this season to sort of try to make it as difficult as possible for Pochettino not to have me on the team. What's the biggest lesson, life lesson that you take from the past four years, Probably just the consistency of showing up every day.

17:59It's not easy when you're not playing, but, you know, in those days, maybe where you feel a little bit lack of motivation or because you know you won't play and stuff like that. You sort of just have to kick on with it and sort of get out. Don't feel too sorry for yourself, I guess. There's tough situations everywhere for everybody in different walks of life. So it's sort of kick on with it. Keep going, keep your head up. Of course, life's not easy, but yeah, just keep moving forward. That's pretty steadily, consistently moving forward. Skill is one thing which you undoubtedly have. At the end of the day, tenacity is just as important.

18:35Exactly. So that's why I'll show that for sure when I'm playing this year that I'm hungrier than ever. What do you want U.S. fans to say about you and your role on the 2026 team? Number one, I gave my all to have the country be successful in the biggest tournament ever for us probably. And number two, be a joy to watch, I guess, is another thing. Give everything and be a joy to watch. May you find that joy, Gio, to you, to your team, to your dog, Mello, to Joe Scali, to your journey. Thank you. Appreciate it.