US Players Welcome Gio Reyna After World Cup Flap, Ream Says

FLORIDA’S DAVENPORT — Tim Ream, one of the team’s more experienced players, has welcomed Gio Reyna back after the teenage midfielder’s family sparked a spat with Gregg Berhalter that cast doubt on the coach’s job security.

Reyna’s parents, former U.S. captain Claudio Reyna and former women’s player Danielle Egan Reyna informed the U.S. Soccer Federation of a 1992 domestic violence incident involving Berhalter and the woman he later married—Danielle Egan’s former college roommate—after Berhalter used Reyna sparingly at the World Cup.

After Berhalter’s contract expired on December 31, the USSF hired a law firm to investigate and named Anthony Hudson interim coach. The USSF postponed making a coaching choice until when a new sporting director is chosen, which is likely to happen this summer after the law firm declared there was no legal barrier to retaining Berhalter, who is still a candidate.

Ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League matches against El Salvador on Monday in Orlando and Grenada on Friday, Gio Reyna is one of 24 players in camp.

The 35-year-old Ream stated on Tuesday, “The most important thing is making sure that everyone knows we’re here for a reason and that we moved on from that as players. What has happened with Gio in the past is in the past, and what happened at the World Cup is in the past.

Tim Ream is one of the team’s more experienced players.

Ream added, “I think the key thing for us as leaders and for the men in camp is to see that he’s working hard, training hard, that he wants to be here, and up to this point, it’s been nothing but positive. “Having chats with other guys, everyone knows what he can provide and how talented he is. And for all the guys to see him come in with that mentality, that work ethic, and the desire to fit in and go back on equal footing with everyone without unduly addressing it.

Reyna differed from the four athletes the USSF made available to the media during Zoom meetings on Monday and Tuesday. Reyna won’t be made available this week, the USSF said in response to an email.

Reyna played 52 minutes overall as a substitute during the World Cup players, and Berhalter said in a news conference that he nearly sent a player home for lack of hustle, comments that Reyna later acknowledged were directed at him.

“I’ve spoken to him on a one-on-one basis. These will remain private between us because it’s crucial to have a channel of trust and communication open between players, teammates, and groups, Ream added. “I think it’s vital to keep what he’s experiencing, seeing, and worrying about between him and me so that he can get over everything that’s happened. And everyone must be able to get past that and cooperate well.

After the United States was denied entry to the World Cup that year.

After the United States was denied entry to the World Cup that year, Berhalter was recruited in December. He stated last week that he is still looking for a job.

Ream emphasized, “the togetherness that he brought to the team after it was very much sporadic and fractured when he first came in,” that “bringing him back is a familiarity.”

Ream added, “He put and laid excellent foundations for the team. We will continue to work for him if they bring him back, and we will continue to work for someone else if they don’t. And that’s how gamers operate by nature. That is how the sport is. There is continuity and change occasionally, and we will go with the flow.

Ream claimed that Berhalter and the present group of leaders had put a stop to a time when there was discord between players in Major League Soccer and those playing for European clubs.

She claimed there was undoubtedly a sense of unease between the two players when Ream first entered the program during her early MLS years.

SOURCE – (AP)