Rising star Reyna ready for
● Son of former Rangers midfielder will be at heart of highest profile fixture as German top flight resumes
He is the son of one former Rangers midfielder who won more than 100 caps for his country and is named after another Ibrox hero who achieved the same feat.
He has already prompted glowing comparisons with players such as Kaka and David Trezegeut and in February this year became the thirdyoungest player ever to appear in the knockout stages of the Champions League, setting up a winning goal against Paris Saint-germain as he did so. When the Bundesliga returns from its Covid-19 hiatus this weekend, Giovanni Reyna will be at the heart of its highest-profile fixture as he resumes a career which was taking off at stratospheric levels before football was suspended in March.
Borussia Dortmund already have a lucrative new contract prepared for Reyna to sign when his 18th birthday comes around in November and it is little wonder they are so keen to tie down one of the brightest young talents in world football.
If you haven’t had the pleasure already, check out the footage of his exceptional technique and sublime strike against Wolfsburg in February when he became the youngest ever scorer in the history of the German Cup.
As the Dortmund coach Lucien Favre so succinctly puts it – “if you can’t see he has something special, you are blind.”
Reyna is more than just a chip off the old block, as his father Claudio is the first to recognise.
“He’s much more of an athlete than I was and much more of a goal scorer,” says the former USA captain who won a league and Scottish Cup double with Rangers in 1999-2000, forming his close friendship at that time with Dutch midfielder Giovanni van Bronckhorst which would inspire his son’s name.
Like Reyna senior, who played for Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg before Dick Advocaat signed him for Rangers, young Gio decided Germany was the best place to develop his career.
He left New York City FC last year, having worked there under the tutelage of former Arsenal star Patrick Vieira who likened his abilities to Kaka and Trezeguet.
If that kind of hype is any sort of burden, Reyna hasn’t appeared in the least weighed down by it so far. His form for
Dortmund’syouthteamwasso immediately and consistently impressive, he was promoted to the first-team squad by Favre during the winter break. He made his senior debut in January and subsequently remained a regular in Favre’s first-team set-up afterwards, including his contribution in the 2-1 win over PSG in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie when he assisted the decisive goal on the night for Norwegian striking sensation Erling Haaland.
The highly-rated pair have also struck up a close relationship off the pitch with 19-yearold Haaland currently acting as a chauffeur to training for Reyna while he waits to pass his driving test.
As Dortmund attempt to close a four-point gap on leaders Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga over the next few weeks, Reyna and Haaland are poised to play key roles.
With more experienced midfielders Emre Can and Axel Witsel ruled out through injury, Reyna is in contention to start Saturday afternoon’s Revierderby at home to Schalke 04.
It is normally the hottest ticket in German football but this time the empty stands of Signal Iduna Park will echo to the shouts of players and coaches as football restarts behind closed doors. “It’s going to be a high intensity game, even without fans,” Reyna told Borussia Dortmund’s Youtube channel this week as he anticipated his first experience of arguably the most bitter local rivalry in German football.
“I think I speak for the whole team when I say we are buzzing to get playing again. I’ve never even seen a derby live, so of course I’ve been really looking forward to this game. Schalke are a great team but if we play the way we can play, then we can win.”
Dad Claudio will be tuning in from the other side of the Atlantic along with mum Danielle, herself a former international footballer who made six appearances for the US women’s team.
They had planned a trip to