This makes me sick as an American and a supporter of our national soccer program.
Finally returning from a long drama-filled winter break, Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund squared off against FC Augsburg on Jan. 22 to continue German Bundesliga play.
The game was a high-powered offensive slobberknocker throughout, with Dortmund eventually pulling out the 4-3 win — but it’s how they got the victory that had people talking. Reyna, who was benched in the 2022 FIFA World Cup by United States Soccer, scored the game-winning goal for his team with an absolutely brilliant goal.
And then to add further to the chatter, you also had the celebration that Reyna did after landing the score.
ABSOLUTELY WORLD CLASS GOAL FROM GIO REYNA 🔥
(via @ESPNFC) pic.twitter.com/pVPJzwQhVd
— USMNT Only (@usmntonly) January 22, 2023
If you’re not aware of what that celebration means, here’s a perfect explanation with extra context featured:
Gio Reyna took another shot at #USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter with his Memphis Depay goal celebration in reference to the head coach saying at the World Cup that his team “doesn’t have a Memphis Depay right now, who’s scoring in the Champions League”. #BVB pic.twitter.com/f0Un0dEY9V
— Stefan Buczko (@StefanBuczko) January 23, 2023
Now that you’re caught up on that, Reyna and Dortmund played in another German Bundesliga match Jan. 25 against Mainz, and all of that stuff that you saw in the game from the American against FC Augsburg?
It happened again — both a game-winning goal and the same celebration mocking Gregg Berhalter.
It literally happened two games in a row, the exact same format, just an absolutely magical moment of destiny.
GIO REYNA SCORES A STOPPAGE TIME WINNER FOR BORUSSIA DORTMUND!!! 😤
WHAT A WEEK FOR THE 20-YEAR-OLD! pic.twitter.com/Mqd2QPnhU5
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 25, 2023
Man, this makes me sick as shit as both an American and supporter of U.S. Soccer.
In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the United States had a solid squad that took us all the way to the round of 16 before ultimately being eliminated by the Netherlands, but this whole ordeal has me thinking … if we had had Reyna, how far could we have gotten?
Gregg Berhalter claimed that America needed a Memphis Depay-type player who scores goals on a consistent basis, and the whole time, he didn’t even realize he had a horse in Reyna. But that’s the thing … maybe he did realize the talent of Reyna, but he completely sabotaged it because of ego or something dumb. With how Berhalter is, I totally could see it going down like that. And sure, maybe Reyna made some mistakes too that he apologized for already, but I feel like we ruined our entire tournament because of this nonsense and the idiocy from Berhalter. (RELATED: Tommy Paul Makes Australian Open Semifinals, First Time For An American Since 2009)
It’s frustrating because the FIFA World Cup only comes around every four years. With how Reyna is tearing it up in Germany right now, he could have given us a chance. You never know, man. An upset here, an upset there, all of a sudden the United States is in the semi-finals with a chance of winning the tournament when the smoke clears.
But nope, we instead sit out one of our best players (if not our best player at this point) because Berhalter has to feel like the tribal chief or something. Well, Berhalter — you’re not Roman Reigns, so please just stop it. Literally all you did was get us bounced in the round of 16 when we very well could have gone further. It’s just pathetic, and now with Reyna shining the way he is, it just makes me sick. This could have been our glory on the World Cup pitch.
Straight up, Gregg Berhalter needs to be fired after all this, it’s just a sickening feeling.