In a drastic turn of events over the past two days, US Soccer and the USMNT have been hit with news that can best be described as ‘old wounds coming back to haunt you’ and have only darkened the USMNT’s 2022 World Cup participation.
According to various sources and reported by ESPN, Danielle Reyna was the person who informed US Soccer of an incident between Gregg Berhalter and his future wife Rosalind where the coach of the USMNT kicked his future wife in the legs when they were 18 years of age at a bar. A statement issued by the Reyna family states that, “I want to be very clear that I did not ask for Gregg to be fired, I did not make any threats, and I don’t know anything about any blackmail attempts,” Danielle Reyna stated on her behalf.
Gregg Berhalter himself took to Twitter to issue a statement where he said the information was an attempt to have him removed from his position asUSMNT coach, the manager is currently out of contract and was negotiating with the federation. Things between Gregg Berhalter and the Reyna family hit a fever pitch when it became apparent during the 2022 World Cup that Gregg Berhalter was not going to give Gio Reyna substantial minutes on the field due to what was cited as “inappropriate behavior” in the national team camp.
The relationship between the Berhalter and Reyna families
It has been reported by various former players and pundits of the USMNT that the Berhalter and Reyna families were “very close”. Both Claudio Reyna and Gregg Berhalter played youth and high school soccer together and were USMNT teammates going back to the 1995 Copa America in Uruguay where the USMNT came in fourth. Danielle Reyna and Rosalind Berhalter were teammates at the University of North Carolina women’s soccer team.
Danielle Reyna told US Soccer authorities, which included Earnie Stewart, about the incident in December of 2022 after Berhalter made public the issues surrounding the benching of her son Gio Reyna during the World Cup. Although Gio Reyna was not mentioned by name by Berhalter at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership in New York conference, it was heavily implied to be Gio Reyna the player in question he used as his example and it forced club Borussia Dortmund to issue a statement as well. Claudio Reyna, who works as the Sporting Director of Austin FC in MLS issued a statement supporting his wife.
“While in Qatar, I shared my frustrations about my son’s World Cup experience with a number of close friends, Earnie (Stewart) and Brian McBride (GM of the USMNT program) among them. However, at no time did I ever threaten anyone, norwould I ever do so.”
At the moment all US Soccer has commented on is that Anthony Hudson will lead the US men’s national team at the January camp against Serbia (1/25) and Colombia (1/28). Austin FC, where Claudio Reyna works, have not issued a statement and neitherhas Borussia Dortmund, club where Gio Reyna plays for and, who publicly defended their player when the allegations of his poor conduct during the World Cup became public.