Assessing Gio Reyna’s lack of game-time with Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna has had limited minutes on the field for the club since the start of the Rückrunde.

Gio Reyna’s career both at international and club level has become the subject of much speculation in the last few months. The 20 year old was embroiled in a dispute with USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter that resulted in an open feud between Reyna’s parents and Berhalter. Conflicting opinions and circumstances surrounding the amount of time he was given during the World Cup in Qatar were at the center of the conflict, and in many ways it stands to reason that the overall fallout does not help his standing in the US side.

At club level, speculation has begun to surface regarding Reyna’s standing at Borussia Dortmund after a handful of strong performances off the bench have failed to earn the American prodigy a place in the starting 11. Questions have been raised regarding whether or not a similar sort of conflict may be brewing with the club.

When word broke about Reyna’s national team troubles, both Sporting Director Sebastian Kehl and Head Coach Edin Terzić spoke highly of him, never once mentioning any issues regarding his character or standing in the dressing room ever being a problem. In January, there were also questions surrounding the player’s fitness, with Terzić noting that because of his injury struggles over the course of the last year and a half, Reyna wasn’t 100% fit.

Despite this, on the occasions he has played, Reyna has shown some of his best form in the BVB kit to date, scoring important goals for the side, including late winners against Augsburg and Mainz in January. One would expect that, having put in these performances, Reyna would get more time on the pitch.

And yet, Gio Reyna remains on the peripheries, so the question then is why? The answer to this question isn’t one of Dortmund freezing the American international out of the squad for disciplinary reasons or performance issues. In fact, the answer to this question is an overall net positive for the team as a whole: An overall improvement in the performances of the players in the positions Reyna usually occupies has bred a healthy and strong level of competition, which has lended itself to Borussia Dortmund’s scintillating form so far this year.

Players like Karim Adeyemi, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens and Julian Brandt have simply been in borderline undroppable form, in a way making sure that the starting 11 almost always picks itself. It’s unlikely that this will change in the near future either. Competition for places is bound to rise with Marco Reus now fit and playing regularly, on top of both Adeyemi and Belgian youngster Julian Duranville starting training once again.

In the press conference leading up to the game against RB Leipzig, Edin Terzić had a clear message regarding the Gio Reyna situation:

"“Gio has always suffered setbacks. He was injured once with the national team. He has made a few short appearances, played from the start against Bremen, and had no playing time in the last three games. He knows what we expect from him. But we also know what he can give us. He has to be diligent and patient”"

Terzić’s comments do not strike me as words meant to indicate that the player has lost his place in the team. Conversely, they sound like motivation. Both Terzić and Borussia Dortmund have always been very vocal about the talent Reyna possesses. But with competition as strong as it is, the US International will have to work hard to establish himself as a starter in this side. With the calendar looking very packed for the coming weeks, we can expect that Reyna will have a role to play in the games ahead. The hope is that, in getting a slew of chances, he can seize the moment and showcase his talent for the world to see once again.