Giovanni Reyna’s whirlwind rise through the ranks at Borussia Dortmund suddenly has his name being mentioned as much as any USMNT pool player not named Christian Pulisic.
Still 17 for a few more weeks, Reyna has become an impact player at BVB despite still not being eligible for a senior contract.
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His incredible performances have earned him links with Liverpool, Manchester City, and Real Madrid amongst other places, and certainly the success of Pulisic, Juventus’ Weston McKennie, and RB Leipzig’s Tyler Adams has further opened the eyes to the young talent coming out of the United States.
Reyna gave a lengthy interview to Bundesliga.com this week, and says he’s thrilled to be a one of the American success stories in top European leagues.
The teenage midfielder was asked about a bevy of topics, expressing his surprise that Revierderby matches against Schalke would make him the first American to score in the derby despite the celebrated histories of Pulisic and McKennie.
He also spoke about his relationship with BVB star forward Erling Haaland, 20. The pair share chemistry on- and off-the-field and were both linked with Real earlier this week.“I just think we came into the first team at the same time, obviously him getting bought from Salzburg and me getting promoted. Ever since then, we kind of looked at each other, saying we don’t have as many friends as the other guys do, so we talked to each other right away and got along. On the pitch also, he kind of just told me what he likes and I can play into his strengths, so he told me just to play the ball in behind and I really saw his speed right away and you can see it’s paying off. That chemistry is working and I am just trying to make the whole team’s life easy and especially his.”
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“It’s crazy to think about it, when you compare it to football because football is such a huge thing, you’ve so many huge players, and to be one of the bromances is crazy to think about. But I just think it’s all natural, nothing forced, maybe some of them are forced but with me and Erling it’s all real and feels natural. We felt love since day 1 and I think it’s showing off on the field too, so it’s cool to hear and hopefully we can create more goals together.”
The full interview will hit Bundesliga.com on Thursday. Oddly enough, the web site currently has a feature on soon-to-be Borussia Monchengladbach youngster Joe Scally.
The 17-year-old is headed for Gladbach after the Bundesliga season, having made his name in NYCFC’s Academy with Reyna.
