“A special match for him”: Tricky Reyna return to Dortmund | OneFootball

Giovanni Reyna was just 16 years old when he joined Borussia Dortmund. In the Big Apple, at New York City FC, the US boy learned the basics of football. “Without a doubt, a huge talent,” raved then youth coordinator Lars Ricken (49) in the summer of 2019—today serving as BVB’s sporting CEO.

However, Reyna, who is now 23 years old, never moved beyond the status of an “eternal talent.” Even though he wore the black and yellow jersey in 147 matches, contributing to 37 goals, he just couldn’t seem to make his breakthrough. Not even 34 international appearances for the United States or winning the CONCACAF Nations League three times changed his status.

In the second half of the 2023/24 season, he tried to make a fresh start as a loan player at Nottingham Forest. But the experiment failed after just ten brief appearances with only one assist. Reyna then returned to Dortmund.

Photo: IMAGO

A move to another club did not materialize in the summer of 2024. After recovering from a groin strain, Reyna was regularly on the pitch under BVB coach Nuri Şahin (37)—but never for the full 90 minutes. When Niko Kovač (54) took over, the excellent technician was mostly left with a spectator role.

Appearance against BVB not guaranteed

Borussia Mönchengladbach put four million euros on the table in August 2025 to bring the attacking player to the Lower Rhine. In the Foals’ jersey, the American has made eleven appearances so far. Last weekend, Reyna recorded his first assist for his new employer in his eleventh competitive match. In the 1:3 defeat against VfL Wolfsburg, he set up the temporary equalizer to make it 1:1 with a cross.

Now, an emotional return to Dortmund is on the cards. The likelihood is high that the 23-year-old will pull the strings in attacking midfield. “Gio played there for a very, very long time and of course it’s a special game for him,” Gladbach coach Eugen Polanski told Bild newspaper. However, he does not want to guarantee Reyna a starting spot. “There’s the option to play with him. And there’s the option to bring him off the bench,” said the 39-year-old football coach.

Despite his assist, Reyna “did not have his best game against Wolfsburg,” Polanski complained. But “the two games before that were good.” He doesn’t want to reveal too much: “Overall, we are really satisfied with Gio’s development. Now we’ll have to see what’s best for the team on Friday.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇩🇪 here.