Gregg Berhalter, Giovanni Reyna ‘in a good place to move forward’

U.S. Men’s National Team coach Gregg Berhalter and midfielder Giovanni Reyna are looking to mend fences and move forward, U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker told reporters on Sunday. 

Berhalter and Reyna have communicated with one another and Reyna is expected to be brought into the next men’s national team camp, Crocker said, according to ESPN.

The two are said to have spoken “recently” but Crocker did not elaborate on what that meant. 

“I think both Greg and Gio are in a good place to move forward,” Crocker said. 

Reyna suffered a lower leg fracture in June and missed the September international window. 

“Gio’s looking forward to the next camp, as soon as he’s fit, and Greg’s looking forward to working with him,” Crocker said.

The new tone comes after as recently as Aug. 29 when Berhalter said that he hadn’t met with Reyna. 

It’s the latest twist in a very public feud between the Berhalter and Reyna families that began when Reyna was informed that he wouldn’t have a starting role with the U.S. team at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The midfielder had such a negative reaction that Berhalter considered sending Reyna home. 

His attitude did improve, but Reyna remained limited in his usage during the tournament. 

Things took an uglier turn after Reyna’s parents, Claudio and Danielle, became irate after Berhalter alluded to the situation with Reyna during a leadership conference and reports eventually revealed Reyna’s name. 

In retaliation, Claudio and Danielle, both of whom played for their respective U.S. National Teams, complained to the head of the U.S. Soccer Federation about the treatment of their son and informed the federation about a domestic violence incident involving Berhalter and his then-girlfriend, and now-wife, Rosalind. 

An independent investigation was subsequently launched and eventually ruled that Berhalter could come back to coach the men’s team.

He was formally rehired in June. 

“Clearly there’s been a lot of emotions over the last 12 months,” Crocker said on Sunday. “The common connection is they both want the program to be successful and that’s the starting point and there’s a clear way forward, a professional way of working and they’re both ready.”