Between visa holdups, fitness issues and a scary dehydration episode, James Rodriguez has rarely played for Minnesota United.
Yet when he stepped onto the field last Sunday, his class was obvious.
Rodriguez provided both assists in a 2-2 draw against Austin FC. And as he departed Minnesota for Colombia national team training camp only a handful of days later, he had proven he still possesses the elite ball-striking ability to make a difference at this summer’s World Cup.
It’s a shame American Gio Reyna never gave himself the same chance.
Reyna is not nearly as famous as Rodriguez, who has suited up for club superpowers like Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, won a World Cup Golden Boot and a Copa America Golden Ball.
But the two are similar in this regard: Both are technically gifted, athletically limited men who are most dangerous as the gravitational center of a team’s attack.
And if Reyna had really wanted a club environment where he could prove he could be that guy for United States men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino, an MLS stint would’ve made a lot more sense than coming off the bench for another Bundesliga season at Borussia Monchengladbach.
Reyna’s on-the-ball abilities are rare enough in MLS that a team could’ve orchestrated their entire attack around him had they swooped in when he finally departed Borussia Dortmund almost a year ago.
There’s also no shortage of current MLS managers who have helped coach him in his previous USMNT stints. They include 2022 World Cup boss Gregg Berhalter, who is now at the Chicago Fire, and three of his former assistants; Nashville’s BJ Callaghan, Austin’s Nico Estevez and San Diego’s Mikey Varas.
The closed MLS league structure also would’ve made taking that chance on Reyna a far less risky proposition. The worst that could’ve happened? A team tries Reyna out, he sputters offensively and his defensive vulnerabilities are exposed, and the team either changes course after the World Cup or endures a bad season.
At Monchengladbach, the downside of going all in on Reyna was far more dire, i.e. the prospect of relegation from the German top flight. That they were fighting the drop for most of the season virtually guaranteed Reyna would be a role player rather than a starring man. He entered the final matchday of the Bundesliga season having played only 496 minutes in 18 appearances
Reyna’s remarks earlier this week suggested even he wasn’t confident he had done enough to warrant inclusion on Pochettino’s final 26-man squad.
Pochettino no doubt knows Reyna can do things with the ball that few — if any — Americans can. But he should only pull the trigger if he believes Reyna is capable of a true No. 10 role. Reyna’s limitations off the ball are too great to be worth the tradeoff unless the plan is to give him possession as often as possible.
A season or so at the MLS level would’ve been a more fitting stage for Reyna to answer that question. Instead, heading into the most important World Cup in U.S. Soccer history, it’s anyone’s guess.
