Several former U.S. Soccer stars are unhappy with the “tragic telenovela scenario” between Claudio and Danielle Reyna and Gregg Berhalter, throwing the finger onto Claudio and Danielle Reyna.
Danielle, a former USWNT player and the wife of ex-USMNT star Claudio, said on Wednesday that she was the one who alerted U.S. Soccer about an incident involving USMNT coach Berhalter and his now-wife Rosalind, in which Berhalter kicked Rosalind’s knees in college. Danielle said she called U.S. Soccer sporting director Earnie Stewart on Dec. 11 after negative comments made by Berhalter regarding an unidentified player later confirmed to be current USMNT player Gio Reyna — Danielle and Claudio’s son – became public. Claudio disputed ESPN’s claims that he threatened to expose allegations against Berhalter.
“I’m not very proud of what’s transpired today with the national team. I genuinely am not,” veteran USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola, a former teammate of Claudio’s, remarked on SiriusXM radio on Wednesday. “This saddens me, in a lot of ways. It disgusts me in so many different ways. This should never have came out. Knowing what she knows and having lived the life she has in sport — first through her husband and now via her family — it is a disgrace that Danielle Reyna believed this would not be revealed. That she thought that this was just a talk.
“That she — and by the way, I’m gonna add Claudio to this — that he crossed the boundary of a friendship, and by the way, a really close bond with Gregg Berhalter and the family. They completely crossed the line and it’s not acceptable. This is unacceptable. I’m sad to be a U.S. Soccer fan today.”
Berhalter stated in a statement posted on Tuesday that someone contacted U.S. Soccer during the 2022 World Cup with information that would “take me down — an apparent attempt to use something very personal from a long time ago to destroy my connection with U.S. Soccer.” As a freshman in college, Berhalter admitted that he kicked Rosalind in the legs while drinking. He further stated that “such conduct has never been repeated.” United States Soccer engaged a company to investigate the situation.
Berhalter stated at the HOW Institute for Society’s Summit on Moral Leadership that an anonymous player “was clearly not meeting expectations on and off the pitch” and that the team considered sending him home from Qatar following World Cup rumors regarding Gio Reyna. The comments were published in the Charter newsletter, but US Soccer later stated that they were “expressly off the record.”
Gio Reyna acknowledged in an Instagram post on December 12 that he “let my emotions get the best of me” after being informed by Berhalter, whose best man at his wedding was Claudio, that his World Cup involvement would be limited. Gio Reyna was also dissatisfied with Berhalter for not handling problems inside.
Gio Reyna (left) and Gregg Berhalter (right) during the USMNT’s match against the Netherlands in the World Cup qualifier on December 3, 2022.
Former USMNT forward Herculez Gomez tweeted on Wednesday, “This is bizarre and incredibly tragic for all parties concerned.” Domestic abuse, blackmail allegations, helicopter parents, and heartbreaking telenovela drama between two very close friends.
Gomez stated that the Reynas “look awful” and that he does not “see how Gregg Berhalter can recover from this.”
Taylor Twellman, a former USMNT forward, stated on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” on Wednesday, “It’s really terrible.” The fact that we are discussing this, I believe, encapsulates the current status of U.S. Soccer and its current state. The fact that the Berhalters must experience this in public and in the eyes of the public. based on what justification? Because he didn’t play the son of his best friend?”
On June 3, 2006, Claudio Reyna (far left) and Gregg Berhalter (far right) participated in a World Cup practice in Germany.
AP
The contract of Berhalter expired at the end of 2022. U.S. Soccer announced on Wednesday that Anthony Hudson will be the USMNT’s head coach for this month’s training camp in California. Stewart said Berhalter remained “under consideration” to stay on as the team’s coach.
Danielle added in her speech on Wednesday that she felt her son was “dragged through the mud.”
“I wanted to let [Stewart] know that I was completely enraged and [devastated] that Gio had been put in such a terrible position, and that I felt very personally betrayed by the conduct of someone my family had considered a friend for decades,” Danielle added.
Danielle also noted that Berhalter’s and U.S. Soccer’s Tuesday remarks “significantly diminish the abuse on the night in question.”