‘This is rarefied air for Gio Reyna’ - Alexi Lalas hails USMNT midfielder’s run at Gladbach

 Injuries and stop-start involvement previously defined Reyna’s narrative, but Lalas stressed that this stretch is different. 

“OK, I say this kind of quietly in that we should probably whisper when it comes to this,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “This is rarefied air for Gio Reyna, especially given what has happened over the last years. So I couldn't be happier because this is when we judge Gio Reyna. "

Lalas stressed Reyna is earning his place through form, training performances, and tangible contributions on the pitch.

“This is how we want to judge him and the context that we want to judge him in,” Lalas said. “Not, you know, coming in every once in a while or, you know, having a problem with the current situation and circumstance that he's in, not being on loan, not having, you know, off-field craziness that he's had to deal with.

According to Lalas, Reyna has embraced that reality and risen to the challenge rather than shrinking from it.

“Just starting playing, hopefully playing well,” Lalas explained. “I mean, he's up against it. And this is not a good result at home for Gladbach. But you know, Gladbach sits what, 11th or so in the Bundesliga. We know this was, you know, not going to be a elite type of team.

“And so he was going to have to earn his place, and he was going to have to play in a team where they were going to be fighting for everything. And he is, you know, stepped up to that fight. And this is great news. "

While optimistic, Lalas acknowledged uncertainty around how Mauricio Pochettino views Reyna within the USMNT hierarchy. 

“Again, don't know how Pochettino views him relative to this new national team,” Lalas said. “And as I mentioned a couple of weeks ago or a week ago, Pochettino's view of having the best collection of players might not always jive with what your view is of the best players, but that's not what a national team is.

“But again, when that 26-man roster is announced, from a Gio Reyna perspective, if he continues like this, then he will have done everything in his power to make a case for himself. And I think to change some minds and to, you know, turn the narrative when it comes to Gio Reyna. That's all that you can ask. And I have a respect for players who do that. And so he is doing everything that I think we want him to do.”

The 22-year-old midfielder has returned to fitness and has made 10 appearances for the Bundesliga club this season.