Flaws and all, Reyna was a U.S. Soccer pioneer

by Jamie Trecker

Updated: July 17, 2008, 9:19 AM EST 35 comments

Reyna was a key player who always made the United States better when he was on the field. He was also the first of many American players expected to be able to deliver more than was possible. And, he is surely a future hall-of-famer.

Claudio Reyna's career

• Claudio Reyna, USA

But he was also a disappointment, a man who never fully lived up to expectations, and gracelessly faded in MLS. Dogged by injuries and the sense among New York fans that he plain didn't care, his years in MLS tacked a sad coda on to his legacy.

The question today is simple. How do we remember a man once tagged "Captain America?" Should his flaws overshadow a respectable career abroad and some genuinely inspirational performances for his country?

Here's what Claudio Reyna was ...

He was perhaps the first modern American player, bridging the gap between the old, amateur-led national team and the fully professional outfit of today. He became the first American to wear a captain's armband with a team abroad. He retires as a true professional who succeeded both home and abroad.

As captain, he led by example and was trusted by his teammates. Only one other field player — Eddie Pope — earned as many caps in qualifying games as Reyna, and no other field player has appeared on as many World Cup rosters (goalkeeper Kasey Keller is the only other American, to date, to have been on four World Cup team rosters).

Being the first came at a high price, for Reyna had the misfortunate to become one of the first Americans to discover the truth about soccer beyond the USA's parochial fiefdoms.

At home, Reyna was saddled with wildly unrealistic hopes from his peers from that moment in 1994 when he left the University of Virginia and stepped right onto Bora Milutinovic's squad. Americans thought he would be a star. What happened was very different.

Claudio Reyna announced his retirement from pro soccer on Wednesday. (Mike Stobe / Getty Images)

He illustrated just how far off the pace American players truly were. Overseas, he was exposed to be just another player, and a "soft" one at that. To his credit, Reyna did toughen up, and blossomed into a solid, smart player.

His career unfolded at a time of enormous upheaval in the American game. When Reyna started out, there was no MLS, and the USA struggled to draw a legitimate 10,000 fans a game (the nadir actually came in December of 1994, when barely 1000 fans showed up in California to see a drab draw with Honduras). The team was still overwhelmingly amateur in composition — in fact, U.S. Soccer had to pay the players' yearly salaries during the World Cup run-up because the clubs they were signed to were semi-pro at best.

He made his first appearance for the national team as a sub against Norway in Tempe, Arizona, in 1994. It came just weeks after completing his college career and he was so dazzling that he seemed a shoo-in to start at the USA-hosted World Cup. Reyna was clearly a top prospect, and had made five straight starts in the immediate run-up to the Cup. Then, he got hurt the week before the kickoff.

That would become a theme throughout his career. Bluntly, Reyna was fragile, and seemingly incapable of playing through even the most minor niggles. He missed the 1994 World Cup, lost years of service for his clubs, and most infamously, got hurt while coughing up the ball against Ghana in 2006.

The signing with New York probably cost Bruce Arena his job, and his retirement has to have the owners thanking their lucky stars, for in the peculiar world of MLS, Reyna just tied up a roster slot and space under the cap.

It's a serious blemish that cannot go unremarked. The great players play through pain. Reyna never appeared to be able to do so.

There were also things that hurt Reyna that were beyond his control.

The fact that the United States needed a No. 10 meant that Claudio was thrust into that role even when it was clear that his talents could be used more effectively elsewhere. He was not the creator everyone hoped he could be, and would probably have been more effective as a wingback, with freedom to go forward. But since he was one of the very few Americans who could hold the ball under pressure or make a telling pass, he had to shore up the midfield.

But his greatest strength — and the source of his lasting contributions — came in his reading of the game. Game after game, Reyna recognized what needed to be done to shore up his team and did it. If that meant falling deeper into the defense to plug a gap or to blunt a particularly dangerous opponent, Reyna did it. If it meant pushing forward to create chances, or meant simply being there to accept a pass from a teammate in trouble, Reyna did that too.

That 2002 World Cup would be the high-water mark for Reyna. It was the one time where he fought off injury to make a major contribution. So often, Reyna was in the lineups of the squads that got the USA qualified, only to miss out or to perform poorly when actually there. In Korea, luck and talent combined to take the team to the quarterfinals, and Reyna was the engine. Few fans can forget that famous run against Mexico in the knockout stage in 2002, and rightly so. He carried that team, and with it, cemented his reputation.

It was after that that things began to decline. He was seriously injured while at Sunderland, beginning a long spell on the sidelines. He tried to remake his career at Manchester City, and for a while was a fine complementary player. But a second knee injury ultimately ended his tenure there. After starting strong, in 2005, Reyna tore his MCL in the 11th game of the year. He never fully recovered the form that had earned him a Premier League starting job.

His inclusion in the 2006 World Cup side looks now like a mistake. Saddest of all was his final appearance for the USA, which effectively ended after just 22 minutes. Haminu Dramani memorably humiliated him to seize the lead for Ghana. That memory, of a flat-footed Reyna being pick-pocketed, and then hauled off on a stretcher, is indelible for American soccer fans. It was painful to watch him hobble around for 15 more minutes, and even more painful to watch him, glassy-eyed and dazed, on the American bench that afternoon in Nürnberg.

That memory blocks out so many of the great things Reyna did that it is easy to forget that he was one of the first Americans to prove that you could have a respectable career abroad, and among the first to prove to the many foreign critics that Americans could, indeed play this game.

It is not Reyna's fault that he never joined the world's elite ranks. It should be enough to finally take Claudio Reyna at face value, flaws and all.

He was the most talented American player of his generation, and the truth is, the USA has not yet been able to replace him.

Jamie Trecker's newest book, "Love and Blood: At the World Cup with the Footballers, Fans and Freaks" is out now from Harcourt. Jamie is assisted by Jerry and Janice Trecker. Contact Jamie at jamie.trecker@gmail.com and visit his blog and website at www.jamietrecker.com.

The views and opinions expressed by Jamie Trecker do not necessarily reflect those of the Fox Soccer Channel or FoxSoccer.com.