Claudio Reyna was the driving force behind VfL Wolfsburg's survival in the Bundesliga. The U.S. midfielder has made the most of life in the Germany's Volkswagen city.
Tell a German that you've Wolfsburg and he will assume that you're in the auto business. He may even throw in a sarcastic ''Wasn't it beautiful?''
It's a town of 130,000. About 45,000 work at the Volkswagen factory – Europe's biggest auto plant. Ferdinand Porsche chose Wolfsburg as the production site of the ''people's car'' in 1938 because of its proximity to the Mittellandkanal – the canal by which coal could conveniently be delivered.
It was just a hamlet of 150 residents before that, its only landmark being the Wolfsburger Castle, now hidden behind the factory but world famous because of its appearance on the VW logos. To accommodate the factory workers, the housing was laid out checkerboard-style. It resembles an American suburb more than typical German towns, which are built outward from the city center's historic buildings that residents take pride in and visitors find charming.
But these are heady days for the denizens of Wolfsburg. Not thanks to the beetle's reappearance – which are built in Mexico while Wolfsburg's factory makes Jettas and Golfs – but because its soccer team has survived its first season in the German First Division.
It's not just a company town anymore. It's a Bundesliga city.
And the 24-year-old American midfielder Claudio Reyna made it happen. He is the Spielmacher – the playmaker.
The club had played in the Third Division until 1992. Last year, it averaged 5,880 fans per game as it finished runner-up in the Second Division to earn promotion to the top tier.
The team's sponsor – VW, of course – doubled the team's budget to $12 million, which is paltry compared to the competition. But it enabled it to expand its stadium and buy Reyna from Bayer Leverkusen for $1.3 million. He was Wolfsburg's most expensive signing.
Money well spent. The attendance average jumped to 16,622. Reyna played 28 games, scored four times, and provided brilliance on a squad that clawed its way to a 14th-place finish.
No more apologies
A small girl politely asks Reyna for an autograph as he prepares to eat at Wolfsburg's finest Italian restaurant. He says, ''Entschuldigung…'' as he signs his name.
''Sorry … that we lost today,'' he tells the girl in German, even though she seems less concerned about the day's Wolfsburg loss than having gotten a hold of the city's biggest star.
Why did Reyna feel obliged to apologize? Probably because after each Wolfsburg win he receives most of the credit. Thus, he's also prepared to take blame, even if during that particular defeat he was still the team's outstanding player.
The University of Virginia star arrived in Wolfsburg because after three seasons with Bayer Leverkusen he had played only 26 games. After a promising second season, constant U.S. national team duty and a roster that included seven other national team players kept him out of the lineup in 1996-97 as Leverkusen finished runner-up.
''Bayer Leverkusen is a great club that has had great success,'' he says. ''But I couldn't take a chance of not playing in the year before the World Cup. It was crucial for me to play somewhere where I was an important part of the team.
''It was a decision with risk, but it paid off by making me a better player, which benefits both me personally and helps out the national team.
''The risk was that by coming to a team just from the Second Division there is automatic pressure of staying up in the First Division. Being a new player who was bought … there's more pressure on new players.''
There was also the risk of landing on a team too weak to support the stylish playmaker that Reyna is.
''It's always easier to play on a great team,'' Reyna says. ''If I came to a team that was just a fighting team, that wouldn't help me. But as soon as I arrived I saw that we had good players and I really felt we could do what we set out to accomplish. You need more players than fighters in First Division. It's no secret why teams up top have the best players – fighting only gets you so far.''
Even the move out of the metropolis that surrounds Leverkusen had its benefits.
''The prospect of moving to a new city, a small city in northern Germany with not much around it, was a little discomforting for my wife Danielle and I,'' Reyna says. ''We're from the New York area and used to big city life.
''But it turned out really nice here. The people have been really good to us. They're extremely warm. The big city stress isn't here. There's no arrogance. Everyone, from people at the club and anyone you meet, is generally down to earth.''
German lessons
Reyna was born and raised in New Jersey, but grew up in a Spanish-speaking home – his parents being Argentine immigrants. As the United States' most-promising young talent, a move abroad seemed natural. But Germany?
''I always thought when I came overseas to play I would play in a country like Spain or Mexico where soccer is more my style,'' says Reyna. ''But the offer came from Leverkusen and I really couldn't turn it down. It was such a well-known club.
''Looking back on my four years, I think I learned more than I would have in any other country. The German soccer player is taught you have to be tough, aggressive, physical – and that's what I needed to learn.
''The skillful part – I had that, I learned that in America growing up and the part of my game that needed work was the aggressive physical part of it. What better country to come to than Germany to learn something like that. I think it's something that's going to help me in the future. I'm so grateful to be able to play in a league like the Bundesliga.''
But the move also required learning a third language. Mark Twain wrote that ''a gifted person ought to learn English (barring spelling and pronouncing) in 30 hours, French in 30 days, and German in 30 years.''
Says Reyna, ''It took me a year and half to become fluent. I learned the soccer language right away, and otherwise depended a lot on hand gestures.''
By the time Reyna arrived in Wolfsburg, he had no problem communicating, or gaining respect.
The ball goes to Reyna
What one immediately notices while watching Wolfsburg? The ball always goes to Reyna. From the time of his arrival, he was accepted as the team's brain. The player who needed to pull the strings.
''He's incredibly important to the team,'' says captain Jens Keller. ''He's the person who brings everything together.''
Dietmar Demuth, the assistant coach when Reyna arrived, said his soccer skills made it immediately obvious to teammates that he was the player who should dictate Wolfsburg play. And his personality -his professionalism and amiability – made it easy for players to accept him as a leading figure on the team.
''He knows what to do with the ball,'' Demuth said. ''He has the technical ability to pull it off. He is the obvious player to get the ball to.''
Willi Reimann, who coached Wolfsburg until being replaced by Wolfgang Wolf late in the season, criticized Reyna only for ''spending more time on the plane than on the soccer field,'' an exaggerated reference to Reyna's frequent trips to U.S. duty.
Wolf said, ''Claudio is a very good man. He is the one who takes our team into the attack.''
''If you make the good run,'' says Wolfsburg forward Andre Breitenreiter, ''Claudio will get you the ball. And the passes he delivers are excellent. A coach doesn't have to tell players that Claudio is the one who should get the ball. In Germany it's the norm that a team has a playmaker – the guy with the skill – and his teammates automatically look for him as soon as they recognize him.''
The future
When U.S. coach Steve Sampson visited Wolfsburg to check on Reyna, he was surrounded by the town gentry that flocked to the practices to critique every move.
''I was wearing a suit and they thought I was from Italy,'' Sampson said. ''They thought I was a scout. 'Don't take our Claudio. Please don't take him away. We need him,' they said.''
Sampson also saw how effective Reyna was when all his teammates worked for him.
''He's the man in Wolfsburg,'' Sampson said. ''They always look to him. He always gets the ball. You can see how that makes my job difficult because with the national team if he doesn't get the ball so much, and then he goes looking for it.''
Sampson's words came before the dropping of John Harkes became public.
''That's something I have to address,'' he said. ''Even if it means telling the veteran players Claudio is the man. He must get the ball. You must give it to him and if you don't like it you have to find a different team.''
So the U.S. takes a team to France based on Reyna's skills. After the World Cup, Reyna is poised to return to Wolfsburg, where he has another year on his contract.
''The whole experience of living here has been a lot of fun,'' Reyna says. ''Learning the language. Living in a whole new different culture. To live in Europe and see so many different things in Europe has been an incredible experience.''
And he changed Wolfsburg while he was at it.
(by Soccer America senior editor Mike Woitalla.)
Claudio Reyna
Country: USA
Position: Midfielder
Age: 24
Height: 5-9
Weight: 160
Tournaments
World Cup (1994)
Olympics (1992, 1996)
Copa America (1995)
Gold Cup (1996, 1998)
Teams
University of Virginia (1991-93)
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany 1994-97)
VfL Wolfsburg (Germany 1997-)
Honors
NCAA Division I champion (1991, 1992, 1993)