Claudio Reyna came on as a second-half substitute for Glasgow Rangers in the four matches between his national team duty against Iran and the Gold Cup. Rangers manager Dick Advocaat has been outspoken about his displeasure with players missing games.
SOCCER AMERICA: What did Dick Advocaat say to you when you returned to the club after the Iran match?
CLAUDIO REYNA: Nothing really about the situation of me playing there. It was a bit strange because the first games I didn’t start were after the Iran game and I’m not sure whether it was because I was coming here [for the Gold Cup] and he wanted to see a team that was perhaps going to be there in the coming weeks or not.
I didn’t say anything, I got in every game. … Obviously people asked me about it because I wasn’t starting and I don’t know if it had to do with this. Some people seem to think it did, but [Advocaat] didn’t say anything to me like that. I just kept my mouth shut and I’m kind of waiting to see after the Gold Cup.
It was a good reason to leave me out because of this, if that’s what it was. So I guess it’s fair enough for now, but obviously after the Gold Cup I want to start playing again, so I’ll wait and see.
SA: How many Rangers games will you miss because of this?
CR: Actually, it turned out that two games got rescheduled, so now even if we end up going to the finals, I’ll only miss two gamesùone league game and one cup game.
SA: Has Advocaat ever explained his position on national team duty to the international players on the team?
CR: Well, I’ve had conversations with him about it, and obviously he’d prefer that I stay, but looking at it from the European coaches’ perspective, including mine, they can’t understand why a tournament would be scheduled when the league is going on. It makes sense from their side, but from the other side of it, this is an important tournament for us and it’s the only time that this part of the world could schedule it. …
It’s similar to the African players going to the African Nations Cup now and the Asian players who always miss certain games. So until FIFA can somehow put together a schedule that everyone can be happy with, there will always be conflicts.
I can’t worry about it. I went through it with Leverkusen and now. I think my situation is good with Rangers. I’ve been playing all year and have been an important part of the team, so I think the manager thinks highly of me, so I’m not worried about it. Then again, it can only hurt other American players. A lot of managers might look at American players and say, “Yeah, they’re good, but if I can’t have them for half the season, why invest?”
But Bruce has been really good in his relationship with Dick Advocaat, so it’s worked out good in both favors, the national team and Rangers.
SA: Does Bruce speak for you in these situations or do you go to Advocaat personally to ask for a release?
CR: No, we all talk about it. But in this case, the Confederations Cup was during preseason, so to kind of make a deal [for missing that] we said I could come to this tournament. That’s what Mr. Advocaat agreed to as well and that was decided back in August, so this wasn’t a surprise to anyone.
by Soccer America associate editor Will Kuhns