by Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla
Ups and downs. That's the life of the professional soccer player, says Claudio Reyna, two days after learning that a knee injury suffered Oct. 28 would sideline him for the rest of the season.
''Injuries happen to soccer players, no matter where they play,'' says Reyna, who left the United States at age 21 and has played in the top leagues of Germany, Scotland and England. ''It's simply something you have to accept.''
Reyna, 29, will have his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) repaired and then spend more than half a year rehabilitating. For Sunderland, Reyna's injury is devastating.
Claudio Reyna, the highest priced U.S. player ever, has played leadership roles in Germany, Scotland and England.
The club had fired longtime manager Peter Reid after nine games and replaced him with Howard Wilkinson after it became obvious that the Black Cats were on course for a second straight season of fighting relegation.
Reyna's importance to Wilkinson's rebuilding project was outlined on the club's Web site prior to the eve of his new boss' first game: ''No Sunderland player has seen more of the ball than Reyna, and impressively 82 percent of his layoffs have successfully found a teammate.''
Reyna was not only Sunderland's best passer, he also led the team in tackles, winning the ball 72 percent of the time, and launched the most crosses.
''His credentials are there for all to see,'' Wilkinson says, ''but for the immediate and mid-term future he will not be available, and that's a blow.''
For Reyna, who served as Sunderland's captain, the recuperation period will mark his longest time off the field since his three-year stint with Germany's Bayer Leverkusen, where his professional career began in 1994.
Bayer boasted one of the Bundesliga's most star-studded lineups. Reyna saw only reserve action his first year, played in 21 league matches his second and made five appearances in 1997-98, a year when his frequent absences because of U.S. national team duty frustrated the club.
''Today, some Americans players have more choices,'' Reyna says. ''I didn't have much choice, and Leverkusen was offering very good money. But it was an important time for me. It's where I learned to be a professional. They had great players like Rudi Voeller and Bernd Schuster. They approached every training session seriously. The way they ate, the way they spent their free time, was all designed to keep them on top of their game. Leverkusen is where I learned to be a professional.''
Reyna quickly learned German. Not a necessity in Germany, where most speak English, but a sign of respect.
''I always disagreed with people who came to live in the United States and didn't learn English,'' he says. ''I'd be a hypocrite if I didn't learn German.''
During his fourth year abroad, Reyna broke through. He joined modest VfL Wolfsburg, which had reached the top tier for the first time. Reyna's new teammates quickly hailed his skills. Jens Keller: ''He's the person who brings everything together.'' Andre Breitenreiter: ''A coach doesn't have to tell players that Claudio is the one who should get the ball.''
Wolfsburg, a third-tier team until the 1990s, amazingly stayed up. By the second season, Reyna was named captain – a first for an American in the Bundesliga. Midway through the season, Glasgow Rangers paid Wolfsburg $2.8 million to acquire Reyna. Again, Reyna's adjustment was smooth. He helped Rangers win two Premier League titles.
''Claudio is one of those guys who has understood every environment he has gotten into and how he had to deal with the challenges he faced,'' says U.S. coach Bruce Arena, who also coached Reyna at the University of Virginia in 1991-93.
There's a long list international stars who fail when they transfer, because along with talent must come the ability to adjust to new teammates, different coaches and a foreign environment.
''When I coached Claudio when he was a boy,'' says his father, Miguel, ''he was always the best player. But I never told him that. I did tell him never to talk bad or make fun of an opponent. That good players don't have to say they're good. And Claudio was always everybody's friend, whether we won or lost.''
As Claudio got older, Miguel did ask him why he didn't get more excited on the field, like Tab Ramos or John Harkes. ''That's not how I am,'' Claudio replied.
Indeed, his calm demeanor has served him well. When Rangers' elderstatesmen were injured, Reyna was named captain.
Reyna became an immediate fan favorite in Glasgow because Rangers' supporters were enchanted by how he combined a modest off-field style with consistently strong performances. He lacked the airs put on by many foreign stars who had been lured by Ranger's, impressive payroll.
When Reyna did lose his composure, it only increased his popularity. He was red-carded against Celtic. ''The ultimate sacrifice,'' says one Rangers fan.
At Rangers, Reyna could display his skills in the world's premier club tournament, playing 17 games in the Champions League. He also made seven UEFA Cup appearances. But when Sunderland offered to pay Rangers $6.8 million – a Sunderland record and the top price ever paid for an American – Reyna moved to the Premier League.
Now, even while severely injured, Reyna refuses to complain.
''I'm here with my wife and my 3-year-old,'' he says. ''We have a baby coming in a couple weeks. When you're alone in a foreign country, it's a lot harder. And fortunately, it's possible nowadays to suffer the kind of injury I have and return at full strength.''
by Soccer America Executive Editor Mike Woitalla