Giovanni Reyna eyes place among world's top 10 players
The 18-year-old has shown promise since arriving in Europe and is already making a difference with Dortmund in the Bundesliga and Champions League.
Giovanni Reyna joined Borussia Dortmund in 2019 and while he initially struggled to have an impact with the first team he learned a lot during training while he was adapting to European football. The 18-year-old settled very quickly and has become an important player for head coach Lucien Favre this season
His eye-catching performances at the beginning of the season in the Bundesliga and Champions League led to a November senior call-up for the United States men’s national team, with Reyna scoring on his debut.
Reyna wants to be among the best
The United States international spoke with The Players’ Tribune about becoming the youngest American to play in the Bundesliga, how he is finding life in Germany and what he wants to achieve as a football player.
"The hardest part about moving to Germany, though, has been leaving home. I'm a family kid," he said. "Even before I came over I wasn't going out with friends that often. I'd much rather have a night in than a night out. So for the first six months it was very tough living alone.
"I already feel like I'm becoming part of the new generation of big players. I don't want to become just a good American player. I want to consistently be one of the top ten players in the world. One game that I played for Dortmund earlier this year kind of made that goal seem realistic to me. I'm talking about the Champions League game in February, when I was subbed in against Paris Saint Germain.
"When I played that game and got an assist, something just clicked inside my head. Like, Wow, if I stay on this path, I can really become a world-class player. I think that game showed everyone that I'm not just some talent that's going to fade away. I'm here to stay," he concluded.