Gio Reyna scored his first club goal in 583 days during Borussia Dortmund’s 1-1 draw against Hoffenheim on Sunday.
The 22-year-old scored his side’s only goal in the 46th minute at Westfalenstadion, collecting a loose ball on the edge of the area and firing a half-volley into the top corner.
The goal marked his first at club level since Dortmund’s 5-2 victory over Borussia Monchengladbach on May 13, 2023.
Dortmund were denied all three points after Jacob Bruun Larsen’s stoppage time equaliser.
Reyna was making his first Bundesliga start of the season, with his last start in the German top flight coming in a 3-3 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt on October 29, 2023.
This followed his 73-minute outing in Wednesday’s Champions League defeat to Barcelona, which had marked his first Dortmund start since the DFB-Pokal tie against Hoffenheim on November 1 2023. Reyna said he was determined to “fight for more opportunities” after Wednesday’s loss.
Before his two starts against Barcelona and Hoffenheim, Reyna had played just 63 minutes for Dortmund this season, having missed two months of the season through injury, but he has returned to the starting lineup as the Bundesliga side contend with absentees in attacking positions.
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Given his previous lack of minutes over the past two seasons, a debate has been ongoing in the United States about whether his future at club level lies away from Europe. Former U.S. internationals Landon Donovan and Alexi Lalas have both suggested moving to Major League Soccer would be best for Reyna’s development and for the USMNT.
“Do you want to play soccer or not?” Donovan said on his Unfiltered Soccer podcast.
“I know injuries with Gio, but I just get so sick of this b******. People c*** on MLS all the time and I get it and whatever. Guess what? Gio Reyna in MLS would play 300 games by now.”
Lalas shared Donovan’s sentiment on his Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union podcast, saying: “To see the best of Gio Reyna and for Gio Reyna to really matter with the USMNT, he has to be playing.
“It’s not happening right now with Borussia Dortmund and I’m not saying he won’t have other opportunities. But to completely dismiss the possibility of him coming to the MLS, I think that goes back to the insecurities out there.”
Sunday’s draw leaves Dortmund eightth in the Bundesliga, and they return to action against Wolfsburg on Sunday.
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Reyna had a good night against Barcelona but he remains Dortmund’s lost boy
(Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)
