Claudio Alejandro Reyna was born on July 20,1973 and is an American former professional soccer player and former executive.
33 Facts About Claudio Reyna
2.
Claudio Reyna finished his career in 2008 for New York Red Bulls of Major League Soccer, where he was team captain.
3.
Claudio Reyna was chosen for two Olympic tournaments, four CONCACAF Gold Cups and the 1995 Copa America.
4.
Claudio Reyna was named in the Team of the Tournament for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and elected to the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 2012.
5.
Claudio Reyna settled in Springfield Township, New Jersey in the 1970s.
6.
Claudio Reyna was born in Livingston, New Jersey, where he learned the game from his father.
7.
In New Jersey, Claudio Reyna became a youth player at Jonathan Dayton High School and then transferred to Saint Benedict's Preparatory School, where he was a teammate of Gregg Berhalter and Robert Ducey, before he graduated from St Benedict's in 1991.
8.
Highly recruited out of high school, Claudio Reyna elected to attend the University of Virginia from 1991 to 1993 on a full scholarship.
9.
Claudio Reyna had difficulty finding playing time with the Leverkusen first team, making only five appearances.
10.
Claudio Reyna quickly established himself in Wolfsburg's first team where he became the first American to captain a European club.
11.
Claudio Reyna was halfway through his second year with Wolfsburg when Scottish Premier League club Rangers expressed an interest in Reyna.
12.
Claudio Reyna played for Rangers during the September 11 attacks; a Celtic fan at an Old Firm match in October 2001 was caught on camera making aeroplane gestures, for which the fan was much criticised, later apologising.
13.
Claudio Reyna completed the deal minutes before the midday deadline, having played for Rangers in the UEFA Cup at Paris Saint-Germain the night before.
14.
In October 2002, Claudio Reyna injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee against Bolton Wanderers, ruling him out for six months and ending his season.
15.
In three and a half seasons at the City of Manchester Stadium, Claudio Reyna made 87 appearances, scoring four goals.
16.
On January 24,2007, Claudio Reyna signed with New York Red Bulls, where he rejoined his former University of Virginia and US national team head coach Bruce Arena.
17.
However, much like his years in Britain, Claudio Reyna was almost constantly bothered by injuries.
18.
Claudio Reyna only played in twenty-seven games during two years with New York and only six games in 2008 as he rehabilitated a herniated disc.
19.
Claudio Reyna was a member of the team at the 1994 FIFA World Cup on home turf, but did not play due to injury.
20.
Claudio Reyna did play in the 1998,2002 and 2006 FIFA World Cups.
21.
Claudio Reyna was named to the World Cup all-tournament team, the first American to do so.
22.
In 2006, Claudio Reyna again captained the US at the World Cup in Germany.
23.
On June 23,2006, the day after the US was eliminated from the World Cup, Claudio Reyna announced his retirement from the national team.
24.
Claudio Reyna ended his international career with 111 caps and eight goals.
25.
Claudio Reyna represented the US at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona and at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia.
26.
On May 22,2013, Claudio Reyna was appointed Sporting Director of MLS expansion team New York City FC.
27.
New York City FC made the conference semifinals four of the five years that Claudio Reyna was the Sporting Director.
28.
On November 21,2019, Claudio Reyna was named Sporting Director of another MLS expansion team, Austin FC.
29.
Claudio Reyna led the club in its 2021 inaugural season with his former US national team teammate, Austin FC head coach Josh Wolff.
30.
Claudio Reyna guided the club through their first two seasons of existence, including an MLS Western Conference Finals appearance in 2022.
31.
On January 26,2023, Claudio Reyna resigned from his role as sporting director, with his oversight repurposed to being a technical advisor for the club.
32.
Claudio Reyna married Danielle Egan, then a member of the United States women's national soccer team, in July 1997, one week after attending the FIFA All-Star Game in Hong Kong and two weeks after the US team's World Cup qualifier at El Salvador.
33.
Claudio Reyna speaks fluent English and Spanish and is conversational in German.