Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 29, 1994 TAG: 9405290022
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Sometimes he wonders if his name has grown longer. Have people simply added a comma and four run-together words whenever they talk about him? Claudio Reyna, future-of-American-soccer.
That's the difference between the United States and other countries. If Reyna was playing in Argentina or Brazil, he'd have lost his last name by now. He would be known simply as Claudio.
For Reyna, a dazzling midfield playmaker, it seems everyone wants to talk about the past and the future, not the present. But it is the 20-year-old's impeccable credentials that have people making that leap, if you will, back to his future.
As one of the most accomplished collegiate players, he led Virginia to an unprecedented three consecutive NCAA titles, departing after his junior year. Reyna twice won college soccer's highest individual honor, the Hermann Trophy. He had 21 goals and 22 assists in three seasons with the Cavaliers.
In Barcelona, he was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic soccer team in 1992, playing every minute in every game and getting two assists in three games.
"The kid has more skill in his pinky than I have in my entire body," says teammate Alexi Lalas.
Bora Milutinovic, the U.S. coach, says: "He's mature, mature for his age."
The American coaching brain trust has been pointedly cautious when it comes to Reyna, the team's youngest player. There is no need to weigh down his psyche with grandiose predictions or to create an egotistical presence in a locker room sprinkled with older players.
"People make a big deal about his young age, but a lot of people make a big deal about old age, too," says Timo Liekoski, a U.S. assistant coach. "How you fit into the program is what matters."
In any event, Reyna would prefer not to dwell on the ever-present topic of his potential greatness. He's a soccer player, not a commodities future. And the World Cup competition starting June 17 is about as far into the future as he wants to venture for now.
"It gets old when people always say `the future of the sport,' " Reyna says. "It's kind of annoying. It doesn't bother me, but it's annoying when people say `the future' and I'm here now in the present and doing well. I wish people would get off that subject. Hopefully, I'll do well in the future but now is very important to me."
Reyna grew up in New Jersey, the son of Miguel Reyna, who played in the Argentine first division before coming to the United States in the late 1960s. Miguel was Claudio's first coach, from his first tentative steps with a soccer ball when he was 2 until he started playing for national age-group teams as a teen-ager.
Unlike most American youngsters, Reyna dreamt of playing in the World Cup. But even he didn't anticipate being ready for 1994.
"I wasn't sure if the World Cup was something I could reach now," Reyna says. "Now that I have a chance, I was fortunate. Three years ago, people were doing articles and wondering if I could be on the '94 team, whether it would be too early for me. Now that I'm here, I'm trying to follow people's guesses and predictions."
Despite his emergence as a key player for the U.S. national team, Reyna is realistic enough to realize that even if the World Cup succeeds far beyond everyone's wildest expectations, his future lies in Europe.
An avid fan of the New Jersey Devils, he thinks soccer should take a page out of the NHL's book.
"Soccer should aim for being the fifth- or sixth-most popular sport and not shoot for the top," he says. "Baseball, basketball, football . . . those sports will always be there. I think soccer can learn from hockey in the United States, how it's gotten more popular in the past few years.
"This is like soccer's second wind. There's a wave of excitement and a lot of talent, a lot of guys coming up."
He didn't include himself in that group. Once again, Reyna was thinking about himself in terms of present tense, not future or past.
by CNB