“He Fought With Him” – USMNT Star Gio Reyna’s First Soccer Hero Was His Brother, Who Tragically Succumbed to Cancer

As soccer fans, we all have soccer heroes that we’ve worshipped since childhood. Many famous soccer players potentially become as big as their idols. Kylian Mbappe idolizing Cristiano Ronaldo as a kid is the best example. However, this story is different. This is the story of Gio Reyna.

Giovanni is a born athlete. His father revealed that Giovanni would play soccer with his elder brother, Jack, and his friends. He also enjoyed playing basketball and golf as a kid.

His father, Claudio Reyna, once revealed that Giovanni’s biggest inspiration was his elder brother, Jack. Unfortunately, Jack Reyna is no more. In 2012, Jack Reyna lost his battle with cancer, dying at the age of 13.

Gio Reyna idolized his brother?

In an exclusive with Sports Illustrated, Reyna’s parents have very elaborately spoken about their journey with the kids. Giovanni was really good at soccer. The young star used to dominate Under-9 games at the age of just 5. Other parents always thought that Giovanni used to train for long hours with his dad.

However, Giovanni’s dad laughingly revealed, “That’s what carried Gio, what launched him. He played with Jack. He fought with him. Jack would go in goal and let him shoot—not always let him win, though, that’s for sure. And Gio fought and fought, and that’s why he played”.

Claudio Reyna continued, “That’s who he wanted to be. He idolized and worshipped Jack. The one who made him what he is today, his talent, was really Jack.”

Jack was diagnosed with stage IV glioblastoma in 2010. During Jack’s final months, while battling with cancer, Claudio took Jack to watch one of Giovanni’s trial games for a basketball team. Just a few minutes after watching, Jack had already made up his mind. In his slurry voice, he told Claudio, “Dad, Gio is the best player here by far”.

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Giovanni was nine years old when his elder brother Jack passed away. Just a day after Jack died, Giovanni told his mother, “I’m never going to be a good soccer player now, because my big brother taught me everything”.

Younger brother Giovanni living the dream!

Giovanni Reyna is surely living his own dream along with his brother’s dream as well. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder has turned into a first-choice player at Borussia Dortmund. In 2020, Reyna made his debut at the age of 17. He became the youngest player to make his debut, previously breaking Christian Pulisic’s record.

In 2021, Gio Reyna took the Reyna of the Number 7 shirt. The shirt was previously worn by Jadon Sancho, who left the club to join Manchester United. When asked to pick a jersey number for the USMNT, Giovanni picked the number ‘21’ jersey, the number that his dad once wore.

Reyna was eventually picked in the USMNT squad for the FIFA World Cup. However, Reyna did not get ample game time to make an impact. The young soccer star only played for about 50 minutes over all four games.

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Despite the recent World Cup blip, Giovanni Reyna is still considered one of the best young talents in the soccer world.