Keeping it in the family as Gio’s Rangers take on fate in Germany
WIESBADEN, GERMANY - AUGUST 07: Erling Haaland of Dortmund celebrates the third goal for his team with Giovanni Reyna of Dortmund during the DFB Cup first round match between SV Wehen Wiesbaden and Borussia Dortmund at BRITA-Arena on August 07, 2021 in Wiesbaden, Germany. (Photo by Alexander Scheuber/Getty Images)
If nothing else tells us just how loved and respected Giovanni van Bronckhorst is as a footballer, manager and of course man, it’s the fact that Claudio Reyna, himself pretty handy with a pig’s bladder, named his son after Rangers’ boss, and Giovanna Reyna of course will face the inspiration for his name when Borussia Dortmund and Rangers face off.
It’s a small world indeed, that not only will Rangers (potentially if he hasn’t been sold) face the world’s best striker in Norway’s Erling Haaland, but they’ll face one of the most prominent current world players to have been named after a legend of the game, and that player will face the very man himself.
It adds up to a lot of prophecy and fate, and it’s also worth pointing out Reyna is one hell of a player already. He plays the same position as his father and GVB, in that he’s an attacking midfielder, and at only 19 he’s a rising star in German football with almost 70 Bundesliga appearances already.
This season? 3 appearances, 2 goals. Not bad.
But of course Rangers will seek to silence him completely, GVB intending to make life very difficult for his close friend Claudio’s son, and whether the lad plays wings or AM, Gio will seek to shut him out.
Doing the same, however, with Haaland, might be a touch trickier…