Claudio Reyna
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Claudio Reyna (born July 20, 1973 in Livingston, New Jersey) is an American soccer player who is currently the captain of the US national team. Reyna, a midfielder, plays his club soccer for Manchester City in the English Premier League.
Reyna played college soccer at the University of Virginia, where he was coached by current national team coach Bruce Arena, winning the Hermann Trophy in 1993 and the MAC Award in 1992 and 1993. He first joined the Bundesliga club Bayer Leverkusen, but received little playing time there, and later transferred to fellow Bundesliga side VfL Wolfsburg, where he was far more successful. At Wolfsburg, he became the first American to captain a major European club. He then was transferred to Rangers in Scotland, playing there for almost three years (January 1999 to December 2001) before a transfer to Premiership side Sunderland.
In October 2002, he injured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, keeping him out of action for the rest of the 2002-2003 season. With Sunderland's relegation that season they could not afford Reyna's high wage demands, and the Black Cats sold him to Manchester City in the 2003 off-season. Reyna had further injury troubles in his first season for Man City, but returned to the starting lineup at the end of the season.
As an US national player, Reyna got his first cap against Norway on January 15, 1994. He was a squad member for the 1994 World Cup, but did not play due to injury. Reyna did play in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups, and in 2002, he inspired the United States to the quarterfinals, losing to eventual runner-up Germany. He became the first American ever named to the World Cup's all-tournament team.
In Britain, he is frequently referred to as Captain America because of his status as captain of the US national team.