For Giovanni van Bronckhorst, a special meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening. During the intermediate round of the Europa League, he and Rangers face the Borussia Dortmund of Giovanni Reyna, his godson. Nineteen-year-old Reyna was named by father Claudio after Van Bronckhorst, whom he met during their time together at Rangers.
Van Bronckhorst and Reyna played together at Rangers between 1999 and 2001, where they conquered the Scottish double in the first season under the reign of Dick Advocaat. “We have become good friends and our families have remained friends,” explains Van Bronckhorst. The contact did not fade when Van Bronckhorst left Rangers for Arsenal in the summer of 2001 and Reyna signed with Sunderland six months later. When Reyna became a father for the second time in November 2002, he named his son after Van Bronckhorst: Giovanni Alejandro.
“I’ve known Gio from the day he was born, so we have a special relationship. As a friend, but also as a player,” says Van Bronckhorst, who is also Reyna’s godfather. “Gio came to the Netherlands to train in Feyenoord’s youth academy. We brought him in to help him become the player he is today. We have always kept in touch and see each other at least once a year. There is a special bond with the Reyna family. Gio regularly sends messages to my oldest son, they are about the same age.”
“It will be special to play against each other now. I have already been in contact with his father, I hope he can be at the game. Hopefully it will be a good game, at least we both want to win,” said Van Bronckhorst. Due to the injury of Erling Braut Haaland, there is a possibility that Reyna has a starting place. The nine-time American international has been struggling with injuries this season and was unable to participate in the 0-3 away game against Union Berlin last weekend, because he was ill.
“I assume that Gio wants to show what he can do to the man he owes his name to when he plays,” said Borussia Dortmund coach Marco Rose. “It’s cool that things like this can happen in football: that a godfather meets his godchild at this level. I think Van Bronckhorst already knew Gio when he was still shitting his pants. I know they see each other every now and then, but the focus is now for both of them on being as successful as possible in this competition. This is, of course, a beautiful story.”