Austin FC has announced that Claudio Reyna has joined the team as Sporting Director, where he will build and oversee soccer operations.
Reyna was previously in the same position at New York City FC (NYCFC), and he was the first employee of the club and architect of the launch of NYCFC’s soccer operations in which he helped establish a successful first team and academy.
In his position with Austin FC, Reyna will report directly to Austin FC Majority Owner and CEO Anthony Precourt and will work alongside Austin FC President Andy Loughnane to build Austin’s first major league team.
Reyna and Austin FC Head Coach Josh Wolff were teammates on multiple U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) rosters, including the World Cup squads in 2002 and 2006.
The two will immediately begin the process of building Austin FC’s technical staff and roster in advance of the inaugural season in 2021.
At the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the pair combined to set up the historic Brian McBride goal in the Round of 16 match versus Mexico which helped put the USMNT through to the quarter-finals.
In his time leading soccer operations for NYCFC they advanced to the MLS Eastern Conference semifinals in four straight seasons (2016 – 2019), as well as recording an Eastern Conference-leading 21 wins during the 2019 regular season.
Reyna played professionally from 1994 to 2008, as well as representing the United States from 1994 to 2006. Reyna’s club career as a midfielder spanned 282 games and 23 goals and included the honor of being voted by his teammates at Wolfsburg as the club’s youngest ever Captain, the first American-born player to captain a major European team.
Reyna was captain of the USMNT at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and he is one of only three American players ever to be named to a FIFA World Cup All-Star team (2002 Korea / Japan), and he was named to four USMNT FIFA World Cup squads (1994, 1998, 2002, 2006).
He also represented the United States as an Olympian having been named to the U.S. Olympic Team for both the 1992 and 1996 Olympic Games.
Welcome to Austin, Claudio!