Reyna Appears Set to Play for Team in Germany

Midfielder Claudio Reyna, the youngest player on the U.S. World Cup team, was scheduled to leave for Germany on Thursday to sign with Bayer Leverkusen in the first division.

A U.S. soccer official said the basics to the deal had been agreed to last Saturday. Reyna will join Thomas Dooley, a defender and midfielder on the U.S. team, who last month agreed to a two-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen.

Reyna, 21, has two goals in 17 appearances with the U.S. team. But he sat out the World Cup after tearing his right hamstring in practice on June 8.

Reyna started all three games for the United States at the 1992 Olympics and was the U.S. college player of the year in 1992 and 1993, when his Virginia team won NCAA championships.

Karl Heinz, a spokesman for Bayer Leverkusen, said he had no information on the negotiations, but the U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said an agreement had been reached.