There have been more than a few periods in Maty Ryan’s career when he hasn’t been the nailed-on starting goalkeeper with his club: his two years at Valencia, the latter days of his stint at Brighton & Hove Albion and subsequent six-month loan at Arsenal, and his ill-fated moves to Real Sociedad and FC Copenhagen.
In those times, he could always seek refuge during international breaks with the Socceroos, who would welcome him back with open arms and give him the love he wasn’t feeling week-to-week.
Not last year. Not since Tony Popovic came in and turned his world upside down, relegating Australia’s long-time No.1 and captain to the bench in his first match in charge – a decision that sent shockwaves throughout the team and plunged Ryan even deeper into a personal crisis.
The past nine months, he told this masthead, have been by far the “most challenging” of his career.
The 32-year-old was already reeling from another transfer gone wrong, this time with AS Roma. In ending his two-season stint with Dutch side AZ Alkmaar and joining the Italian club without any guarantees about how much he would play, he admits he was “rolling the dice” and betting on himself and his wealth of top-level experience.
His rival for the starting position was Mile Svilar, a younger custodian who had only played five months of first-team football before then – and coach Daniele de Rossi had intimated that if Ryan had a good enough pre-season, he would at least get opportunities in the Europa League and the Coppa Italia, if not more often in Serie A.
Maty Ryan has been a Socceroos mainstay for over a decade.Credit: Getty Images
But Roma’s season started poorly, de Rossi was sacked just before their Europa League campaign began, and his replacement Ivan Juric opted for stability. That meant Svilar started all matches except one, in the Coppa Italia in early December. That day was Ryan’s solitary appearance for the Giallorossi.
“It was frustrating,” he said. “The team wasn’t winning, and I still wasn’t getting an opportunity either. It didn’t really pan out how they had explained to me.”
Socceroos coach Tony Popovic.Credit: Getty Images
By that stage, Ryan had already paid a heavy price. The day before Popovic’s first game as Socceroos boss against China, he delivered the news: Joe Gauci, his heir apparent, was starting instead.
In so doing, Popovic made a rare exception.
“He’s not one to really pull individuals aside to explain as to why he makes decisions,” Ryan said.
“He just said out of respect for being the captain, he wanted to let me know personally, but he said it’s not a thing that he normally does. He [said] I hadn’t done anything wrong … he just had a feeling that he wanted to have a look at Joe.
“I just responded saying, ‘No problem, it’s up to me to prove you wrong and prove that I’m the right man for the job.’ He went on to say it doesn’t mean that Joe’s playing the game after, or the game after that … it doesn’t mean that you’ve played your last game or anything like that. I think he had [Gauci] played a cup game [for Aston Villa] a week or two before that camp, and that was that. That was the discussion.”
Only once before – when Ange Postecoglou started Mitch Langerak for a clash against Iraq in 2017 – had Ryan been benched for the Socceroos in a World Cup qualifier beyond the second round, or any other major tournament, since his debut 12 years ago.
It was a shock to the system, but he knew there was only one way to respond, and it wasn’t by kicking stones.
“Obviously, there was disappointment,” Ryan said.
“I accept the decision, even if it means I don’t agree with it. Every player that doesn’t get selected to start a match, I also hope that they don’t agree with the decision and that they use that as motivation to try and prove him [wrong]. That’s the type of environment that you want. That’s how I try to approach it. That’s what I’ve learnt in my career as to what best serves me.
“I’ve been younger and more immature in the past and perhaps got a little bit more upset during those types of periods at Valencia and whatnot before. Looking back, you don’t really achieve anything from it. You hold yourself back.”
Ryan defended his decision to leave AZ Alkmaar, where he was playing week-in, week-out in the Dutch Eredivisie and could have featured in their Europa League campaign this season, for the glamour of AS Roma.
Mathew Ryan signed for French club RC Lens in January.Credit: RC Lens
“I believe that I can play at that highest level,” he said.
“And the Dutch league, with all due respect to it, isn’t on the same level as England, Italy, Spain, Germany and France, in my opinion. I wanted to test myself against the best because that’s where I get the most fulfilment and enjoyment by doing that. Obviously, in hindsight, it’s always easy … I probably would today still make the same decision. I had my reasons for it. I’ve got no regrets about it.”
The good news for Australia is that Ryan, who returned to the Socceroos’ starting line-up in their last outing in Bahrain, has come out the other side hardened by the experience.
He is also playing regularly again – and in a “top-five” league – after a January transfer to French Ligue 1 outfit RC Lens, becoming an immediate fixture in their starting XI, and producing a man-of-the-match performance in a huge 1-0 win away to Marseille last week.
With Gauci out injured, Ryan will doubtless start both games for the Socceroos in the crucial matches against Indonesia (Thursday) and China (March 25), in which they can afford zero slip-ups in their pursuit of direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup.
Which suits him just fine.
“That’s easy, mate, because I always go about the approach of not allowing slip-ups in any circumstance,” he said.
“Nothing changes in that regard. I know firsthand how difficult it is to qualify for a World Cup, so there’s nothing new on that front. I live to give the best of myself for whichever team I’m representing. I’m just going to continue in that same fashion.”
Watch every match of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Europa Conference League on Stan Sport. All the action streaming ad-free, live and on demand, with select matches in 4K UHD.
