Any sensible tourist encountering the dilemma reportedly faced by Maty Ryan this season would surely have reached the same decision.
Derby, a fairly unremarkable city in the English countryside, or … Rome? It’s a no-brainer, with all due respect.
Cross roads: Australian goalkeeper Maty Ryan.Credit: Getty Images
But as a goalkeeper considering his next club, it was a little more complicated than that. At Derby County, Ryan could have been a starter in the English Championship, potentially playing upwards of 60 games a season – but he would have had to accept a step down to a second-tier league.
At AS Roma, there was the glamour of being at one of the Italian Serie A’s biggest clubs, and the benefit of training daily with some of the world’s best players. But when it came to actually getting on the pitch, there were absolutely no guarantees. He would have to fight for his place, and it was always going to be difficult.
So it has proved. And now, he may have to move again to keep his place in the Socceroos’ starting XI.
Ryan played his first international minutes under Tony Popovic in Wednesday’s disappointing 2-2 draw with Bahrain. It was only the third time he has actually played for club or country in the 2024-25 season, and also the first time he had been preferred over Aston Villa’s Joe Gauci since Popovic replaced Graham Arnold as national team boss.
At AS Roma, he is yet to play at all, stuck behind incumbent goalkeeper Mile Svilar, who is regarded as one of Serie A’s best shot-stoppers.
Bahrain celebrate Mahdi Abduljabbar’s long-range equaliser against Australia last week.Credit: Getty Images
Ryan couldn’t be faulted for either of the two goals the Socceroos conceded in their second-half meltdown in Riffa – not even the speculative long-range bomb from Mahdi Abduljabbar, which looped over his head while he was standing away from the goalmouth.
The draw means Australia need to win their two next World Cup qualifiers in March – against Indonesia (home) and China (away) – to keep alive their hopes of sealing a direct berth at the 2026 tournament in North America.
Ryan’s elevation, after three consecutive matches on the bench, was as curious as his initial demotion. Post-match, he raged against Australia’s inability to manage games and be ruthless at both ends of the pitch, as the international game requires.
Ryan couldn’t hide his frustration in Australia’s defeat to Bahrain in September.Credit: Getty Images
“What it takes to win a football game … it’s more than just being skillful and having talent and being tactically organised and mentally being strong,” he said.
“There’s so many layers and details to it, and I think we’re a little bit ignorant in that regard, in terms of closing out games … that’s the thing we need to work on most. We need to learn a lot, from now until the next window in March, go back to our clubs and work tirelessly in order to become better and make the Socceroos team the best team that it can be.”
When Ryan flew back to the Italian capital after the international break, he will have met his third manager at club level this season. The 31-year-old was originally signed by Daniele de Rossi, but the Roma legend was sacked in September. His replacement, Ivan Juric, signed a contract to the end of the season, but lasted only 12 games.
Now Claudio Ranieri is back for his third stint in charge of the club. Ryan will be hoping he arrives with an open mind when it comes to goalkeeping, but unless Svilar’s form suddenly drops, it is hard to see him getting an opportunity. Their next game is on Monday morning (AEDT) against Napoli.
Despite his barren spell at club level, Arnold still started Ryan in his final World Cup qualifiers in September, when Australia lost at home to Bahrain and then drew 0-0 with Indonesia in Jakarta, but Popovic and Frank Juric, the goalkeeping coach Popovic brought with him when he took over, made a huge statement by promoting Gauci for the crucial clash with China in Adelaide last month.
Ryan’s position as Australia’s clear No.1 had been effectively unchallenged for more than a decade, having claimed the gloves after Mark Schwarzer’s retirement in 2013 and becoming the fourth most capped skipper in Socceroos history during that period.
It was a ruthless call, and one that would have been easier to understand had Gauci been playing regular football for Aston Villa. But he has featured only twice this season, both times in the Carabao Cup. Popovic has not given a clear explanation as to why Ryan was dropped, simply saying he felt Gauci was “ready to have an opportunity” while stopping short of declaring him his new No.1.
One theory, floated by Schwarzer on the Optus Football Podcast, is that Popovic might have favoured Gauci’s bigger frame; he is 194cm, which is roughly 10cm taller than Ryan. “He must obviously fancy someone who’s a bit bigger in stature and possibly more commanding in his 18-yard box,” Schwarzer said. “That’s the one thing I can think of that’s the major difference between the two.”
And yet Popovic went back to Ryan for the rematch with Bahrain – again, without shedding any light on the reasons.
The situation leaves Ryan, Gauci and the rest of Australia’s goalkeeping fraternity a little unsure, and that’s probably a good thing. And now with the Socceroos out of action for almost four months, all they can do to push their case is excel at club level.
Seemingly designated as Aston Villa’s goalkeeper for domestic cup competitions, Gauci will get his chances – and though they’ll come in fits and spurts, he knows already that that might be enough to get a start under Popovic.
But Ryan may have to engineer his chances, and look elsewhere in the January transfer window if they aren’t going to come at AS Roma.
Ryan became a free agent at the end of last season, departing Dutch club AZ Alkmaar after a one-and-a-half year spell – the first club where he has played regularly since being ruthlessly axed by then-manager Graham Potter at Brighton & Hove Albion in 2020.
After three-and-a-half years as their starting goalkeeper in the Premier League, Ryan’s form dipped. Potter responded by dropping him and announcing to the media he had a new No.1; Ryan was suddenly No.3, and was told to find another club.
He escaped in January on loan to Arsenal, the team he supported as a boy growing up in western Sydney, accepting a back-up role in the hopes it would enhance his “brand” and make him an attractive transfer target. His subsequent move to Real Sociedad resulted in him playing just nine times in all competitions.
After one season there, he left Spain for FC Copenhagen seeking game time leading into the 2022 World Cup – but he was stuck behind Polish teammate Kamil Grabara, who cruelly taunted him on social media when he made a handling error that led to a goal and ultimately, their exit in the round of 16 at the hands of eventual champions Argentina.
If playing at the next World Cup is on his to-do list, something has to change. And if playing for the Socceroos in the March window is on there, too, it needs to change quickly.
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