By his own accord, Socceroos captain Mat Ryan is not one to sulk — it is what kept him sharp when the goalkeeper recently found himself out of favour at club level.
But now back starting week-in, week-out in Europe, the veteran goalkeeper has an extra spring in his step.
Australia certainly reaped the rewards on Thursday night of Ryan’s January move to RC Lens in France and subsequent seizing of the number one jersey at his new club.
It is rare a goalkeeper has legitimate claim to man-of-the-match honours in a 5-1 victory, but the 32 year-old was in vintage form against Indonesia in Sydney, making a string of saves to keep his enterprising opponents at bay.
“This is the camp where I’ve played the most regularly, recently. I feel I’ve got a bit of rhythm again, and I feel in pretty good form and I feel in a good place,” Ryan said.
“I was glad that I was able to contribute a little bit to the result.”
Ryan’s performance came after he started the season consigned to the bench at AS Roma following his move to the Serie A giants in the off-season.
His game-time, or lack thereof, at club level saw coach Tony Popovic opt for Joe Gauci in goal in his first Socceroos game in charge.
But Ryan’s move to Lens has reignited his season, securing four clean sheets in six Ligue 1 starts and Popovic remarked he saw a different version of the goalkeeper when he arrived in camp ahead of the Indonesia game.
“When he came into camp, (He had) a different demeanor and that comes from playing,” Popovic said.
“He’s had a couple of clean sheets, you can see he’s full of confidence and he showed that when he came in, he was a real presence around the group and he stood tall.”
Ryan said his outlook had not changed when he sat on the bench for Roma, nor did it waver when he temporarily lost his hold on the Socceroos starting spot.
“My approach doesn’t change. I wake up in the morning, I do everything I can to give the best version of myself, live my best life, be the best footballer I can be,” he said.
“Sometimes the manager of the team you’re playing for isn’t of the same opinion that you’re the best man for the job and that’s something you’ve got to take on the chin, and it can go many ways from there as an individual with how you deal with it.
“But my experiences in football and in life, I try rolling up my sleeves and get on with it. I try to do my best, and I try to do that under all circumstances.”
With a tricky test in China forthcoming on Tuesday, the Socceroos hold a one-point lead over Saudi Arabia in the battle for an automatic qualifying berth to next year’s FIFA World Cup.
But Ryan said his side simply needed to focus on the task at hand and not the opponents breathing down their neck.
“No one or nothing ever puts more pressure to win than me on myself. I love winning, and I do absolutely everything I can to win, and I’m pretty sure all the other boys would say the exact same,” he said.
“When you win, everything else is taken care of, so keeping it simple in that regard, is the best way in which I feel to go about it.”
https://thewest.com.au/sport/soccer/world-cup-qualifying-socceroos-captain-mat-ryans-move-to-france-helping-the-goalkeeper-get-back-to-his-best–c-18114483
