Mathew Ryan

Mathew David Ryan (born 8 April 1992) is an Australian professional soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Eredivisie club AZ and captains the Australia national team.

Born in Sydney, Ryan played youth football for Marconi Stallions, Blacktown City and Central Coast Mariners.

Mathew David Ryan was born on 8 April 1992 in Plumpton, New South Wales and attended Westfields Sports High School.

He took up football at the age of four and played youth football for Blacktown City and Central Coast Mariners before making his senior debut with Blacktown City.

Ryan played for the Central Coast Mariners youth team in the 2009–10 season, and after several call-ups to the senior team, he was given a 3-year senior contract.

He made his senior debut for Blacktown before moving to the Mariners' senior squad in 2010.

After moving to Central Coast Mariners in 2010, Ryan moved to Club Brugge in 2013.

In addition to holding an Australian passport, Ryan also has a British passport.

Despite starting the 2010–11 A-League as the Mariners' substitute keeper, an anterior cruciate ligament injury to first-choice Jess Vanstrattan saw Ryan elevated into the starting eleven.

Ryan made his A-League debut for the Mariners on 28 August 2010 in a 1–1 draw against Sydney FC, but fumbled a cross which allowed Rhyan Grant to score Sydney's goal.

While coach Graham Arnold was happy with Ryan's debut, there was competition between Ryan and newly-signed Paul Henderson for the regular starting spot.

Over the next several months Ryan retained his spot in the starting lineup and earned significant plaudits, including the A-League Young Player of the Month award for December 2010.

He was also named A-League Young Footballer of the Year for 2010–11.

The Mariners season ended with a penalty shootout loss to Brisbane Roar in the 2011 A-League Grand Final, however, Ryan was awarded the Joe Marston Medal for man of the match in that game.

In October 2011, Ryan was named 2011 Male U20 Player of the Year at the FFA Australian Football Awards.

The Mariners won the 2011–12 Premiership following a win over Wellington Phoenix in the final round of the regular season.

However, they were eliminated in the Preliminary Final against Perth Glory on penalties, despite Ryan scoring his penalty in the shootout.

Ryan made his senior international debut in 2012, and has since established himself as Australia's first-choice goalkeeper, effectively succeeding his childhood idol Mark Schwarzer.

He continued to put in a number of strong performances in the 2011–12 A-League, including a man of the match performance in a 1–0 win over Melbourne Heart on 17 January 2012 after pulling off a number of saves.

This contributed to Ryan being named A-League Young Player of the Month for January 2012.

In April 2012, Ryan was named A-League Young Footballer of the Year for the second successive season and A-League Goalkeeper of the Year.

He was also awarded the Mariners Medal for club player of the season, and named in the PFA's A-League Team of the Season.

He was also awarded the Harry Kewell Medal for the outstanding Australian under-23-year-old player in June 2012.

Ryan was again central to the Mariners' 2012–13 A-League season.

In November 2012, he was again awarded FFA Male U20 Player of the Year.

On 2 March 2012, Ryan took a penalty in a match against Western Sydney Wanderers which was saved by Ante Covic; the Wanderers won the match 1–0 to move above the Mariners on the A-League table.

Coach Graham Arnold revealed after the game that Ryan had been practising penalty-taking in the lead-up to that match following a number of missed penalties from other players in the side.

In 2013, Ryan moved to Club Brugge, where he played for two years before joining Valencia.

The Mariners were victorious in the 2013 A-League Grand Final over the Wanderers, their first win in their four A-League Grand Finals played, with Ryan dedicating the win to the three previous Mariners teams to have lost at that stage.

It was confirmed on 30 May 2013 that Ryan had completed a move to Belgian Pro League side Club Brugge for an undisclosed fee, despite his contract at Central Coast Mariners expiring the following day.

On 27 July 2013 Ryan made his debut for Brugge in the first game of the season at home to Sporting Charleroi and kept a clean sheet in a 2–0 win.

In a match against K.A.A. Gent on 23 December 2013 Ryan saved a penalty in the 67th minute that would have resulted in game being level at 2–2.

Brugge went on to win the game 3–1 and reports after the match confirmed that Ryan had been offered a new lucrative deal with the club involving a substantial pay increase and contract extension.

He played at the FIFA World Cup in 2014, 2018, and 2022, as well as the AFC Asian Cup in 2015, 2019 and 2023, winning the Best Goalkeeper award at the 2015 tournament which his country won on home soil.

On 26 November 2014, it was announced that Ryan had agreed to terms with Club Brugge, to extend his contract until 2018.

After a string of fantastic performances, it was reported that European giants Liverpool had sent scouts to the 2015 AFC Asian Cup to watch the goalkeeper.

On 22 March 2015, Ryan won the Belgian Cup after keeping the post and helping Club Brugge to a 2–1 victory over Anderlect in the final.

On 21 July 2015, Ryan signed a six-year deal with La Liga side Valencia CF.

He was expected to assume the starting goalkeeper role, at least in the medium term, with regular starter Diego Alves out with an anterior cruciate ligament injury.

He made his unofficial debut in a friendly against PSV Eindhoven on 25 July 2015.