Focus of duo is just on playoff success
OF all the Socceroos, Mat Ryan is the least likely to get ahead of himself.
There’s little danger of Australia’s goalkeeper daring to dream of another World Cup until victory of Honduras tonight confirms that.
Too often football’s fates have tripped Ryan at the cruellest time. It’s no wonder that “living life in the present” has become so important to one of two Australians, along with Aaron Mooy, impressing in the English Premier League this season.
The A-League grand final taught a teenage Ryan that no game is won until the very end. The last World Cup showed the margins at the highest level, where one mistake let Holland back into a game that Australia could have won. Injuries sabotaged his time in La Liga.
Since July, though, so far so good. Brighton boss Chris Hughton’s decision to invest in Ryan for his newly promoted side is paying off, and now the World Cup beckons.
“Looking back at the past, the journey that life takes you on is an interesting one; you try to embrace it as much as you can,” Ryan said.
“You quite often take it for granted a little bit, the things you’ve gone through. I think back on the time at previous clubs and it’s gone so fast.
“It’s always the case that you try to live in the present, to take each new day as it comes and enjoy it. That’s what I’m trying to do at the moment; I’m just enjoying football again. It’s been great.”
Brighton have impressed on their return to the top flight, an immersive process that Ryan has tried to take with a certain degree of detachment.
“It’s the most-watched league in the world,” he said. “At the beginning of the season we had the Premier League officials come in and talk to us about what to expect.
“They said there are only three countries in the world that don’t have a TV contract with the EPL.
“It was also mentioned to me by my agent (Mikkel Beck), who was a former Premier League player, that you when you play there, there’s no other league that gives you that kind of coverage, that kind of fame I guess.
“At the end of the day I’ve tried to live my life not being influenced by that kind of thing; I try to do my best with that round ball, trying to keep it out of the net and contributing to the teams I’m playing for.”