Richard Ryan (born 6 January 1985) is an Irish former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who will join the staff of

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

club

FC Tulsa FC Tulsa is an American professional soccer team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma which competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. History The club was founded as Tulsa Roughnecks FC by Jeff and Dale Hubbard, bro ...

as an assistant coach on 1 January 2023. He has previously played for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, Scunthorpe United and

Boston United Boston United Football Club is a semi-professional association football club based in Boston, Lincolnshire, England. The club participates in the National League North, at the sixth tier of the English football league system. The club is known ...

in England;

Royal Antwerp Royal Antwerp Football Club, often referred to as Royal Antwerp or simply Antwerp, is a Belgian football club based in the city of Antwerp. Founded around 1880 as ''Antwerp Cricket Club'' by English students residing in Antwerp, 15 years before ...

in Belgium;

Sligo Rovers Sligo Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí Shligigh) is an Irish professional football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club is based in Sligo in the west of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 ...

and

Shamrock Rovers Shamrock Rovers Football Club ( ga, Cumann Peile Ruagairí na Seamróige) is an Irish association football club based in Tallaght, South Dublin. The club's senior team competes in the League of Ireland Premier Division and it is the most su ...

in Ireland;

Dundee United Dundee United Football Club is a Scottish professional football club based in the city of Dundee. The club name is usually abbreviated to Dundee United. Formed in 1909, originally as Dundee Hibernian, the club changed to the present name in 1 ...

in Scotland; Ottawa Fury in Canada and

Jacksonville Armada Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They most recently played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, during the 2018 season while ...

and

Miami FC The Miami FC is an American professional soccer team based in Miami, Florida that competes in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The club began play in the North American Soccer League (NASL) in the 2016 se ...

in the United States.

Career

Ryan played his youth days for

Belvedere Belvedere (from Italian, meaning "beautiful sight") may refer to: Places Australia *Belvedere, Queensland, a locality in the Cassowary Coast Region Africa * Belvedere (Casablanca), a neighborhood in Casablanca, Morocco *Belvedere, Harare, Zi ...

before moving abroad. He started his professional career at

making two substitute appearances in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

in 2003. His debut came in the

Tyne–Wear derby The Tyne–Wear derby, also known as the North East derby, is a local derby between the association football clubs Sunderland and Newcastle United. The derby is an inter-city rivalry in North East England with the two cities of Sunderland and Ne ...

in April 2003. He signed for Scunthorpe United initially on loan in March 2005. This became a permanent move in June. The following season he signed for

. He left the club a year later after their double relegation, intending to return to his native Ireland. Ryan signed for

in July 2007, making his competitive début in a 4–1 defeat to Kortrijk on 30 September, before moving back to

. He made his

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

debut for Sligo in a 1–0 defeat to Cork City at the Showgrounds on 3 August 2008. He scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 draw with Cork City in the

2009–10 Setanta Sports Cup The 2009–10 Setanta Sports Cup was the 5th staging of the cross-border Setanta Sports Cup competition - which featured football clubs from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. It commenced on August 28, 2009, and the final was played o ...

, Sligo's first ever goal in the competition. He struggled to get a regular place in the side for his first year and a half as he struggled with fitness but came into his own with a string of highly impressive passing displays in the successful 2010 season. Ryan was Player of the Month in October and won the 2010 PFAI Player of the Year award. He was named as club captain for the 2011 season and captained the club to a second-place finish in the league and an FAI Cup, which Sligo won after beating Shelbourne on penalties. This was Ryan's first time winning an FAI Cup as he was suspended for the 2010 Final. Ryan signed for

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the top level league competition for professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football' ...

side

in November 2011. He joined his new teammates in January 2012, making his debut as a substitute in a 2–1 defeat by

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

on 2 January. On 25 July 2013, it was announced that Ryan had left Dundee United by mutual consent. On 7 August it was announced that he had signed for

. He made his league debut two days later. In September Ryan won his second

League of Ireland Cup The League of Ireland Cup ( ga, Corn Sraithe na hÉireann), also referred to in Ireland as the 'League Cup', is an annual knockout competition in men's football in the Republic of Ireland. It is contested by League of Ireland clubs and invited c ...

. Ryan signed with

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league b ...

club

Ottawa Fury FC Ottawa Fury Football Club was a Canadian professional soccer club based in Ottawa, Ontario. The club competed in the North American Soccer League and USL Championship and played its home games at TD Place Stadium. The Ottawa Fury FC were diss ...

on 10 December 2013. After two years with Ottawa, Ryan transferred to

Jacksonville Armada FC Jacksonville Armada FC is an American professional soccer team based in Jacksonville, Florida. They most recently played in the National Premier Soccer League (NPSL), the fourth tier of the American soccer pyramid, during the 2018 season while ...

on 15 December 2015. Less than six-months later Ryan was on the move again, joining fellow NASL side

on 13 May 2016, for a reported fee of $750,000. On 19 February 2018, Ryan signed with

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

side

FC Cincinnati Football Club Cincinnati, commonly known as FC Cincinnati, is an American professional association football, soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The ...

. On 17 January 2019, Ryan signed with USL Championship side

El Paso Locomotive FC El Paso Locomotive FC is an American professional association football, soccer team based in El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2018, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. Club crest and colors The Locomotive brand was unveiled on Oc ...

. He made 107 appearances for the club before his retirement following the 2022 season.

Coaching

On 25 October 2022, it was announced that Ryan would join

as first assistant coach on 1 January 2023.

Honours

Sligo Rovers *

FAI Cup The Football Association of Ireland Senior Challenge Cup (FAI Cup), known as the Extra.ie FAI Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland (as well as Derry ...

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

Shamrock Rovers *

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

Ottawa Fury * NASL Fall Championship 2015 Individual * NASL Best XI:

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

* Ottawa Fury Player of the Year:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

PFAI Players' Player of the Year The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland Players' Player of the Year (often called the PFAI Players' Player of the Year, the Players' Player of the Year, or simply the Irish Player of the Year) award is given to the footballer the Lea ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Richie 1985 births Living people Republic of Ireland association footballers Sunderland A.F.C. players Scunthorpe United F.C. players Boston United F.C. players Premier League players Royal Antwerp F.C. players Republic of Ireland expatriate association footballers Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Scotland Irish expatriate sportspeople in the United Kingdom Sligo Rovers F.C. players Shamrock Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players English Football League players Association football midfielders Dundee United F.C. players Scottish Premier League players Belgian First Division B players Association footballers from County Tipperary People from County Tipperary League of Ireland XI players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Ottawa Fury FC players Jacksonville Armada FC players Irish expatriate sportspeople in Belgium Irish expatriate sportspeople in Canada North American Soccer League players Belvedere F.C. players Republic of Ireland youth international footballers Miami FC players FC Cincinnati (2016–18) players El Paso Locomotive FC players USL Championship players