Ryan Andre Oniel Thompson (born 7 January 1985) is a Jamaican former

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 is the head coach for

Austin Bold FC Austin Bold FC was an American professional soccer team located in Austin, Texas. Founded in 2017, the team made its debut in the USL Championship in 2019. In 2021, Austin Bold FC announced it would be moving to Fort Worth, Texas leaving Circ ...

in the

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 ...

Career

Harbour View

Ryan was the starting keeper at Harbour View until he accepted a soccer scholarship to the

University of Tampa The University of Tampa (UT) is a private university in Tampa, Florida. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. UT offers more than 200 programs of study, including 22 master's degrees and a broad variety of majors, ...

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

College and Amateur

Thompson was an All-American during his time at the University of Tampa. He played 57 times for the Tampa Spartans whilst at the University. During his time in college, Thompson also played for

Bradenton Academics IMG Academy Bradenton is an American soccer team based in Bradenton, Florida, United States. Founded in 1998, the team plays in USL League Two, the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid. The team is associated with IMG Academy and the ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syste ...

MPS Portland Phoenix

After graduating from the University of Tampa, Thompson signed with MPS Portland Phoenix in Maine for the 2010 PDL season. Thompson's Portland team finished runners-up in the Eastern Conference Northeast Division. Portland were beaten 2–1 against Reading United in the Conference Semi-Finals and were eliminated. Thompson played 13 games for the Phoenix in his one season with the

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

club.

Shamrock Rovers

After a two-week trial in September 2010, Thompson signed with Shamrock Rovers in December 2010. The deal was finalized in February 2011 after he received his international clearance. Thompson spent much of the first half of the season on the bench as he was Rovers second choice keeper behind

Alan Mannus Alan Mannus (born 19 May 1982) is a Northern Irish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Shamrock Rovers. He began his career at Linfield, and during his time there he had spells on loan at Larne and Carrick Rangers. He then ...

. In March 2011, Thompson played in both legs of the Quarter-Finals of the 2011 Setanta Sports Cup for Rovers against

Lisburn Distillery Lisburn Distillery Football Club is a Northern Irish intermediate football club who are based in Ballyskeagh, County Down. A founder member of the Irish League, they currently play in the NIFL Premier Intermediate League, the third tier of t ...

, Rovers went on to win the competition. Thompson played his first league game for Shamrock Rovers in a 1–0 win away against Dorgheda United on 15 July 2011. On 21 July, Alan Mannus 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' ...

club St Johnstone which meant Thompson became Rovers new first choice goalkeeper. On 27 July 2011, he became the first Jamaican to play in the Champions League, when Shamrock Rovers played

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

in the 2011–12 UEFA Champions League Third qualifying round, Rovers were beaten 1–0 in the first-leg in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

and lost 2–0 in the second-leg in

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

on 2 August. Thompson and Rovers advanced to the 2011–12 Europa League play-off round where they faced

Serbian SuperLiga The Serbian Super League ( sr, Супер лига Србије / Super liga Srbije), referred to as the Mozzart Bet Super League ( sr, Моцарт Бет Супер лига / Mozzart Bet Super liga) for sponsorship reasons, is a Serbian profes ...

Champions

FK Partizan Fudbalski klub Partizan ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Партизан, ; en, Partizan Football Club), sometimes known as Partizan Belgrade in English, is a Serbia, Serbian professional football club (association football), football ...

. The first leg in Dublin finished 1–1. The second leg in Serbia finished 1–1 and the tie went to extra time. Rovers scored a penalty in the 113-minute of the game and advanced to the 2011–12 Europa League group stage. In that game in Belgrade Thompson pulled off an incredible save in the first half. This marked a famous victory for Irish football, as it was the first time an Irish club reached the group stages of a major European competition. In the first game in the group stages Thompson saved a penalty against

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...

. He went on to play in 3 other group games but despite his European heroics he was released at the end of the 2011 League of Ireland season.

Väsby United

In August 2012 Thompson signed for

Väsby United Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish football club located in Eskilstuna. The club has previously been known under the names FC Café Opera and Väsby United before switching ownership and t ...

, a third-tier club in Sweden

Tampa Bay Rowdies

In January 2014 Thompson signed for

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

of the

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 ...

on a two-year contract

Pittsburgh Riverhounds

Thompson signed for the

Pittsburgh Riverhounds Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC is an American professional soccer team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1999 and beginning play in 1999, the club plays in the Eastern Conference of the USL Championship, the second tier of the American so ...

of the

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 ...

on 22 January 2015. Following his performance at the

2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the 13th edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup competition and the 23rd CONCACAF regional championship overall in the organization's fifty-four years of existence. It was held in the United States, with two matches bein ...

, Thompson and the Riverhounds mutually parted ways after the 2015 season so that he could seek a move to Europe or to

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

Saint Louis FC

Thompson signed with USL club

Saint Louis FC Saint Louis FC was an American professional soccer team based in St. Louis, Missouri. The team was founded in May 2014, and competed in the USL Championship. The team played their matches at West Community Stadium, a venue inside the World Wid ...

on 3 March 2016. Thompson was released by

on 9 November 2016.

Central FC

From May to September 2017, Thompson was signed with

Central F.C. Central Football Club is a Trinidad and Tobago professional Association football, football club, based in California, Trinidad and Tobago, California, that plays in the TT Pro League. Founded in 2012, the ''Sharks'' were the 21st team to join the ...

of the

TT Pro League The TT Pro League (formerly known as the Professional Football League) is the Trinidad and Tobago professional league for association football clubs. It is the country's primary football competition and serves as the top division in the Trinidad ...

Austin Bold FC

On 26 November 2018, Thompson signed with

expansion team

as both a goalkeeper and goalkeeper coach.

International career

Thompson was a part of the Jamaica under-20 squad in 2002-2005. He traveled internationally to Europe, Central America and the Caribbean for youth national teams. He made his full international debut on 26 November 2004 in a 2005 Caribbean Cup qualifier in an 11–1 victory over the

US Virgin Islands The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...

. Thompson was called up in 2014 as part of the squad for the 2014 Caribbean Cup and multiple friendlies but was an unused substitute in every match. Thompson was recalled by Jamaica in March 2015 for friendlies against

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. Thompson opted to remain with his club team, the

, in order to play in their first match of the 2015 USL season. Thompson left the following day to join his teammates in preparation for the match against Cuba. Thompson went on to earn his third cap in that match and posted the shutout in the 3−0 victory. On 2 June 2015, it was announced that Thompson was included in Jamaica's roster for the

2015 Copa América The 2015 Copa América was the 44th edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South America, and took place in Chile between 11 June and 4 July 2015. The competition was organized by CONMEBOL, ...

. He was then named to the final 23-man roster for the

. On 14 July 2015, Thompson made his Gold Cup debut against

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

after

Dwayne Miller Dwayne St Aubyn Miller (born 14 July 1987) is a Jamaican professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He has won more than 30 caps for the Jamaica national football team. Miller was also part of the squad that reached the final and won th ...

came off with a head injury. Thompson made several saves to preserve Jamaica's 1–0 victory as the team advanced to the knockout stages as Group B leaders.

Coaching career

On September 4, 2021, Thompson was promoted to head coach for

club

. Thompson had previously been a player-coach for the team before being promoted to full-time assistant coach.

Honours

Harbour View * CFU Club Championship: 2004

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 ...

Setanta Cup The Setanta Sports Cup was a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland. Inaugurated in 2005, it was a cross-border competition between clubs in the League of Ireland from the Republic of Ir ...

: 2011 *

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 ...

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 ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, Ryan 1985 births Living people Association football goalkeepers Jamaica youth international footballers Jamaican expatriate footballers Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Shamrock Rovers F.C. players League of Ireland players Harbour View F.C. players Jamaica international footballers Tampa Spartans men's soccer players Expatriate soccer players in the United States USL League Two players GPS Portland Phoenix players IMG Academy Bradenton players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC players Saint Louis FC players Jamaican footballers Expatriate footballers in Sweden North American Soccer League players USL Championship players 2014 Caribbean Cup players 2015 Copa América players 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Copa América Centenario players National Premier League players Player-coaches USL Championship coaches Tampa Spartans men's soccer coaches Austin Bold FC players