Fresh from playing his 150th Hyundai A-League game for the club, we caught up with defender Sebastian Ryall to look back at his time with the Sky Blues.
150 Hyundai A-League appearances, second on the all-time Hyundai A-League appearances list for Sydney FC, how does it feel to have reached this milestone?
I’m very proud of the achievement. I’ve been at the club a long time now and I’ve really enjoyed it, I’ve met a lot of good people along the way and hopefully I can continue to make more appearances.
Of those 150 games which ones stand out for you as the most memorable?
Being at the Grand Final was something special, obviously winning the title was fantastic. There’s been so many memorable games for me. My debut was definitely special, playing for Sydney FC is a honour, but you can’t beat winning the Grand Final, it’s something that will sit with me for a long time and I’d love to win many more over however long I continue to play. Captaining the team in the derby is another cherished memory and a big moment for myself.
You’ve captained the club recently, but looking back who were the players you looked to for leadership and guidance when you first joined?
Looking back at my first years at the club it was Steve Corica and later on it was Simon Colosimo. He was a leader in the team and I learnt a lot from him. The team has changed over the years, but I just remember that first year, those two were great leaders and were great players to have my first season with.
Are there any funny or quirky moments with Sydney FC so far that you look back on fondly?
I think one of the first times I ever roomed with Rhyan Grant, we were away in Wellington and funnily enough we both scored on that day and won 2-1. That was sort of a strange one and now that we’ve been friends for such a long time that’s definitely a good memory.
How have you seen the club change over the years?
The club has changed a lot of years, the professionalism continues to grow and just the finer details now are a lot better. We’ve got great facilities and we’ve got a chef that comes in each day, everything involved with the club gets better and better and it’s a better working environment. Now the coaching staff try to get the best out of us by giving us all these opportunities and making everything easier for us. It’s changed a lot since the start and it’s changed in a better way.
