Ryan Mudaliar: Fiji FA has not contacted me yet

In the last week Oceania Football Center released an article talking about Ryan Mudaliar, a 18-year-old goalkeeper from Australia whose parents are from Fiji. We made a brief introdution about him and we also pointed that Fiji Football Association and National Team’s head coach Flemming Serritslev should pay attention on him because he is a very talented player.

After that, Oceania Football Center got in touch with the player. Mudaliar talked about his career in football since the first steps in the childhood and he also pointed some important things about the possibility of representing Fiji internationally. Scroll down and check!

Currently playing for Brisbane Strikers U20, the young goalkeeper revealed that he used to play in another position when he was younger – “I was a field player for many years. I used to play as left midfielder and striker. It has been seven or eight years since I became a goalkeeper“.

SEE ALSO:
Ryan Mudaliar: a young and talented Fijian in Australia
Young Fijian Rahul Naresh scouted by Australian A-League club

Despite being very young, he has a good experience as he has already trained and played some youth tournaments in Europe – “Over the past years I have gone overseas on tournaments and training camps to play against European sides. Thus far I played against teams such as Nuremberg and Hertha Berlin from Germany and Liverpool from England,” he said. Mudaliar spent some time training in England in 2018 when he was one of the fourteen players chosen to train at West Ham United. He also spent two weeks training with Crystal Palace – “I had the opportunity to play for Crystal Palace U-20 in a friendly game,” he explained.

His experience in Europe made him notice some important things like the gap between Europe and Australia – “From what I have seen, the standard in Europe is higher than in Australia. I lost almost all matches I played there and it gave me a good taste of what the world has to offer. It has given me a stronger idea of where I need to be if I want to make my dreams real,” he pointed.

Currently in Australia, the young goalkeeper is working hard to make the next level and be a professional player – “I have signed for Brisbane Strikers this year […] I train with the first team and compared to youth football it has a faster pace and you do not want to mess up or slow down the drill so it forces you to get to that level and that speed,” he stated.

Mudaliar is a regular starter in the Strikers U-20 team and now he is just one step away from being a footballer at senior level as he is Strikers’ back-up goalkeeper in NPL Queensland – one of the leagues that are part of Australian National Premier Leagues – “I have been eagerly waiting for my opportunity to play in the first team but all I can do is keep working hard together with my excellent goalkeeper coach Fernando Alves and the staff to help me keep improving to grab the opportunity when it comes” he added.

The young player from Brisbane Strikers has never represented Australia internationally which means that he is still eligible to represent Fiji internationally. However the Fiji Football Association (FFA) is not in contact with him at the moment – “I have not been in contact with Fiji FA but playing for a National Team is one of my goals. Representing a nation is a massive achievement and whether that be me playing Fiji or Australia I would love the opportunity,” he revealed – “But for now all I can do is put my head down and make sure I will keep working hard to make sure I will be ready to take the next step,” he complemented.

Mudaliar leaves the door open for Fiji which means that he has some interest on representing his parents country. Now it is time to check what FFA is going to do about it.