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Ryan Thomas (footballer)

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Ryan Thomas
Thomas playing for New Zealand at the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
Personal information
Full name Ryan Jared Thomas[1]
Date of birth (1994-12-20) 20 December 1994 (age 29)[1]
Place of birth Te Puke, New Zealand
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
Mount Maunganui Junior FC
Tauranga City AFC
Melville United
Waikato FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011 Melville United
2011–2013 Waikato FC 18 (4)
2013 Western Suburbs 11 (7)
2013–2018 PEC Zwolle 123 (8)
2018–2022 PSV 33 (4)
2022– PEC Zwolle 25 (0)
International career‡
2013 New Zealand U20 11 (2)
2014– New Zealand 19 (3)
Medal record
Representing  New Zealand
OFC U-20 Championship
Winner 2011 New Zealand
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 2 December 2019

Ryan Jared Thomas (born 20 December 1994) is a New Zealand professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle and the New Zealand national team.

Thomas played for various clubs across the Waikato region of New Zealand, before signing professional terms with Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle in 2013. Since then, Thomas has spent his footballing career in the Netherlands, signing for reigning champions PSV Eindhoven in 2018. Thomas is additionally a regular for the New Zealand national team, featuring in the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup.

Club career

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New Zealand

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Thomas was born in Te Puke, New Zealand,[2] attended Tauranga Boys' College and played his youth football at Mount Maunganui Tauranga City AFC and Waikato club Melville United in the NRFL Premier. He made his debut off the bench on 30 July 2011, alongside fellow current professional Jesse Edge, and scored in the 3–1 win against Forrest Hill Milford.[3]

Thomas was announced as part of the squad for New Zealand Football Championship side Waikato FC at the beginning of the 2011–12 season, joining other future New Zealand international Tyler Boyd.[4]

Thomas was later convinced by his previous Waikato FC manager, Declan Edge, to leave his current side to join the Olé Football Academy in Wellington, along with several other Waikato players.[5] During this time, Thomas played for the Olé Academy-affiliated club Western Suburbs. Noting Thomas' exceptional talent, Edge organised a trial for the 18-year-old at Eredivisie club PEC Zwolle.[5]

PEC Zwolle

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Following a successful trial period in the Netherlands, Thomas signed for PEC Zwolle in September 2013, and made his debut for the club on 30 October 2013 against amateur side Wilhelmina '08 in the third round of the KNVB Cup, scoring the first goal in a 4–0 win.[6] He quickly became a key winger for the club; his successful debut season culminated in winning the KNVB Cup, with Thomas scoring two goals in the final in a 5–1 win over AFC Ajax.[7]

Thomas continued to impress for PEC Zwolle in the following seasons following his transition to a holding midfielder, with his rise being compared to that of Dutch legend Arjen Robben by former manager Ron Jans.[8] In a 2017 interview, Jans stated that "it would not surprise me if he ended up at Real Madrid".[9][10]

PSV

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On 10 August 2018, Thomas joined reigning Eredivisie champions PSV for an undisclosed fee on a three-year contract.[11] The move was described by former New Zealand and Eredivisie footballer Ivan Vicelich as one of the biggest deals ever by a New Zealander.[12] Just days after signing, however, Thomas sustained a knee injury in training; originally thought to be only a minor sprain, it was later discovered to be a serious anterior cruciate ligament tear, meaning Thomas spent the rest of the season sidelined.[13][14] As part of his rehabilitation, Thomas spent time working with Olympic swimming champion Pieter van den Hoogenband.[15]

On 6 October 2019, after 14 months out injured, Thomas finally made his debut for PSV as an 85th minute substitute for Érick Gutiérrez in a 4−1 win over VVV Venlo.[16]

After four injury-riddled seasons, during which he had four surgeries on his knee in total, Thomas was released by PSV in June 2022.[17]

Return to PEC Zwolle

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On 26 October 2022, Dutch side PEC Zwolle now playing in the Eerste Divisie announced that they had re-signed Thomas.[18] In August 2024, it was announced that PEC Zwolle had extended Thomas’s contract until mid-2025.[19]

Career statistics

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Club

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As of match played 23 August 2024[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup[a] Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Waikato 2011–12 ASB Premiership 13 3 — — — 13 3
2012–13 5 1 — — — 5 1
Total 18 4 — — — 18 4
PEC Zwolle 2013–14 Eredivisie 19 1 5 3 — — 24 4
2014–15 30 3 5 1 2[b] 0 1[c] 0 38 4
2015–16 12 2 0 0 — — 12 2
2016–17 31 1 2 0 — — 33 1
2017–18 31 1 3 0 — — 34 1
Total 123 8 15 4 2 0 1 0 141 12
PSV 2019–20 Eredivisie 11 2 1 0 3[b] 0 — 15 2
2020–21 16 1 2 0 6[b] 0 — 24 1
2021–22 6 1 0 0 3[d] 0 — 9 1
Total 33 4 3 0 12 0 — 48 4
PEC Zwolle 2022–23 Eerste Divisie 18 0 1 0 — — 19 0
2023–24 Eredivisie 7 0 0 0 — — 7 0
2024–25 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Total 26 0 1 0 — — 27 0
Career total 199 16 19 4 14 0 1 0 233 20
  1. ^ Includes KNVB Cup
  2. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  3. ^ Appearance(s) in Johan Cruyff Shield
  4. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Europa League

International career

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Thomas made his international debut for New Zealand when he played in a 2–4 friendly loss to Japan in March 2014.[21] He scored his first international goals on 28 March 2017, netting a brace in a 2–0 win over Fiji.[22]

International goals

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Scores and results list New Zealand's goal tally first.[23]
No Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 28 March 2017 Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington, New Zealand  Fiji 1–0 2–0 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
2. 2–0
3. 1 September 2017 North Harbour Stadium, Auckland, New Zealand  Solomon Islands 4–1 6–1

Honours

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Club

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Waikato FC

PEC Zwolle

International

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Individual

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "FIFA U-20 World Cup Turkey 2013 List of Players: New Zealand" (PDF). FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 23 June 2013. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2013.
  2. ^ "SunLive - Te Puke player in All Whites - The Bay's News First". www.sunlive.co.nz. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  3. ^ Goile, Aaron (1 August 2011). "Teenager stars for Melville in Northern League". Waikato Times. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  4. ^ Anderson, Ian (22 October 2011). "Waikato FC hope for deliverance". Waikato Times. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. ^ a b Worthington, Sam (6 September 2013). "Kiwi teen Thomas signs with top Dutch club". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  6. ^ "PEC Zwolle vs. Wilhelmina '08 - Football Match Report - October 30, 2013 - ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  7. ^ "PEC Zwolle win KNVB Cup after hammering Ajax". Football Oranje. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2016.
  8. ^ "Ryan Thomas compared to Arjen Robben". Olé Football Academy. 24 January 2016. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  9. ^ "Wat zegt Ron Jans hier nou?! "Zou me niks verbazen als Ryan Thomas naar Real Madrid gaat"". Voetbalflitsen.nl - het leukste en opvallendste voetbalnieuws!. 20 November 2017. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  10. ^ "All White Ryan Thomas tipped to attract interest from Europe's biggest clubs". NZ Herald. 22 November 2017.
  11. ^ "Ryan Thomas signs from PEC Zwolle". PSV. 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  12. ^ Rollo, Phillip (15 August 2018). "Ryan Thomas completes landmark transfer to PSV Eindhoven". Waikato Times.
  13. ^ "Ryan Thomas sustains severe knee injury". PSV. 23 August 2018. Retrieved 23 August 2018.
  14. ^ "Cruel injury blow for All White Ryan Thomas days after joining PSV Eindhoven". Stuff.co.nz. 23 August 2018.
  15. ^ "'PSV-debuut weer een stapje dichterbij voor Thomas door voorspoedige revalidatie'".
  16. ^ "All Whites star Ryan Thomas makes PSV debut after year out with knee injury". 5 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Football: Injury-plagued All Whites star Ryan Thomas has 'rare surgery' in bid to revive career". Newshub.
  18. ^ "Ryan Thomas keert terug in Zwolle injury" (in Dutch). PEC Zwoller. 26 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  19. ^ "All Whites Midfielder Ryan Thomas signs new deal after return from injury". Friends of Football NZ. 3 August 2024. Retrieved 3 September 2024.
  20. ^ Ryan Thomas at Soccerway
  21. ^ "Japan vs New Zealand". Soccerway. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  22. ^ Burgess, Michael (28 March 2017). "Football: All Whites progress in World Cup qualifying". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
  23. ^ Ryan Thomas at National-Football-Teams.com
  24. ^ "IFFHS MAN TEAM - OFC - OF THE DECADE 2011-2020". IFFHS. 31 January 2021.
  25. ^ "IFFHS ALL TIME OCEANIA MEN'S DREAM TEAM". IFFHS. 14 June 2021. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
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