Soccer: Australian players in Europe

With a number of Australians plying their trade in mainland Europe, here’s a look at how they are fairing this season.

Mathew Ryan (AZ Alkmaar)

Starting with Australia skipper Mathew Ryan and the goalkeeper is currently playing in the Dutch top flight with AZ Alkmaar.

Originally from Plumpton, New South Wales, Ryan is no stranger to travelling after having spells in Belgium, Spain, England, Denmark and now the Netherlands.

AZ have a battle on their hands with firm favourites PSV for the Dutch title and Ryan’s Alkmaar are available at 10.00 to finish top of the pile this season.  

Aiden O’Neill (Standard Liege)

Over in Belgium, Alex O’Neill is a regular in the starting lineup for Standard Liege, who themselves already have a mountain to climb to win the Pro League.

Sat in eighth place in the table, Liege find themselves 14 points behind early frontrunners Union Saint-Gilloise after the first 13 games of the campaign.

Former Burnley midfielder O’Neill is still finding his feet at Liege after moving to Belgium earlier this year but it’s a good standard for the 25-year-old to kick on in his development.

Standard Liege are available at 41.00 to win the Belgian First Division A title this season.

Jackson Irvine & Connor Metcalfe (St Pauli)

Looking to battle their way back to the German top flight, Jackson Irvine and Connor Metcalfe are hoping they can guide St Pauli back to the Bundesliga.

The Hamburg outfit have made a strong start to the Bundesliga II season and find themselves top of the standings after the first 12 games of the campaign.

Rivals Hamburg are hot on their heels and it looks like it could be a great battle between the pair to see who finishes top of the pile this season.

Australia’s Jackson is the man who has been given the armband for the season the 30-year-old midfielder has made a strong start to the campaign.

The same goes for his midfield partner Metcalfe, who has already scored two league goals this season.

Judging from the first few months of the campaign, it looks like the pair of Jackson and Metcalfe will have important roles to play to get St Pauli back to where they will feel they belong in the German top flight.

Patrick Yazbek (Viking)

With the Eliteserien season in Norway reaching a conclusion before the cold winter to come, Patrick Yazbek’s campaign with Viking is nearing an end.

Viking were punching above their weight but the Stavanger outfit have tailed off in recent weeks and are without a win in their last five games.

The 21-year-old Yazbek has been an important part of the squad, with the former Sydney FC midfielder making 23 appearances in the league this year.

Yazbek is not the only Aussie currently playing in Stavanger, with defender Giannu Stensness and Nicholas D’Agostino also hailing from Down Under.

With three games remaining Viking can still finish second behind runaway leaders Bodo/Glimt.