Our First Year In Professional Soccer: What Really Went Down

Hey everyone! As I promised last week in my opening thoughts, each week I want to feature one of our previously completed seasons here in Germany. I felt it was important to highlight everything that went down each year so we can set the record straight and hopefully answer some of the questions that we are constantly getting. Furthermore, if the craziness of our experience provides a dose of entertainment for you, that’s always an added bonus (haha)!

Alright, let me set the scene for you…

It’s May 2015 and Ryan just signed his first professional contract: a 1-year deal with 1. FC Magdeburg! He packed his 2 suitcases and bought a one-way ticket to Germany. AHH! The first few months were probably the hardest months of his life so far. He was thrown into this country completely alone, not being able to speak to anyone, and trying to figure out how to succeed in this new career. You never realize how much you appreciate your native language until you are no longer able to use it! Aside from attempting to speak to teammates and coaches (which was difficult in itself), trying to do ANYTHING was a long and hard process. Imagine trying to set up a bank account or get health insurance when your knowledge of the German language is limited to about 5 words. Yeah…it’s near impossible! In terms of soccer, Ryan struggled to understand what his coach was telling him in training and he couldn’t speak to his teammates in the locker room. Talk about lonely! He was navigating these difficulties all while fighting for a starting spot on the team.

The Start of the Season

I arrived in August, about 2 months after Ryan made the move and started his season. When I got there, I could immediately tell that he was struggling mentally. He was having a hard time finding his place on the team, having a hard time making a true connection with his teammates, and wanting so hard to succeed. For the first month of the season, Ryan was not even on the roster for games. I knew his heart was breaking every time he sat with me in the stands and watched his team play without him. But, he rarely let those thoughts get to him during training. He went into “work” every day determined to work hard, prove himself as a valuable member of the team, and begin to make a name for himself. In September, he finally earned his spot on the roster, got subbed into his first game, and made his professional debut!

From Backup To Starter

Ryan spent the next month busting his butt to become a starting player on the team. I swear he was always the first one at training and the last one to leave every day. He spent all his time working towards becoming a better player. And about 1 month after his professional debut, he was called into a meeting with the head coach and was told he would be in the starting-11 for that week’s game. YES!! Ryan came home that night with the biggest smile on his face and was determined to have an outstanding game and not waste this opportunity. That weekend, when GameDay rolled around, Ryan was the most nervous and excited I have ever seen him (still to this day). But, when the whistle blew, he looked right at home! His teammates and he were having a fairly good game but the scoreboard sat at 0:0 for the majority of the time. That is…until a free kick came in the 84th minute, and the ball found its way into the back of the net by none other than the newbie Ryan Malone. FCM ended up winning that game 1:0. O…M…G! Looking back on the past 3 seasons, this was probably the highlight of his career thus far!

The following week, Ryan was once again in the starting lineup. They were playing one of the best (if not THE best) teams in their league, and the game was estimated to have over 30,000 fans in attendance. Again, Ryan was having a great game and to everyone’s surprise, he scored yet another goal! Two games… two goals. Not a bad way to kick things off, right?

That brings us to his 3rd game as a starter for FCM. By this point in time, Ryan was feeling super confident in himself! He felt that all of his hard work and dedication were finally paying off and he was truly becoming an asset to his team. He had finally earned his spot, was succeeding, and felt comfortable with where he was. This right here was exactly what he was working towards all this time! Unfortunately, all of these feelings came crashing down when 23 minutes into the game, a player fell on top of him and Ryan ruptured his MCL. Cue the tears!

The Next 2 Months

Ryan spent the next 2 months recovering and rehabilitating his body. If he wasn’t in rehab or getting treatment, he was in the gym working out or watching game videos. Basically, he spent his injury-time doing anything and everything he could in order to come back stronger, fresh, and ready to go. It was a little hard on him mentally at first. He felt so betrayed and cheated by the Football Gods after he had just worked so hard to prove himself and earn his spot, just to have everything wiped clean after only 3 games. But, he was determined to heal and was looking forward to getting back to work on the pitch.

Winter Break

Luckily, the tail end of his healing-time fell right at the start of Christmas vacation. So, Ryan had a few extra weeks to recuperate and ease back into the swing of things. When the winter break concluded, he was feeling 100% and was eager to earn his spot back. When the winter preseason began, Ryan was healthy, fit, and doing really well in training. There were even some initial talks happening about signing him for the next season! About a month into their winter preseason, the team went outside to train on a snow-covered field. In the middle of training, Ryan slipped on some ice, fell down, and sustained a major ankle injury. With this injury, he was looking at an even longer recovery time than the first one. Cue the tears…yet again!

Spring Time

Ryan’s recovery and rehabilitation for his ankle injury lasted until the spring. If you thought he was devastated after the first injury, you should have seen him after the second one! He felt useless, of little value, and was sure that all of his dedication, hard work, and drive were completely forgotten by this point. Unfortunately, he didn’t see much of the field after this second injury, totaling only 29 minutes in the second half of the season. What was even more unfortunate, was that towards the end of the season, he was given the news that no player ever wants to hear. The club was not planning with him and they had decided against signing him for the new season.

Those last few weeks with FCM were probably the hardest for Ryan (and for us as a couple). He had to go into training every day and continue to work, knowing that the coaches and managers didn’t want him anymore. It broke his heart and as I’m sure you can imagine, it broke mine even harder. It was a time where he started to question his entire career, as well as the decision to uproot the two of us and move our little family to Europe. After continuously getting knocked to the ground, there’s only so many times you can fight to get back up again, right? And Ryan was definitely contemplating if it was worth it to fight to stand back up.

During this time, Ryan fell into a depression which put a huge strain on our relationship as a couple. We were in a state of panic and stress 24/7 while also trying to figure out where to go from here. For me, this was definitely a learning experience and a lesson in what NOT to do as a soccer wife when put in situations like this. Constantly expressing my own fears and anxieties only made things worse and did not help Ryan move on and come to a better place emotionally.

The Fans

I have to be honest and say that I was not the one who helped Ryan move on from his “break up” with FCM. The fans from Magdeburg are really the ones to thank here. They were the ones who relit a fire in Ryan and gave him a reason to move forward and keep fighting to be successful. They were the ones who supported him when no one else would, they were the ones who never stopped seeing potential in Ryan as a player, and they were the ones who reminded him just how much he loves this game. So for that, thank you to all the fans from 1. FC Magdeburg!

When the fans heard the news about Ryan, the fan-favorite being let go, many of them were very upset, angry, and confused. They didn’t understand why their favorite American player was not offered a contract extension. Some of them even started a petition, asking the club reconsider letting Ryan go. Although the decision was final, the amazing gesture and support from all those fans meant more to us than any contract ever could. In the very last home game of the season, Ryan got subbed in and was able to finish his time at FCM playing in front of these outstanding fans. Many of them even held up Ryan’s number in support, and by the time the game was finishing, the whole stadium was chanting his name! I’m not sure I have ever seen Ryan more emotional during a soccer game. It was definitely a moment neither one of us will EVER forget.

This first year was particularly hard for Ryan in the sense that every time he thought that he had overcome a huge obstacle, a new challenge was on the bench just waiting for the chance to present itself. We had so many amazing moments during this season like Ryan’s first game, his first start, his first goal, and hearing all the fans chant his name at the end of the season. But at the same time, he also had equally as many difficult times that really tested him physically, mentally, and emotionally. It was definitely not an easy transition into this new career path, but I think it made him a better soccer player, a better teammate, and an overall stronger individual.

Check back next Friday for Part 2 of the soccer series! Next week I’ll be chatting about our second season and the roller coaster of a ride that came with living in Stuttgart and being a member of the Stuttgarter Kickers. As if the first year wasn’t drama-filled enough, someone upstairs thought we needed a few more challenges thrown our way.

Enjoy your weekend everybody!