Tranmere Rovers midfielder Ryan Williams has been out of his comfort zone more than ever, after arriving back from two stints abroad.
Williams spent several years as a professional footballer in England before he decided to jump out of his comfort zone and take on challenges in North and South America.
The 27-year-old moved abroad in 2016 after leaving Scottish outfit Inverness after one season and joined Canadian side Ottawa Fury in the United Soccer League.
“I moved out in 2016 to Canada and played for Ottowa Fury. It was an incredible experience for myself,” Williams said.
“Not just on the football side of things but away from the pitch as well, and I have grown a lot out there and would probably say that I have grown up,” he said.
The language barrier was not much of an issue for part of Williams’ journey abroad, but he still believes that there was a different culture which he had to settle down in.
Williams revealed that he thinks the experience contributed to his experience in life and feels he has grown up and is now more independent.
“It is so different even though they speak English it is a different culture to what you are used to and I really thrived and grew up as a person.”
From there it was the start of a special journey for the former Morecambe midfielder, as he crossed to South America, the home of football, which was not a hard decision for Williams.
“It just seemed like a natural evolution to go and test myself and when the opportunity to move to Brazil came up, for me, it was a no brainer.
“You are going to a country where football is obsessed, it was just football, football and more football,” he said
The 27-year old played for North Brazilian side Pysandu, where the supporters turned up hours before matches to make noise to prepare for each match.
“I played for Pysandu over there which is the biggest team in Northern Brazil and we had two stadiums, a big one for the biggest games and then one for the smaller games.
“In the bigger stadium we got around 40,000 fans who were absolutely crazy about their team and arrived around two and a half hours before the game making an absolute racket, so for me it was incredible,” he said.
Perhaps not the numbers but definitely the same attitude of the supporters can be said at Prenton Park, or the away trips up and down the country.
Williams, due to a work permit application, sat in the stands for the away fixture at Carlisle United and had nothing but credit for the supporters!
“The fans were nothing short of phenomenal. All I could hear, all game was the Tranmere fans singing.
“It really does lift you as a player and can swing the momentum in games and the Carlisle game was a perfect example of that,” he said.
Credit: Richard Ault (Tranmere Rovers)
The Merseyside born midfielder came through the ranks at Tranmere Rovers and has been invited back several years after, for a second bite at the cherry.
Williams says he has settled in as well as he could have done and that is due to knowing a good portion of the group that Micky Mellon has, and he feels at home which is very important to him.
“For me, it has fitted like a glove. Walking into the dressing room to see a lot of lads who are very similar to me and has similar personalities to me. It has felt like coming home for me.
“I have played with a number of the lads, I have known Bucko (Adam Buxton) since I was young and I know Connor Jennings, and Jay Harris I know from my time at Chester,” he said.
After four weeks of the club’s first campaign back in the Football League (EFL), Micky Mellon definitely won’t be overly disappointed by the start that his side has made.
Williams is in agreement and is remaining positive and ready for when he is called upon to play for Rovers.
“I take it day by day and I want to be better than the day before in training, to keep improving.
“If you take care of the small details then when you get your opportunity you will be ready”, he stated.
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