| RYAN BABEL PROFILE
by Snez1
Date of Birth - 19/12/86
Nationality - Dutch
Position - Winger/Forward
Squad Number - 19
Cost - £11.5m
Club Hons (Lpool) - None
Club Hons (Other) - 2005 & 2006 Dutch Super Cup, 2005-06 & 2006-07 Dutch Cup
Intnl Hons - Dutch Caps
Other Clubs - Ajax |
Dutch forward Ryan Babel joined Liverpool from Ajax on July 10th 2007 for a fee of £11.5m. Many claimed the fee was excessive for a youngster still thought of as a “rough diamond” in his homeland, but the hefty price tag did not deter Rafa Benitez from bringing the exciting talent to Anfield.
After being nurtured through the prolific Ajax youth set up Babel made his first official outing aged just 17 on February 1, 2004. His first goal came against De Graafschap in November 2004. He featured a total of 97 times for the Amsterdam side, scoring 19 times along the way and picking up 2 Dutch Super Cups (scoring the winner against PSV in 2005) and a Dutch F.A. Cup.
The promise he showcased at Ajax led to his international debut on March 26, 2005 when he became the 4th youngest ever scorer for the Dutch national team with a well-taken finish after replacing Arjen Robben against Romania. He has since figured on 17 occasions for the full national team, scoring 3 other goals against Italy, Mexico and Russia.
He has been described as “having the potential to be the next Thierry Henry” by National team coach and striking legend Marco Van Basten and early into his Liverpool career flashes of his talent have been evident, particularly in his wonderful debut goal at the Anfield Road end against Derby.
While Ryan Babel has all the qualities to be considered a top talent, like his idol Thierry Henry before him he is yet to settle into a favoured position at his young age. He has yet to prove that he his is prolific enough to be an out and out striker (just 20 career club goals in 106 appearances to date) and has his ups and downs on the wings where his inexperience and lack of consistency sometimes show themselves. He even featured at left back occasionally for Ajax.
Many believe that in the future he will settle down into a second striker role, playing just off an out and out front man. It was in this position where he shone in this summers Under 21 Tournament. Babel was voted man of the match in the final and got his name on the score sheet in the 4-1 victory over Serbia. He also scored a penalty earlier in the competition against Portugal. He was widely acclaimed as one of the biggest successes in the competition.
Despite this impressive form, his long awaited and expected move to Arsenal didn’t materialise as Arsene Wenger decided that, after many years of tracking the Dutch youngster £11.5m was just too much money to splash out at the time.
Rafa Benitez didn’t hang around and almost out of the blue Babel was being paraded at Anfield. Blessed with speed, skill, power, strength, a thunderous shot, and an awkward style to boot, Ryan Babel seems to have all the required tools to be a top player on the world stage.
His first season at Anfield was pretty much what was expected of a talented yet relatively inexperienced player. He was inconsistent early on and struggled to play 90 minutes, admitting himself that the Premier League was a greater physical challenge than he was used to. However, even during the early stages of the season when he struggled to find his best form he did produce moments of brilliance that showcased his exceptional potential.
As the season progressed he managed to make the left wing position more or less his own and scored a decent number of goals (10), including a tie clinching winner against Arsenal at the Kop end in the Champions League quarter final. Unfortunately for Ryan he was unable to participate in Euro 2008 for the Dutch national side due to injury but has subsequently been called up to the Olympic squad.
His second season at Anfield is one where people will be more demanding of him and both supporters and his manager will expect him to become more of a regular match winner and fulfil his vast potential.
