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Ryan Babel

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Ryan Babel
Ryan Babel
Personal information
Full name Ryan Guno Babel[1]
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[2]
Position(s) Winger, Striker
Team information
Current team
 Liverpool
Number 19
Youth career
1998–2004 AFC Ajax
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2004–2007 Ajax 73 (14)
2007–2011 Liverpool 91 (12)
2011– Hoffenheim
International career‡
2002–2003 Netherlands U17 6 (3)
2003–2004 Netherlands U19 6 (2)
2004–2005 Netherlands U20 4 (2)
2005–2007 Netherlands U21 5 (2)
2008 Netherlands U23 5 (2)
2005– Netherlands 40 (5)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 6 January 2011
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20 November 2010

Ryan Guno Babel (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈrɑjɐn ˈbaːbəl]; born 19 December 1986)[2] is a football player who currently plays for Liverpool F.C. he plays as a left winger, but can also play as a striker. Babel began his career at AFC Ajax in 1998, working his way up through the youth team and into the senior squad. He played three seasons for the first team before he was transferred to Liverpool in mid-2007. He has been part of the Dutch national football team since 2005 and has represented his country at all youth team levels.

Early career

Ryan Babel, born 19 December 1986, grew up in Bijlmermeer, Amsterdam and was interested in football from an early age. Inspired by the local footballing talent, including Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard, Babel played for nearby youth-teams S.V Diemen, then Fortius.[3] In 1997, he attended a youth selection day with AFC Ajax. He made it through the first selection round, but failed to progress any further.[4] However, the next year Ajax accepted him and he played the 1998–99 season for their D1 team.[4] After having graduated through the C1, B1 and A1 teams, Babel signed his first professional contract in January 2004.[4]

Club career

Ajax

Babel at a post-game press event for Ajax

Playing as a forward, on 1 February 2004, just one and a half months after his 17th birthday, Ajax coach Ronald Koeman gave Babel his first team debut in Ajax's 4–0 home win over ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie.[5] Ajax went on to win the Dutch league title, but Babel didn't feature again that season. Nine months later, on 20 November 2004 Babel scored his first senior goal against De Graafschap in a 5–0 victory.[6]

In July 2005, Babel signed a new contract with Ajax. He started the new season by scoring the winning goal in Ajax's 2–1 defeat of PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Super Cup. Babel scored in both legs of the Champions League third qualifying round against Brøndby as Ajax made it to the group stage. 2005–06 was a tougher season for Babel in general though as he managed only two league goals. He did however continue to feature for the national team, and scored his second goal against Italy in November. At the end of the season, Babel came on as a second-half substitute in Ajax's 2–1 victory over PSV in the Dutch Cup final.

Babel marked the start of 2006–07 with another Dutch Super Cup winners medal, as Ajax defeated PSV 3–1. Babel was linked with Arsenal and Newcastle United during the January transfer window of the 2006–07 season but no move materialised.[7][8] Amidst the transfer speculation, Babel agreed to a new three-year deal with Ajax on 2 February 2007.[5][9] In May, Babel got another Dutch Cup winners medal as Ajax successfully defended the title. The match against AZ went to a penalty shoot-out, but Babel was substituted off after 120 minutes.[10]

Liverpool

Ryan Babel

On 10 July 2007 it was reported that Liverpool had made a £14 million offer to the Amsterdam club.[11] On 12 July it was reported that Liverpool and Ajax had agreed a fee in the region of £11.5 million, and later Liverpool confirmed that Babel would sign a five year contract on 13 July.[12] He was unveiled on 13 July with Yossi Benayoun. Babel was handed the number 19 shirt. He made his debut on 17 July against Werder Bremen in a friendly. He was due to play in the first round of the Barclays Asia Trophy 2007 but for a delay in the granting of international clearance. This was sorted out in time for the final against Portsmouth.[13]

He made his Premier League debut in the 2007–08 Premier League curtain raiser against Aston Villa away after coming on off the bench. A week later and he made his Anfield debut, coming off the bench against Chelsea. On 1 September Babel scored his first goal for Liverpool against Derby County.[14] Babel scored his first Champions League goal for Liverpool on 6 November against Beşiktaş J.K. after coming on as a substitute. He netted twice in the game and almost completed a hat-trick, with a header from a Harry Kewell cross, but was denied by the crossbar.[15] Babel scored the fourth and last goal in Liverpool's 2007–08 UEFA Champions League group stage match against Olympique de Marseille, which they needed to win.[16] He came off the bench in the second leg of the quarter final against Arsenal in the Champions League to win a penalty and score a goal, with Liverpool winning the game 4–2 (5–3 on aggregate).[17] He also came on as a substitute against Chelsea in the semi-final and despite scoring a goal, Liverpool lost 3–2 in extra time.[18]

Liverpool and Celtic legend Kenny Dalglish has said that Babel has the ability to terrorise defenders in the Premier League with his pace and trickery with the ball.[19] On 13 September 2008, Babel came off the bench to score the winner for Liverpool in a 2–1 victory over Manchester United, his first goal of the 2008–09 season[20] Babel scored his second goal of the season in Liverpool's 5–1 victory over Newcastle United on 28 December 2008.[21]

On the 20 September 2009 against West Ham, Babel came off the bench for Dirk Kuyt. At this stage the score was 2–2. Babel picked up the ball and did well to beat the full-back and sent in a delightful cross for Fernando Torres to head home the winner. Babel, who has been criticized in the past for his work rate and attitude, earned praise for his efforts in the West Ham game.[22] Many Liverpool fans hope this signals the return of the form he showed in his first season that saw him quickly become a fan favourite.

On 27 September 2009, Babel scored two goals against Hull City coming off the bench for Fernando Torres to round up a match which ended 6–1 for Liverpool.[23] On 4 November 2009, Babel scored the opening goal against Lyon in a Champions League game, a strike from 25 yards in a 1–1 draw. Former Liverpool player Alan Hansen called upon Babel to play like he did against Lyon, as he still possesses the ability to be a 'top player'.[24]

On 6 January 2010, it was reported that Liverpool rejected an £8 million offer from Birmingham City for Babel.[25] Babel was then disciplined by manager Benitez, over stating on his twitter page that he had been dropped for the game against Stoke City, and was fined two weeks wages of £120,000. He has constantly been linked with a move away from Anfield but Rafael Benitez has stated his desire that he wants Babel to stay. On 15 March 2010 he scored against Portsmouth in a 4–1 win. On 1 April 2010, he was sent off for the first time in his Liverpool career in the 30th minute of the first leg of the Europa League quarter-final against S.L. Benfica after an altercation with Luisão. He scored in Liverpool's 4–0 win over Burnley at Turf Moor, subsequently relegating Burnley to the Championship. On 19 August 2010, Babel scored the winner against Trabzonspor in the Europa League qualifier first leg, it was his first game of the 2010-11 season.[26] He started his first match in the Premier League at Anfield against Aston Villa and scored his first goal in the Premier League with a right-footed volley that beat former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Friedel.

Babel is one of the few Premier League players that use Twitter to communicate with fans. In January 2011 Babel posted an image on twitter of referee Howard Webb in a Manchester United shirt after Liverpools 1-0 defeat in the FA Cup, and was charged by the F.A. with improper conduct and fined £10,000.[27]

On 18 January Liverpool agreed a fee believed to be in the region of £7 million for Babel from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.[28]

On 24 January Kenny Dalglish confirmed that Ryan would be staying at Liverpool[29], however on 25th January Babel flew to Germany to finalize the deal to sign with TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.[30]

International career

Babel playing for the Netherlands in August 2007

Babel took part in the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Babel scored two goals in four games as the Netherlands reached the quarter-finals. There they were defeated by Nigeria, 10–9 in a penalty shoot-out (Babel scored his penalty).[31]

Later that season, Babel made his international debut on 26 March 2005, away against Romania. He entered the game as a first-half substitute for Arjen Robben and went on to score the second goal in a 2–0 victory.[6] The goal made Babel the youngest goalscorer in 68 years for the Netherlands[6] and the fourth-youngest of all time.[32] Babel had been a first team regular with Ajax in 2004–05 and finished with seven league goals in 22 appearances.

In 2006, Marco van Basten included Babel in the Dutch squad for 2006 FIFA World Cup. Due to a knee injury however,[33] Babel only featured once, as a second-half substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy in the group match against Argentina.[34] Van Basten has been quoted as saying Babel "has all the potential to become the next Thierry Henry".[32]

In June 2007, Babel was part of the Netherlands under-21 team competing in the UEFA Under-21 Championship, being held in the Netherlands. In the group stage, Babel scored a penalty against Portugal, helping the Dutch to secure a semi-final spot and thus qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. His second tournament goal came during his man of the match performance in the final as the Netherlands defeated Serbia 4–1 to retain their title.[35]

In May 2008, Babel was selected for the Dutch squad which will compete in the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. On 31 May, it was announced that Babel had been withdrawn from the squad after tearing ankle ligaments in training. Van Basten added then-Chelsea defender Khalid Boulahrouz to his squad in place of Babel.[36]

2010 World Cup

Babel was included in the preliminary squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.[37] On 27 May 2010, Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk announced that the player would be part of the final squad of 23 participating in the competition.[38] Though the Netherlands reached the final, Babel didn't get to play a single minute in South Africa.

Career Statistics

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Netherlands Eredivisie KNVB Cup Super Cup Europe Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Ajax
(Eredivisie) 		2003–04 1 0 0 0 - - 0 0 1 0
2004–05 20 7 2 0 - - 4 1 26 8
2005–06 25 2 1 0 1 1 9 2 36 5
2006–07 27 5 3 0 1 0 7 2 38 7
Club Total 73 14 6 0 2 1 20 5 101 20
England Premier League FA Cup League Cup Europe Total
Liverpool

(Premier League)

2007–08 30 4 4 1 2 0 13 5 49 10
2008–09 27 3 3 0 2 0 10 1 42 4
2009–10 25 4 1 0 2 0 10 2 38 6
2010–11 9 1 1 0 1 0 6 1 17 2
Club Total 91 12 9 1 7 0 39 9 146 22
Career totals 164 26 15 1 9 1 59 14 247 42
Last updated 5 January 2011[39][40]
International goals
# Date Opponent Score Result Competition
1 26 March 2005  Romania 2–0 Won WC 2006 Qual.
2 12 November 2005  Italy 1–3 Loss Friendly
3 1 June 2006  Mexico 2–1 Won Friendly
4 7 February 2007  Russia 4–1 Won Friendly
5 24 May 2008  Ukraine 3–0 Won Friendly
Last updated 24 May 2008[39]

Career honours

Ajax

Netherlands

Individual

    • 2007–2008 Liverpool FC Young Player of the Season

References

  1. ^ "Statistics" (PDF). Premier League. Retrieved 2010-01-11.
  2. ^ a b "Liverpool FC Official profile". Liverpool F.C. Retrieved 16 January 2010.
  3. ^ Biography, Babelofficial.com. Retrieved on 2009-02-09.
  4. ^ a b c Template:Nl icon "Biography". ryanbabel.nl. Retrieved 2007-06-23.
  5. ^ a b "Extension for Ryan Babel". AFC Ajax. 2007-02-02. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  6. ^ a b c "Babel rewarding Van Basten's faith". FIFA. 2006-01-16. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  7. ^ Burt, Jason (2007-01-09). "West Ham in for Ljungberg as Arsenal line up Dutch star". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  8. ^ van Leeuwen, Gerrit (2007-01-18). "Babel catching Magpies' eye". Sky Sports. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  9. ^ "Ajax star wowed by Wenger". Sky Sports News. 2007-06-14.
  10. ^ Template:Nl icon "Ajax win cup in thriller". Article on knvb.nl (Dutch FA website). 2007-05-06. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  11. ^ "Liverpool make improved Babel bid". BBC Sport. 2007-07-13. Retrieved 2008-09-16.
  12. ^ Paul Eaton (2007-07-12). "Babel set to sign on Friday". Liverpool F.C.
  13. ^ "Reds reach Asia Trophy final". Sky Sports. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  14. ^ Bevan, Chris (1 September 2007). "Liverpool 6–0 Derby". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  15. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (6 November 2007). "Liverpool 8–0 Besiktas". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  16. ^ Sinnott, John (11 December 2007). "Marseille 0–4 Liverpool". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  17. ^ McKenzie, Andrew (8 April 2008). "Liverpool 4–2 Arsenal (agg 5–3)". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  18. ^ Lyon, Sam (30 April 2008). "Chelsea 3–2 Liverpool (4–3)". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  19. ^ Kenny: Babel Is Terrifying Liverpool F.C., (2007-09-06
  20. ^ "Babel scores Liverpool winner against Man United". International Herald Tribune. 13 September 2008. Retrieved 16 September 2008.
  21. ^ McNulty, Phil (28 December 2008). "Newcastle 1–5 Liverpool". BBC. Retrieved 4 September 2009.
  22. ^ [1][dead link‍]
  23. ^ Stevenson, Jonathan (2009-09-26). "Liverpool 6 – 1 Hull". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  24. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (2009-11-04). "Lyon 1 – 1 Liverpool". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
  25. ^ "Birmingham's £8m bid for Liverpool's Ryan Babel denied". BBC Sport. 6 January 2010. Retrieved 6 January 2010.
  26. ^ Sanghera, Mandeep (2010-08-19). "Liverpool 1 - 0 Trabzonspor". BBC Sport. Retrieved 2010-08-19.
  27. ^ "FA charges Babel for Webb tweet". ESPN Soccernet. 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-01-10.
  28. ^ "Reds confirm Babel deal". Sky Sports. 18 January 2011. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  29. ^ "Kenny Dalglish confirm Ryan Babel is staying at Liverpool". Goal. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  30. ^ "Babel agress Hoffenheim deal". Sky Sports. 24 January 2011. Retrieved 24 January 2011.
  31. ^ "Nigeria 1–1 Netherlands". FIFA. 2005-06-25. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  32. ^ a b Burt, Jason (2007-01-27). "Gunners ready to snare Babel, 'the new Henry'". London: The Independent. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  33. ^ "Ryan Babel". contacttheplayers. Retrieved 19 June 2010. [dead link‍]
  34. ^ "Netherlands 0–0 Argentina". FIFA. 2005-06-21. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  35. ^ "Babel pays tribute to best vintage". UEFA. 2005-06-25. Archived from the original on 2007-06-29. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
  36. ^ "Injury rules Babel out of Euros". BBC Sport. 2 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-31.
  37. ^ "Van Marwijk trims Dutch squad to 27". AFP. 2010-05-15. Retrieved 2010-05-18.
  38. ^ "Holland coach Bert van Marwijk finalises World Cup squad". London: The Guardian. Press Association. 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2010-05-27.
  39. ^ a b "8 Ryan Babel". ESPN. 2007-05-07. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
  40. ^ "Ryan Babel stats". The Guardian. Retrieved 2007-07-11.
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