Ryan Guno Babel was born on the 19th of December 1986 in Amsterdam and throughout his career had the tools to become a real great of the game and it is a travesty that the pieces never quite fell into place for him. Having played for nearby youth-teams S.V Diemen, then Fortius, in 1997 he attended a youth selection day with AFC Ajax and made it through the first selection round, but failed to progress any further. However, the next year Ajax accepted him and he played the 1999–2000 season for their D1 team. After having graduated through the C1, B1 and A1 teams, he signed his first professional contract in January 2004 before, on the 1st of February 2004, making his first team debut with Ajax at the age of 17. Although Ajax went on to win the Dutch League, he didn't appear for nine months after that debut. Making his debut in Ajax's 4–0 home win over ADO Den Haag, he was part of a squad containing Rafael van der Vaart, Wesley Sneijder and Nigel de Jong and he should have gone on to achieve a similar status as all three of them. In July 2005 he signed a new contract with Ajax and had the dream start to the season by scoring the winning goal in Ajax's 2–1 defeat of PSV Eindhoven in the Johan Cruyff Shield and scored in both legs of the Champions League third qualifying round against Brondby. When he scored on his debut for the Netherlands in March 2005, he became the youngest Dutch player to score in 68 years when he substituted Arjen Robben in an away game against Romania on the 26th of March, 2005. The 2005–06 was a tougher season as he managed only two league goals but he did however continue to feature for the national team, scoring his second goal against Italy in November. He marked the start of 2006–07 season with another Johan Cruyff Shield medal, as Ajax defeated PSV 3–1 and was linked with Arsenal and Newcastle United during the January transfer window but no move materialised and he agreed to a new three-year deal with Ajax on the 2nd of February 2007. In the May, he got another Dutch Cup winners medal as Ajax successfully defended the title before in July 2007 becoming the third most expensive player in Liverpool's history in an £11.5m deal. The 20-year-old striker agreed a five-year contract as Rafael Benitez continued a major overhaul of his squad. Ryan admitted it was a tough decision to leave Ajax, and said: "I have met Rafael Benitez and my conversation with him was the moment I knew the deal would get done. He is like the ideal father-in-law. He has a lot of football know-how and he told me that I would be challenging with six other players for four positions. I have a good feeling about things."
Much was expected of him after he was unveiled along with Yossi Benayoun and he made 30 appearances in the league and a further 19 appearances in cup matches. Playing mostly wide on the left, he seemed to be very one-footed and liked to cut inside on his right foot to produce a pass or a shot but also showed that he was capable of taking on and beating a defender by going outside his opponent on his left foot. Nobody could complain about his goal contribution during the season as, in addition to those he created, he scored ten times, four in the league and six in the cups, including a brace on the night Besiktas were put to the sword at Anfield in the Champions League group stage. His final two goals of the season were also in that competition, the one that made sure there was no way back for Arsenal in the quarter-final at Anfield and the long-range extra-time shot that briefly raised hopes of a sensational climax to the semi-final at Chelsea. However Ryan failed to live up to expectations in his second season at Liverpool. He made only 13 starts, no less than 29 substitute appearances and scored four goals. He drifted in and out of games and despite having obvious skill and pace he consistently took the wrong decision on the field of play and started his third season yet to properly fulfil the potential he had shown as a youngster with Ajax in Holland.
Increasingly marginalised under Benítez, Roy Hodgson and Kenny Dalglish he felt the club failed to manage his development correctly. Ryan has said, "I've said in earlier interviews maybe I should have stayed one or two more years in Holland. I wanted to develop well and – as they promised me back then before I joined – just to be given the guidance I needed to become a better player. That didn’t happen and for a lot of different reasons I didn’t fulfil my potential I guess." Former Netherlands coach, Marco Van Basten, criticised Benitez of ruining the starlet and said that the player had taken a step back after joining Liverpool. He said, "If you look at Ryan Babel, it is a mortal sin he now sits on the bench at Liverpool. He was playing well in Holland and for the Under-21s but now he has taken a step backward."
On the 25th of January 2011, it was confirmed that Babel had left Liverpool to join German side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim for a reported fee of £8 million, signing a two-and-a-half-year deal. After playing for Hoffenheim for 18 months, scoring six goals in 51 matches, he was released by the club on the 31st of August 2012. This was followed by twelve at Deportivo La Coruna, twenty-two in a brief second spell at Ajax and a whole lot more in Turkey. He was he was making hay at Besiktas and working his way back into national
team contention and started the semi-final victory over England and the final defeat
to Portugal, having impressed for an otherwise abject Fulham in the
Premier League.
The frustration is that he had such a varied career purely because he couldn't be relied upon to realise his talent. The other reason could be his interest in music, especially hip-hop, and he often juggled between his love for music and a career in football. He says, "There have been a lot of ups and downs but in general I am proud of my journey."
see also :- http://www.thefootballvoice.com/2024/08/footballs-nearly-men-anthony-vanden.html
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