Ryan Babel

Ryan Babel (19)

Full Name: Ryan Guno Babel
Position: Midfield Left, right, Winger, Forward
Squad number: 19
Date of birth: 19/December/1986
Birth place:Amsterdam, Holland
Former clubs: Ajax Amsterdam
Transfer Fee: £11500000
LFC 1st team games: 63
LFC 1st team goals: 11
Holland International caps: 28
Holland International goals: 5
Career Appearances: 103
Career Goals: 18
Previous Clubs: Ajax Amsterdam

Ryan Babel Profile

Explosive winger Ryan Babel joined the Reds in July 2007 in a deal worth more than £10million.

The Dutch international is a product of the famous Ajax youth academy, which he joined aged 11.

By the time he was 17 he was deemed ready for first-team action, resulting in a debut against ADO Den Haag in February 2004.

Just over a year later Babel won his first international cap against Romania when he came on as a substitute for former Chelsea winger Arjen Robben. Holland won the game 2-0, with the new boy bagging himself a goal. At just 18 years and 97 days, the strike made him his country's youngest scorer in 68 years.

Despite featuring at senior level, Babel was still eligible for the Under 20s' World Cup in June 2005, at which he scored two goals.

From there, he was part of Marco van Basten's 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, though made only one substitute appearance against Argentina in the group stages.

In June 2007, the winger was one of the stars as Holland Under-21s won the European Championships on home soil. His two goals included one in the final against Serbia, helping him scoop man of the match.

Babel, who can play on either wing or up front, left Ajax with a record of 14 goals in 73 Eredivisie outings.

His Reds debut came on August 11, 2007 when he appeared as a second-half substitute against Aston Villa.

It wasn't long before our new number 19 was hitting the back of the net, making two Derby County defenders look silly before lashing home at the Anfield Road end on September 1.

Another nine goals followed in a satisfying first year including an audacious flick in an 8-0 Champions League drubbing of Besiktas.

Sadly, just as he was poised to set Euro 2008 alight with Holland, Babel was forced into the treatment room. An ankle ligament injury sustained in training brought with it the heartache of missing Austria and Switzerland.