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Netherlands train ahead of Nations League semi-final against England
Personal Information
| Full Name | Ryan Guno Babel |
| Date of Birth | December 19, 1986 |
| Nationality | Dutch |
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) |
| Role | Winger / Striker |
| Past Team(s) |
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Ryan Babel: A Brief Biography
Ryan Guno Babel is a Dutch professional football player who was born on 19 December 1986 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He mainly plays as a striker or left winger and is currently playing for Turkish club Beşiktaş and the Netherlands national football team.
Background
Babel began his career at SV Diemenas in 1992 at the age of six. He played there for two years and then got transferred to the club ASV Fortius in 1994 playing there for three years and finally shifting to Ajax in 1998, the prominent club in his career.
Debut
Babel debuted for Netherlands U17 team in 2002 and scored 3 goals in six matches for the team. He then shifted to Netherlands U19 in 2003 this time scoring only 2 goals in six matches.
In 2004, he was selected in Netherlands U20. He scored two goals in four matches under this category of national team and all in 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He was part of the squad 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship. Netherlands played the quarter-final of the championship only to lose to Nigeria.
He debuted for the national team on 26 March 2005 against Romania and scored the ultimate winning goal of the 2-0 win of his team.
In 2005 he was selected into Netherlands U21 and scored two goals in five matches. He remained there for two years till 2007. In 2007 he was part of the Netherlands U21 that won the UEFA U-21 Championship trophy.
Rise to glory
According to FIFA, Babel was the 10th best player in the 2005 FIFA World Youth Championship (World Championship football under-20). This was due to his goals against Japan and Chile.
In June 2007, Babel was part of the Netherlands under-21 team competing in the UEFA Under-21 Championship, being held in the Netherlands. He scored two goals in the championship.
One was a penalty in the 33rd minute of the group A match against Portugal, helping the Dutch to secure a semi-final spot and thus qualifying for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and second was in the final where the Netherlands won 4–1 over Serbia to retain their title. This got him man of the match award .
Club career
On 1 February 2004, Babel made his senior debut for Ajax in a 4–0 home win over ADO Den Haag in the Eredivisie. He started the season with the winning goal in Ajax's 2–1 win over PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Super Cup.
On 13 July 2007, Liverpool signed Babel for a fee around £15.53 million. He scored his first goal for Liverpool on 1st September in a match against Derby County.
On 25 January 2011, German side TSG 1899 Hoffenheim signed Babel for a reported fee of £8 million in a two-and-a-half-year deal. His debut match was on 26 January 2011 against FC Energie Cottbus in the DFB Cup quarter final match. He scored his first goal for the club on 9th April 2011 in a match against SC Freiburg.
On 15 September 2012, Babel returned to his old club Ajax in a reported free transfer. On 23 September 2012, he scored his first goal in a match against ADO Den Haag.
On 1st July, 2013 he joined Turkish club Kasımpaşa.
On 2nd July 2015, Babel signed a contract with UAE Arabian Gulf League champions Al Ain FC in a contract of appx. £2.25million.
In January 2017, Babel signed a contract with Beşiktaş, after playing a year for Deportivo de La Coruña.
Records
The goal Babel scored in his international debut on 26 March 2005 made him the youngest goalscorer in 68 years for the Netherlands. The goal was also the fourth-youngest of all time.
