Ryan Babel is a professional football player who was born on December 19, 1986 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. He comes from a sports family, and is the eldest of three children. Ryan Babel took up VMBO diploma program but had to discontinue because he decided to take up football as his career.
Ryan Babel was picked for the Dutch team that reached the quarterfinals of the 2005 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Soon, he won his first international cap for the senior side in a match against Romania in the World cup qualifiers, and contributed to the victory by scoring a goal in its 2-0 win. This goal made him the youngest goal scorer in 68 years of Netherlands football history and fourth in the all-time list of young goal scorers. At a very young age, he was selected in the squad that represented Netherlands in the 2006 World Cup. Ryan Babel made his first appearance in a group stage game against Argentina, where he came in as a substitute. During the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Under-21 Championship held in the Netherlands in the summer of 2007, he was a key player of the team and helped his team defeat Serbia 4-1 in the finals to clinch the championship. Ryan Babel also won the Man of the Match award for his spectacular performance in the final game.
Ryan Babel began his professional football career in 1998 with the youth team of AFC Ajax. He signed his first professional contract with the club in January 2004 and made his debut in a game against ADO Den Haag in Eredivisie.on February 1, 2004, the year when Ajax went on to win the Dutch league title. In the following season, Ryan Babel made 24 appearances and scored eight goals for the club. During his stint at the club, Ryan Babel played 111 matches and scored 24 goals for it.
Ryan Babel moved to the English Premier League in the summer of 2007 and was presented to the public as a Liverpool player July 13, 2007 along with Yossi Benayoun. In the process he also became the third most expensive player in the Liverpool history. Ryan Babel made his debut for the club on the opening day of the 2007-08 season at Aston villa as a substitute for Jermaine Pennant. At the end of the season, Ryan Babel was chosen as the Liverpool FC Young Player of the Season. As of 2008, he has made a total of 30 appearances for the club.
Ryan Babel regards Thierry Henry and Christian Adriano as his favorite footballers. He raps under the name Rio during holidays and has collaborated with rappers Lange Frans, Baas B, Darryl, Ali B, and U-Niq. The rap song that he recorded with Darryl and Ali B was released as a single and entered the Dutch music chart in July 2008. His favorite T.V. show is The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and has met Will Smith. Roti, Bami, and Nasi are some of his favorite dishes.
