Ryan Babel’s proposed move to Al Ain has brought a forgotten talent back into the consciousness of a local football audience most likely unfamiliar with his career path since he left Liverpool in 2011.
Those who are wondering what he will bring to Hazza bin Zayed Stadium may not recall that at one point the left winger was touted as one of Europe’s brightest young stars.
When Rafa Benitez signed Babel from Dutch side Ajax in the summer of 2007, he was hailed by some as Liverpool’s answer to Thierry Henry. At 20, and playing in a team that included Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres at the peak of their powers, everything seemed in place for his career to blossom.
What followed was four years of frustration punctuated by occasional moments of magic.
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Now 28, Babel retains his blistering pace, but Al Ain fans expecting him to tear the down left wing to whip in crosses will be as disappointed as those at Anfield were.
His best moments for Liverpool often came when cutting inside onto his natural right foot or from a traditional centre-forward position, but his inconsistency meant those comparisons with Henry proved spurious.
His first, brilliant goal for Liverpool against Derby County promised much, but Babel never held a regular starting spot for long enough to deliver.
His most memorable matches came when introduced from the bench, and often in the Uefa Champions League.
Liverpool fans will fondly remember his match-winning cameo against Arsenal in the 2008 quarter-final, earning a penalty and then tearing away from Cesc Fabregas to give Liverpool a 4-2 win.
There were two goals – one a clever back-heel – in an 8-0 win over Besiktas, and two thunderbolts against Chelsea and Lyon; all as a substitute.
In the league, there was a winning goal against Manchester United (again as substitute) in front of the Kop, a match that started an excellent 2008/09 season that saw Liverpool finish second in the Premier League. That was as good as it got for Babel, and Benitez, at Anfield.
It has been a career of diminishing returns since. A season at Hoffenhiem brought five goals from 46 matches, and a return to Ajax in the 2012/13 season proved less successful than his first spell – injuries meant Babel played only 14 times.
The past two years at Kasimpasa in Turkey has seen a modest return to form, though after finishing sixth in the Turkish Super Lig two season ago he was unable to stop his club from dropping to 13th last season.
Babel proved he had the beating of the Turkish defences, but his best moments, like those at Anfield, came when he played centrally. Among the 14 goals he scored for the club were several long-range shots reminiscent of his strikes against Lyon and Chelsea. Given space in the Arabian Gulf League, that explosive shooting may prove his deadliest weapon.
Should the transfer be concluded in July as reported, it will be one that divides opinion.
At 28, Babel has not had the glittering career that was expected, but some fans of the AGL will see it as sign of its ability to attract a player who has played in two World Cups and is supposedly entering the prime years of his career.
On the other hand, his critics will, with all due respect to Al Ain, see it as a continuation of a disappointing career trajectory.
He will certainly be given every opportunity in the Garden City. If played in a central attacking position or, like Miroslav Stoch before him, as the left-sided attacker in a front three, Omar Abdulrahman’s pinpoint passes will give him every opportunity to revel in this league.
There will be no excuses for Babel not to excel.
akhaled@thenational.ae
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