Position: Forward
Born: 19.12.86
Club: Ajax

Ryan Babel has taken full advantage of Marco Van Basten's youth-friendly selection policy and this summer the young Ajax striker has his eyes on making a major impact.

The 19-year-old made his international debut last March where he scored the crucial second goal in the 2-0 away victory against Romania which was pivotal in Holland's World Cup qualification.

He became his country's youngest goalscorer for 68 years that day and filled van Basten with hope that he had discovered a potential star for the future.

It was only 13 months earlier that Babel had made his senior debut for Ajax, the club he had joined as an 11-year-old. He continued to be a regular starter in the 2004/05 season, scoring seven goals for the men from Amsterdam.

This season the teenager has found goals harder to come by but he was accredited with two assists in Ajax's successful progress through the group stage of the Champions League.

His form also kept him in the national squad for the friendly with Italy, where he struck again but this time in a 3-1 defeat.

Babel, who stands over six feet tall, is blessed with genuine pace and can play both as a striker and as a wide attacker in a front three. His potent scoring threat along with his dribbling skills and trickery cause all defenders that come up against him no end of problems.

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