I had the last laugh after what arrogant Real Madrid star told me about Liverpool

I had the last laugh after what arrogant Real Madrid star told me about Liverpool

Ryan Babel was a member of the last Liverpool side to beat Real Madrid in 2009 - he recalls his Champions League memories in an exclusive interview with the ECHO's Theo Squires

Ryan Babel visits SiriusXM Studios on May 08, 2024 in New York City

It has now been over 15 years since Liverpool last beat Real Madrid. The Reds once boasted an 100% winning record against the La Liga giants, emerging victorious in their first three official meetings - including the 1981 European Cup final.

But Real Madrid have very much been Liverpool’s white whale in recent years, defeating them in two Champions League finals, knocking them out of Europe on two further occasions and winning seven of their eight meetings since the Reds last tasted victory back in 2009.

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Liverpool have scored just four goals over those last eight meetings - remarkably the same total they managed in just 90 minutes the last time they overcame the Galacticos.

Clinching an emphatic 4-0 victory over Juande Ramos’ side in March 2009, it remains one of Anfield’s most iconic modern European nights. And former Reds star Ryan Babel played a vital role the last time Liverpool got the better of their Spanish counterparts.

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It was the Dutchman who left Sergio Ramos for dead before beating both the Spaniard and Pepe with a pinpoint cross for Steven Gerrard to volley home. Having also come on as a substitute when the Reds won 1-0 at the Bernabeu in the first leg, unsurprisingly such victories prove to be some of the 37-year-old’s happiest Liverpool memories.

“Absolutely amazing memories,” he admits in an exclusive interview with the ECHO. “We dominated and were really, really good.

“We were actually the better team and we deserved to win the way we did. So again, it doesn't happen too often against Madrid. So that's why I think definitely it's an historical game.

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“You know, at the end it was not even an easy ball to take for Stevie. So, you know, he made my assist definitely look great! It was with a little bounce. But again, you know, it's Steven Gerrard, so I'm not surprised.

“Yeah, it was an amazing feeling, you know, Anfield exploding and of course, one of my great memories of being a Liverpool player.”

He continued: “Rafa (Benitez)'s ability to tactically dissect the opponent was very good. So he understood where the weaknesses often were. And we would, the whole week, train how to take advantage of those weaknesses and I think that was Rafa’s strength.

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“It was the same with Real Madrid. We had the advantage, of course, having first won 1-0 at the Bernabeu. And we knew at home that they had to come to Anfield. And we were definitely anticipating those moments.”

History has perhaps been harsh to both Liverpool and Real Madrid when it reflects on the Reds’ dominant victory. It has been taken with a pinch of salt, with it perceived that Ramos’ side were not the Spanish giants at their invincible best. In 2009, it had been seven years since they had last been crowned champions of Europe, after all.

But they were still reigning La Liga champions, and came to Anfield with a side littered with global superstars. You don’t sniff at a starting XI that contains all of Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Fabio Cannavaro, Wesley Sneijder, Raul and Arjen Robben.

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But Liverpool demolished them, despite Sneijder confidently telling Babel otherwise when the pair were away on international weeks prior to the Champions League quarter-final clash.

“What do I remember? I think it was a time where Madrid had a lot of Dutch players,” he recalled. “So that's of course, some of the alignments that I had in common with a lot of familiar players that were playing at Real Madrid.

“I remember very well prior to that game we had an international break and Wesley (Sneijder) was pretty arrogant saying like, you know, ‘Next week we're going to beat you guys.’

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“And I was like, ’I don't think so.’ So yeah, it was good memories. And eventually when you win against Madrid, of course, it is massive.

“I think what we can conclude is that they weren't really a team. But if you just dissect the players, it was still Real Madrid with the best players from all over the world.

“I think that would be unfair to say it was a poor Real Madrid side. I mean, they had Pepe at his peak of his career. They had Sergio Ramos at the peak of his career. They had Casillas at the peak of his career.

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“So yeah I think I think we have to give credit to Liverpool for how we were able to play.”

Babel’s Liverpool career was littered with inconsistency, but he often saved his best for the Champions League. When supporters recall his best moments for the Reds, such as his assist against Real Madrid, they are often from European encounters.

From his 22 goals for the club, seven came in the Champions League with nine in Europe altogether. It’s a similar story for his assists, setting up five of his 15 assists in continental competition.

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Such returns are despite the fact that only 26 of his 146 appearances for Liverpool came in the Champions League. And acknowledging the special atmosphere on Anfield European nights in particular, Babel admits they got extra out of him as a player.

“Champions League games, especially with Liverpool and then even more especially at Anfield, were incredibly different,” he explained. “The energy was different, especially at that time.

“You would feel already that somehow we had the confidence to play against any team. You saw that also the players somehow got the best moments out of them, right?

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“Not just myself but the whole team, especially with the energy of the fans. We had so much strength and confidence that it didn't matter who we were up against.

“And once a team is performing at its all-time high, then of course the individual players can even pop out more. And I had those moments as well.”

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Babel announced his retirement from football earlier this month, and has recently marked the occasion by releasing his own musical short film on his own YouTube channel - ‘After the Whistle’.

Without a club for a year, he had not initially wanted to retire from football but became at peace with the decision over the summer. And is using his unique film to honestly tell his story, littered with highs and lows, to supporters.

“I've been without a club for just under a year,” he said. “It was actually last November. So that marks almost a year.

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“Why now? Because I was actually still looking around, if I was able to find a different team to play for. I did not quit football because I wanted to quit.

“I had a small dispute with my last team and we decided to terminate the contract. So therefore, in the last January window and in the last summer window, I was trying to see if I was able to find a different team that I wanted to play for.

“I did have a few offers from teams, but those teams didn't really interest me. And therefore, after the summer I decided it's okay. So hence the late announcement.”

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He continued: “‘After The Whistle’ is basically a short film that takes you through the journey of my career, the highs and the lows. It's a little bit under 30 minutes.

“The film, it shows you a few old clips, but also it has been directed and shot also with a few actors. So just trying to get the experience creative and nice as possible for the viewer. And I felt like doing something different and I think we accomplished that.

“I'm a creative person. Always have been. I remember the early days that I was also involved with music where I got a lot of criticism, obviously, but that has been basically my form of exercising my hobbies.

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“Other football players like to go out or go shopping and I like to make music in the studio and that was my off-time.

The Liverpool section, it's a combination of, I would say glory content but at the same time it's over some music where I actually rap about me being the first time fully responsible for my own finances and my own life.

“Since I joined Liverpool, that was the first time I'm living abroad, living by myself. Prior to that, I was living at my parents’ house. So I'm kind of describing that at that time I was, at the beginning, a little bit all over the place, enjoying the freedom.

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“And that is how I wanted to capture it on film and show it to the audience and be honest about it.”

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