Royston Ricky Drenthe (born 8 April 1987) is a Dutch footballer who currently plays for Real Madrid. Mainly a midfielder, he can also operate as a defender, always on the left side of the pitch.

Club career

Early career

At Feyenoord, Drenthe came into the D2 team. He played mainly as a left winger during his junior years. As a C player he was invited to join the B squad on a trip to Switzerland. Drenthe misbehaved during the trip and the trainer, Marcel Bout, wanted him to leave the club as a result. Due to technical director Rob Baan, Drenthe was able to stay and he was only temporarily suspended by the club. After his suspension he continued to play in the C-team before moving to the B-team, where he again had Bout as his coach.

Bout hardly used Drenthe in his line-up. Later, at the end of the season he was named as one of eleven players whose future at the club was questionable. Drenthe then decided to switch teams and moved to Feyenoord's feeder club Excelsior.

Excelsior

Drenthe improved during the two years he played at Excelsior. Coach Marco van Lochem wanted to try him as a left back, which turned out to be a success. Drenthe seemed to be a talent at this position and became a team regular. He impressed the Feyenoord coaches and was asked to join them again.

Feyenoord

Drenthe playing for Feyenoord

In the 2005–06 season, Drenthe reached the A1 team of Feyenoord, managed by his former C-youth coach Henk Fräser. Fräser told him he had to fight for his position with his team mate Mohammed Hammouti. Since the Otten Cup, a youth tournament at PSV Eindhoven where he scored three goals against Ajax as a left winger, he became a first-team player and even became captain of the team. In the meantime, he also became a team regular in Feyenoord's second team.

Drenthe was offered a professional contract soon after. That same week he helped to win an away match versus Ajax's second team 5-1 and was asked to train with Feyenoord's first team. He continued to play for Feyenoord's youth and second team before manager Erwin Koeman brought him in to his regular squad. He made his debut in the match against Vitesse in the Gelredome and finished the season with three matches played.

In the 2006-07 season, Feyenoord signed Belgian international player Philippe Léonard at Drenthe's position, the left back spot, while Pascal Bosschaart was also still part of the squad. Due to the injury of Léonard and the switch of Bosschaart to play for ADO Den Haag, Drenthe was awarded a chance, which he grabbed immediately. In a short time, Drenthe became a fans' favourite player, being one of the few positive highlights in again a disappointing season for the club.

After impressing at the 2007 European Under-21 Championship by winning it and awarded player of the tournament, he picked up attention from a number of clubs, including Chelsea and Barcelona.[1]

Feyenoord did not want to sell as Drenthe extended his running contract until 2011 in April 2007, but they eventually agreed to a €14 million bid by Real Madrid, after Drenthe decided to take his club to court if they did not want to let him go.[2][3][4]

Real Madrid

Drenthe was presented as a Real Madrid player on 13 August 2007 along with fellow Dutchman Wesley Sneijder in a double player presentation at the Santiago Bernabeu. Drenthe made his official Real Madrid debut starting as a central midfielder in the second leg of the Supercopa de España against Sevilla. Drenthe scored the equalizer, similar to a Seedorf long range strike, which was struck from 30-40 yards out, hit the crossbar and the ball crossed the line. However, Real Madrid eventually lost the match 5-3 as Sevilla clinched the cup.

Drenthe played fairly regularly for Real Madrid as left-back or left midfielder at the beginning of the season, but due to the sudden development of Brazilian left-back Marcelo, Drenthe's playing time has become limited. In the Dutch media, there were several reports of clashes between Drenthe and Real coach Bernd Schuster, after the German decided to keep Drenthe out of the squad for several matches, meaning that Drenthe had to sit in the stands instead of the bench. After being left out of the game against Valencia, Drenthe stormed angrily out of the training ground of Real. But after making several appearances since, he was ready to serve his best for Real Madrid. During a match against Real Valladolid, he performed really well by providing an assist to Guti's goal and scoring his first league goal. He has been linked with a move to AS Roma, and to Quique Flores' Benfica, on loan.[5]

Despite rumours of Drenthe leaving the club on loan, he has featured in 15 of Real Madrid first 18 games of the 2008/2009 season, starting the last three games and giving creditable performances despite the clubs inconsistent form and major injury problems. Although recently the Dutch ace has been suffering from anxiety since he was booed by his own supporters during Real's 1-0 win at home to Deportivo La Coruna and has not featured since, although manager Juande Ramos gave Drenthe his support and insisted he would help the young winger[6]

The Real Madrid coach has since revealed that Drenthe asked not to be picked for the three games after the Deportivo fixture.[7]

International career

After the 2006-07 season, Drenthe was called up by Dutch under-21 coach, Foppe de Haan, to be part of his squad for the 2007 European Under-21 Championship, which was held in the Netherlands. Drenthe was one of the most important players in the second consecutive title of the competition for the Jong Oranje, being chosen by UEFA as player of the tournament.[citation needed]

Music career

Drenthe has recorded a rap song with his friend, Liverpool winger Ryan Babel. Their song is called "Tak Takie