Ryan Gravenberch, born in 2002 in Amsterdam grew up watching greats like Lionel Messi, Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo. Just as children today dream of wearing the shirt of Lamine Yamal, Kylian Mbappé or Erling Haaland. Every generation has its own heroes. But there are players who are timeless, footballers who are so special that they become timeless.
Last week I saw Gravenberch talking about such a timeless phenomenon in a Liverpool video. He told how his father once urged him to watch Zinedine Zidane on YouTube if he really wanted to see what a footballer was like. For a boy of about ten, that must be something magical, comparable to discovering a hidden treasure.
You could see it in Gravenberch. As he spoke, his eyes widened. His enthusiasm betrayed what Zidane had unleashed in him. He kept watching the videos, fascinated by what is the essence of Zidane: his calmness. He couldn’t think of the right English word for a moment, but his gestures and look said enough. It’s also difficult to put into words. With Zidane, his technique and calm merged into something that we here on earth have come to call art.
Gravenberch never saw a Zidane match live. He was four when the Frenchman last stood on the pitch. It must have been the purity of Zidane’s technique that appealed to him in the images he watched later. Zizou was a footballer who spoke without saying anything. Accepting, turning in the right direction – almost always turning in the right direction – and feeling the game intuitively. Incidentally: Zidane didn’t walk across the pitch, he seemed to float above it.
As an Ajax player, Gravenberch was often compared to Paul Pogba because of his technical qualities and supple hips. In England, he evokes memories of Patrick Vieira. But could it not be that his admiration for Zidane had a deeper influence on him than he himself realizes? If there is such a thing as a football grammar – let’s say a library of game intelligence – then Gravenberch has at least read Zidane’s books. And he has come to understand something of the rhythm and mystery that made Zidane so unique.
That’s what you see when you look at Liverpool. At the heart of the team, literally in the middle of everything, is a player who is always available for a pass. Arne Slot told Gary Lineker in an interview that Gravenberch is, in his opinion, the player who has made the most progress under his guidance. Virgil van Dijk and Cody Gakpo have improved a lot, just like many others, but what Gravenberch shows week in, week out as a defensive midfielder can only be described in one way: absolute world class. In this form and in this context, he would be the first on the scoresheet at any club.
The early years of Ryan Gravenbergh at Ajax
Gravenberch made his senior debut for Ajax on September 23, 2018, in a 3–0 Eredivisie defeat to PSV. At 16 years and 130 days old, he became the youngest player ever to feature for Ajax in the Eredivisie, breaking Clarence Seedorf’s record of 16 years and 242 days.
Just three days later, Gravenberch also became the youngest goalscorer in the club’s history.
Gravenbergh at Bayern Munich
The midfielder never quite seemed to fit into the Bayern’s system. “For me, he’s a box-to-box midfielder, an attacking player,” Tuchel said during a press conference when asked about Gravenberch.
“The main issue for him is that we don’t really use a no. 8 in our 4-2-3-1 formation. Plus, we have plenty of options up front, with a lot of experienced players.
Ryan wasn’t happy with his situation and saw Liverpool as an opportunity to compete for a place as a no. 8 in their 4-3-3 system.”
Transfer to Liverpool
Throughout October and November 2023, he started several Premier League matches due to the absence of regular starter Curtis Jones, who was sidelined with a suspension and injury. On 21 April 2024, Gravenberch netted his first Premier League goal in a 3–1 victory over Fulham.
At the start of the 2024–25 season, new coach Arne Slot moved Gravenberch into a deeper midfield role. He quickly earned praise for his performances in this new position, particularly for his dominant display in a 3–0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. His performances in this role were widely lauded by pundits.
The credits for his current performance at Liverpool goes to the current coach Arne Slot. Ryan has been an absolute master of midfield this season.
His rotation has become his trademark. The coach has to take credit, he has faith in him and Liverpool look much better in that position.
Ryan Gravenbergh at Oranje
Gravenberch represented the Netherlands at various youth levels. At 15, he played for the Netherlands U17s in the 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship, helping his team to victory.
He was first called up to the senior Netherlands squad in November 2020 and made his debut on 24 March 2021 during a 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Turkey.
On 2 June 2021, Gravenberch was named to the Dutch squad for UEFA Euro 2020. Four days later, he scored his first international goal in a 3–0 pre-tournament friendly win over Georgia.
During the tournament, Gravenberch came on as a substitute in the Netherlands’ second group match against Austria and played the full 90 minutes in their final group match against North Macedonia.
On 4 September 2023, just days after joining Liverpool, Gravenberch turned down a call-up to the Netherlands U21s for their European Championship qualification campaign.
The team announced his absence was due to his decision to “focus on his new club,” a choice that was met with criticism from national coach Ronald Koeman and U21s coach Michael Reiziger.
On 29 May 2024, Gravenberch was named in the Netherlands’ squad for UEFA Euro 2024.
In total Gravenbergh played 18 games for the Dutch National Team.
