Royston Drenthe talks about Cristiano Ronaldo impact at Real Madrid and what Gunners need to do next season
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In the second part of an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes: Fanzone, Royston Drenthe talks about the impact Cristiano Ronaldo had at Real Madrid, his regrets and discusses what Arsenal need to do to win the Premier League next season.
We all used to copy the Ronaldo pose in free-kick training at Madrid… then he signed for us so we had to stop!
We won the league in my first season at Madrid, and I managed to play a big part in the first team, too. Then, at the end of the next season, we had the summer of huge arrivals, with Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Kaka and, of course, Cristiano Ronaldo all coming in. I’d be lying if I said we weren’t excited by this – but at the same time, we were Real Madrid players ourselves. We were professionals, we were already a strong side. It was great for them to join up with us, though.
It’s funny, actually…prior to Ronaldo joining, before we knew that deal was going to happen, quite often after training there’d be myself, Arjen Robben, Wes Sneijder and a few of the other guys, all practising free-kicks. We always used to pretend to be Ronaldo,and copy that famous pose he used to do before his run-up. The next thing you know, he’s signed for us and we had to stop doing it!
When he [Cristiano Ronaldo] joined, it was crazy. The guy couldn’t go anywhere, he couldn’t do anything, without being pictured, or without crowds of people following him. We all experienced it to some extent because, at the end of the day, we were playing for one of the biggest clubs in the world, but nowhere near the same level as Cristiano had it. He had to be so careful off the pitch, it was almost like he could only really be himself when he was with us, on the training ground or in the dressing room.
He was an incredible guy, though – I loved my time with him. Again, you hear it so often but he really was the ultimate professional. He did the things none of us enjoyed doing, religiously. He never cut corners, he set the perfect example. He was a top, top guy, and it’s no surprise he went on to have the career he had and set the records he set.
It hurts me to talk about my career… there are guys my age and older in Champions League semi-finals. I had all the facets to be a success
I think about my own career a lot and I’m often asked if I have any regrets, or whether I’d do things differently. The truth is that it’s difficult to answer. There are lots of things I did wrong, which at the time I thought were right. I made plenty of decisions I shouldn’t have made. Ultimately I thought I knew what was best for me at the time. But I was so young, it’s hard to say there are regrets because they’ve made me the person – the father – I am today.
My former team-mate at Real Madrid, Julien Faubert, recently said he thought I could have gone on to become a Premier League great. What he said, it hurts me to talk about. You know, when I arrived in the Premier League I felt like a god. I had all the facets in my favour. I was quick, powerful, I was confident on the ball and had played at the very top of the game at such a young age. As I said, in my life now, and through my life coach, it’s something I’m asked about a lot – that feeling of regret or not achieving more. So I have to open myself up, to talk about these things, to look at what I might have done differently, who I might have listened to more and how much self-control I had.
You know, I think about some of the guys I played with at Madrid: Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema are around the same age as me. Cristiano is older than me, there are so many more… some of these guys are still playing at the top of the game, in Champions League semi-finals, in the best leagues in the world…so why aren’t I? The reason they’re still performing at that level is down to the work and effort they put in every single day. I’d be lying if I said this didn’t hurt, but I force myself to talk about it a lot, to share my experiences and reflect on things, because it helps me.
I know I was a character in the dressing room when I was younger. On reflection I know I listened to the wrong people at times,and thought I was right when perhaps I wasn’t. I was too angry, at times, and I felt like I knew what was best for me. But as I’ve got older, I think differently about things. My focus now is on being a good father to my children, making them proud and pushing them in the right direction for success. Whether it’s firing shots at my son and beating him on the pitch, or losing to him at FIFA… these are the things that are important to me now.
I owe a lot to this ex-Man United star for helping me settle at Madrid
I love Real Madrid. I grew up watching football and I put most of my love for the game down to Madrid, and watching pretty much all of their matches with my stepdad. 2007 was a huge year for me and my career. I’d enjoyed a couple of seasons with Feyenoord before taking part in, and winning the European Under-21 Championships with the Netherlands. After beating Serbia 4-1 in the final, we went away for the summer and some of us were starting to think about our futures. Back at Feyenoord, at the same time as I was establishing myself as a first-team player, Gini Wijnaldum – an even younger kid – was attracting interest, too, notably from PSV.
As for me, we heard there were something like 12 or 13 teams across Europe who wanted to speak with me. But, of course, as soon as I heard Real Madrid were one of them, that was it, I wanted to go.
I was 20 years old at the time I made the move away to a new country, a new environment, joining a team of superstars – but I was confident in my own ability and excited to start my journey in Spain. That summer, the club brought in Wesley Sneijder and Arjen Robben. I can remember Sneijder came on the same day as me, and, of course, the three of us had the Dutch link, which made it a little easier for me to settle.
But, above everyone else, there was another Dutch guy at the club who really helped me the most, and that was Ruud van Nistelrooy. I knew how incredible he was as a player, but more than that, he was the ultimate professional off the pitch, too, proved by just how happy he was to help me come to terms with my new life in Spain. I can’t say my Spanish was very good at all at the time of moving, but the club work very hard with you to bring you up to speed, and Ruud played a huge part in that, too.
Here’s how Arsenal can win the league next season
First of all, I think we have to acknowledge the incredible job Mikel Arteta has done with Arsenal this season. When you look at where they finished last year, and look even further back to some of the darker times the club has faced in recent years, it’s so impressive they’re still in a title race with Manchester City.
If I’m honest, though, I – like probably most people – thought they were going to go all the way and win it. It’s a massive task ahead for them now, especially with City being in the kind of form they’re in, but they’re still in with a chance, and so I don’t want to rule them out completely just yet.
But I think if they do go on to finish second, we can look back at that run towards the end of the season where they dropped points in four consecutive games. They were in such a great position up until that point, and their dip in form has unfortunately coincided with Man City gathering pace like a Formula One car. At this stage of the season, they’re relentless, and they’ve been in this position before. They know what it takes to win.
And that’s ultimately what will be the biggest difference between the two sides, I think. Some might say the absence of William Saliba was Arsenal’s season-defining moment, because the depth in that area just hasn’t been there – but I don’t necessarily think that’s the case. If I’m looking at where Arsenal can strengthen in the summer, I don’t think they need to add to that defence. The team have won two tough games in a row against Chelsea and Newcastle without Saliba. I think the biggest takeaway for this time is the experience they’ll get out of this season. If they don’t go on to win the league, this feeling, having been in the position they were in, will only make those players stronger, mentally.
When I think about Arsenal and the kind of players the club have produced over the years: Dennis Bergkamps, Robin van Persie, the Thierry Henry… there are similarities in this group. They have some incredible players who are more than capable of sustaining title challenges in the next few years.
A lot of people will say this was Arsenal’s biggest chance, and people might note that Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham are all going to improve next year. But, as I said, for me this experience is key for the future of the club, and for sure, I think they’ll be near the top of the table next season, too.
