Pitch War: Nani vs. Ryan Babel

With the possibility of a Saturday match up between Man U and Liverpool without the presence of Gerrard, Torres, and Ronaldo, it is key for other players to step it up in attack. Beside the goal banging antics of Darren Fletcher, Manchester United may look to winger, Nani, who is set to return from his two game suspension, for his ridiculous final match day red card. And Ryan Babel, inexplicably absent for a 0-0 draw with Aston Villa, will be making his 2008/09 Premier League debut as well, after coming back from Olympic duty with the Netherlands.

Let's see how the two fleet-footed wingers stack up.

Nani

Pitch Pluses

• Skinny, 21 year-old right-footed Portuguese winger, who plays on the left, preferring to dive into the middle, creating a wonderful bouncy curls effect with his hair, and bombing on goal.
• Comes from a great tradition of Portuguese wingers. Apparently, striker-poor Portugal really values angle-y goals. Has great skill on the ball, with plenty of quickness and pace.
• Has already had some big games for Manchester United, including a brilliant goal last year against Liverpool.
• His name. One name arrogance is always a hit with me. And there is nothing wrong with a man being named after the start of a child's taunt. Nani, nani, nani, we won the Champions League.

Dives

• Has trouble finishing and passing in close around the 12 yard box. Nani is much more effective working along the top of the penalty area and along the edges.
• His crossing can be suspect at times, but he is capable of a fantastic one every so often.
• Until he has a breakout year, he will always be under the shadow of Man U's other Portuguese winger, Ronaldo.
• Refuses to release a Portuguese hip-hop album, despite a have a great freestyle rapper's name.

Ryan Babel

Pitch Pluses

• Skinny, 21 year-old right-footed Dutch winger, who plays on the left, preferring to cut back into the middle, before bombing on goal with minimal hair movement.
• Has good pace and good change of pace. Can alter his direction and speed quickly, leaving defenders flat footed.
• Doubles as a Dutch rapper under the moniker, Rio. I've never heard Dutch rap before, but I'm guessing I could enjoy it in an ironic way for hours.

Dives

• Babel's biggest problem is that he has yet to show up for the full 90 minutes for the Reds. He usually has one good half of play in him. He's better off the bench right now, which will have to change if he is going to become a star.
• Tends to overuse his change of pace techniques, and 'stop and start' more often than he should. Also has trouble going to his left. His crosses are not consistent, but he is more effective with in-swingers as he is coming away from the end line, as we saw with Kuyt's extra time winner against Standard Liege.
• Has two names. Except when he raps. He should call himself Rio on the pitch as well, then the Kop can create a chant for him around the old Duran Duran tune. In fact, if Liverpool win on Saturday, I'll make one up myself.

And the winner is.......Nani!
Damn my integrity. I don't like picking a Manchester United player over one of my Liverpool boys, but right now I'd say Nani has had the better showing in the Prem. Both players displayed flashes of brilliance last year. Nani was more consistent overall, with Babel having his best games coming on as a substitute. I do think that Babel has a greater upside though. Nani looks to be a wing player by trade, but the Dutchman could make a permanent move to striker and really have a goal scoring impact with some seasoning.

Oh, you didn't believe me about Ryan Babel, um, Rio? You might want to take a look at this.