Drenthe: "Ronaldo cracks even more jokes than I do"

Thursday 06 August 2009

In the bus on the way to the stadium Royston Drenthe was seated right behind Christiano Ronaldo, a few hours before a friendly match against Juventus.

"He showed me a film on his mobile phone of some Portuguese song," Drenthe says.

"One with those dancing girls and shaking bottoms."

"He's a very relaxed chap, this Ronaldo. And perhaps he cracks even more jokes than I do. Sort of."

Royston Ricky Drenthe is doing well again.

Words shoot out of his mouth like in his best days, at a killing pace.

He went through a very dark period at Real a few months ago when he got jeered by the Madrid fans and stress got the better of him.

"There were times when I thought I would never get over that dip," Drenthe says.

The club gave him a few weeks off to get his head back together and he consulted a sports psychologist.

With good results.

"I never thought about giving up, not at all. I talked with myself a lot. I thought about myself every day. I asked myself: 'What do you want, Royston? Do you want to remain a player of Real Madrid?' Yes, that's what I wanted, 1,000%."

Drenthe had a good look in the mirror.

"I had to change a few things about myself," he says.

"And that's what I have done. I don't want to get into too much detail, but I think you know what I mean. I calmed down. And now I only listen to myself, not to all those people who want all sorts of things from me. I have learned that I most work things out myself, together with my family and my agent."

At present he matters at Real Madrid, in spite of the motley crew of superstars that the club signed this summer.

Of all the Dutch players at Real Drenthe gets most playing time from coach Manuel Pellegrini.

It was a surprise to everybody but to Drenthe himself.

"To be honest with you I am not surprised no. The other boys may have been more impressive when they were still in Holland than I was. And I have a lot of respect for that. But out there on the pitch we are all equal. Out there you have to take your own chances."

He is sometimes disturbed by the way people think about him in Holland, where everybody seems to have an opinion about Royston Drenthe.

"Anybody I have at some point had a soda with will say the same thing about me. That I am a decent chap who has been raised by two decent parents. And I'm not just saying that."

Drenthe sees possibilities for himself on the left-back position, where Pellegrini has relatively few options.

Only this week new signing Alvaro Arbeloa will join the squad, that will leave for a training campaign in Canada and the United States.

The Spanish defender and Drenthe are the only two options at left-back as long as Marcelo us out injured.

"I can play at that position just fine. The coach has spoken with me and that has given me a good feeling. During pre-season I have played on all three positions on the left, so I have several options. We'll see. I will work hard for my place. I'm a fighter."

Leaving Real has never been an option, he says.

Not even when the big sweep was announced in Bernabéu and Fiorentina were eyeing him.

"I went on holiday and told my agent that I didn't want anything bothering me for the time. During my vacation I kept on training with one thing on my mind: to make it at Real. I thought of nothing else, no other clubs, nothing."

A lot has changed in Madrid since last season, when Florentino Pérez returned as chairman.

A new era of Galácticos has emerged, with stars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka as figureheads.

The club has invested tens of millions and the end is not yet in sight.

"I understand that some people think that these guys get paid too much money and all that," Drenthe says.

"But these people don't know just how much you have to do to be playing at Real Madrid. Mostly it's fantastic, but it can be very tough as well. And Kaka is a very decent bloke. One can only respect that, I think."

Drenthe feels well in any group of players.

"But you are always drawn towards those who have the same age at first. Cristiano Ronaldo is about the same age as me, so that makes us feel connected a bit. He is the type of person who likes someone a lot or not at all. And I must say we get along just fine."