Juan Roman Riquelme - A Classy Guy

Peyton Manning

Ive just seen that Villareal officials are in Argentina negotiating a deal for Riquelme to move back to Boca. He's rejected a move to Spurs but thanked them for their interest in him. Apparently he wants to move back to Argentina because his mother is ill, and is so desperate to do so that he has offered to play for Boca for free this season. I know he's probably raked up a lot of money over the years, but its not often you seee that from a footballer. Plus it will help his chances of being in the Argentina squad for the next World Cup, not that he was in any danger. A nice move by a definite legend of the game, pity he never got a decent chance at Barca.

Juan Roman Riquelme has revealed he turned down an offer from Tottenham before agreeing to move back to Boca Juniors.

The Argentina midfielder has not made an appearance for Villarreal this season after falling out with coach Manuel Pellegrini and has finally got his wish to quit the Primera Liga high-fliers.

Villarreal officials are currently in South America negotiating his transfer to Boca after Riquelme rejected a move to White Hart Lane.

He said: 'I thank them (Tottenham) for their interest but my family and I want to return home.'

The gifted playmaker, 29, is now hoping he can put his troubles at El Madrigal behind him, play regular football and secure a place in the Argentina squad for the 2010 World Cup. He has played a starring role in his country's World Cup qualifiers this season despite a lack of competitive club football.

'I am a simple person and all I want is to play football every Sunday,' Riquelme added.

'This move is the only chance I have to play at the next World Cup, which is the thing that motivates me most.

'People should know that of the three parties I am the one who has made the biggest effort and that I have offered to play a year for free with Boca.

'I have also told Villarreal they do not have to pay me what they owe me for another year and a half.'

MrJoeSoap

Archimedes wrote: »

Ive just seen that Villareal officials are in Argentina negotiating a deal for Riquelme to move back to Boca. He's rejected a move to Spurs but thanked them for their interest in him. Apparently he wants to move back to Argentina because his mother is ill, and is so desperate to do so that he has offered to play for Boca for free this season. I know he's probably raked up a lot of money over the years, but its not often you seee that from a footballer. A nice move by a definite legend of the game, pity he never got a decent chance at Barca.

Fair play to him, he has his head on his shoulders.

Thanx 4 The Fish

somebody else did it recently I think, Italian lad, somebody had it in their signature.

MrJoeSoap

Thanx 4 The Fish wrote: »

somebody else did it recently I think, Italian lad, somebody had it in their signature.

Damiano Tomassi?

Peyton Manning

MrJoeSoap wrote: »

Damiano Tomassi?

Aye, he offered to take youth wages at Roma. A ridiculously nice guy, does a lot of charity work I believe, and often lobbies the Italian FA to have players and club fines donated to charity.

Eirebear

Seb Rozenthal offered to play for free at Rangers after his horrendous knee injury during the first game of his career with us....Rangers in their infinite wisdom...let him go....

Trippie

when redondo signed for milan in the summer of 2002(i think it was im not sure) he then fooked his knee up seriously and asked for them not to pay him until he was back playing but under italian law he had to paid a minimum wage but it was such a nominal fee compared to his original salary he may have been there for free

estebancambias

Yeah Romy is a top guy. I'm sad I won't be seeing him weekly.


Seedorf did something like this.

IrishMike

Remember watching la liga doing a profile of him when he was at villareal.
Balague interviewed him and he came across very well.
After the interview in the studio Balague said he was the most grounded footballer he
ever met in his life and that when he arrived over from Argentina he stayed with a family
for the first week.
All his team mates owned huge villas but instead he decided to continue staying with
this family and give the money to his family back home who are meant to be penniless.
Amazing player, his lack of pace would have been shown up in the premiership though

Peyton Manning

Lack of pace never stopped the likes of Le Tissier, Scholes, Bergkamp etc. and they were some of the finest players to ever play in the league.

eirebhoy

It goes back to the article that Pepe posted a few weeks ago about 10 year olds playing on full sized pitches in England. From an early age they're required to be athletes. The small, slow players find it really tough the make it in the British game. Pretty sad and I really believe it's the reason they're not in the Euros. They've no playmakers. It's also probably no coincidence that most top playmakers lack pace.

His lack of pace wouldn't have been exposed in the premiership but his need for time on the ball might have been.

KdjaCL

Fair play to Roman but pissed i wont see him anymore in la liga, i was cynical about Tomassi taking the lowest wage with Roma just to stay there, where does he play now ?


kdjac

Raskolnikov

I don't see the big deal behind Riquelme at all. Flopped at Barcelona, couldn't hack it at Villareal and recently, he completely bottled the Copa America finals against Brazil.

Has achieved nothing in his career and probably never will now.

estebancambias

eirebhoy wrote: »

It goes back to the article that Pepe posted a few weeks ago about 10 year olds playing on full sized pitches in England. From an early age they're required to be athletes. The small, slow players find it really tough the make it in the British game. Pretty sad and I really believe it's the reason they're not in the Euros. They've no playmakers. It's also probably no coincidence that most top playmakers lack pace.

His lack of pace wouldn't have been exposed in the premiership but his need for time on the ball might have been.

I sware this is the reason I never really shined playing football. It took my third manager at Home Farm to say 'you have the mind of a top footballer'. He said this to explain to me why I never started, I tried things that other plays just did not do. I played with Chris Fagan off Man Utd for a short time.

Now I was hardly a great player in terms of skills, but my passing has been great since I was about 7. I honestly feel had I moved to lets say Italy when I was 14, I would at least have got a chance at playing pro.

_blank_

estebancambias wrote: »

I sware this is the reason I never really shined playing football. It took my third manager at Home Farm to say 'you have the mind of a top footballer'. He said this to explain to me why I never started, I tried things that other plays just did not do. I played with Chris Fagan off Man Utd for a short time.

Now I was hardly a great player in terms of skills, but my passing has been great since I was about 7. I honestly feel had I moved to lets say Italy when I was 14, I would at least have got a chance at playing pro.

:D:D

Man, this cracks me up.

Nice one, I was very bored in work there for a while.

Vokes

Hwh, that's priceless, Esteban

Peyton Manning

Raskolnikov wrote:

Flopped at Barcelona

Shortly after he moved, his brother was kidnapped back in Argentina and Roman himself had to negotiate with the kidnappers. Barca were struggling themselves at the time - they finished 6th that season. Van Gaal publicly called Riquelme a 'political signing' and constantly played him out of position out on the wings. How would you have handled it?

Raskolnikov wrote:

couldn't hack it at Villareal

Villareal finished 15th for the two previous seasons before Riquelme signed. In the four seasons he has been there, they have finished 8th, 3rd, 7th and 5th, reached a Champions League semi final, a Uefa cup semi final and quarter final. He was also nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year twice during his time there.

Raskolnikov wrote:

he completely bottled the Copa America finals against Brazil

Isn't there 11 players on the pitch? How about the rest of the tournament where he scored 5 goals and 2 assists? That and the fact that Argentina have never lost a game in which he has scored.

Of course you have also neglected to mention last seasons Copa Libertadores where he was applauded by critics all over the world for his performances, scoring 6 goals and being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Raskolnikov wrote:

Has achieved nothing in his career and probably never will now.

* 2007 Copa Libertadores' Most Valuable Player
* 2007 Copa Libertadores (Boca Juniors)
* 2006 Nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year
* 2005 Nominated for FIFA World Player of the Year
* 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup (Villarreal CF)
* 2001 Copa Libertadores (Boca Juniors)
* 2001 South American Footballer of the Year
* 2000 Argentine Apertura Championship (Boca Juniors)
* 2000 Intercontinental Cup (Boca Juniors)
* 2000 Copa Libertadores (Boca Juniors)
* 1999 Argentine Clausura Championship (Boca Juniors)
* 1998 Argentine Apertura Championship (Boca Juniors)
* 1997 FIFA's World Youth Championship (under-20)



Now I hope you understand me asking if youve ever seen him play before? Hopefully Ive convinced you not to make idiotic statements on this forum from now on. There is life outside of Sky Sports you know.

Arc

estebancambias

Yeah I guess it was pretty funny. However the truth often is.

Raskolnikov

Archimedes wrote: »

* 2004 UEFA Intertoto Cup (Villarreal CF)

So his only notable achievement is winning the Intertoto Cup.

Quick! Get on the blower to this guys agent!

Archimedes wrote: »

Now I hope you understand me asking if youve ever seen him play before?

Of course, there's no denying, he's a talented player. The only problem, is that he's a bottler, that's why the big Champions League clubs have no interest in him. Did you even watch the Copa America final? Do you remember him blasting countless number of free-kicks over the bar or botching up all his corner kicks? The Brazilians ate him for breakfeast.

Archimedes wrote: »

Hopefully Ive convinced you not to make idiotic statements on this forum from now on. There is life outside of Sky Sports you know.

Arc

Such a strong argument you have to resort to personal insults, bravo!

Enjoy your one weeks ban.

Rask

Peyton Manning

Would you like to point out the personal insult there please?

KdjaCL

Raskolnikov wrote: »

Such a strong argument you have to resort to personal insults, bravo!

Enjoy your one weeks ban.

Rask

Imo he attacked the post not the poster, he said the post was idiotic.

kdjac

Mikeyt086

Round of applause for Achimedes for complete ownage at post #17. He didnt insult anyone, if he is banned that would be a bit of a laughing stock.

Eirebear

Raskolnikov wrote: »

So his only notable achievement is winning the Intertoto Cup.
Quick! Get on the blower to this guys agent!

Are you for real? 2 Copa Libertadores Winners medals and 2 nominations for World Player of the year are not "Notable Achievments" in your book? Wow! Whatever team you support must be seriously out of this world!

In all honesty i am not Riquelme's biggest fan, i also believe that he does quite often let himself down on the big occasion....but i could never doubt his skill when he does turn it on.

MrJoeSoap

estebancambias wrote: »

I sware this is the reason I never really shined playing football. It took my third manager at Home Farm to say 'you have the mind of a top footballer'. He said this to explain to me why I never started, I tried things that other plays just did not do. I played with Chris Fagan off Man Utd for a short time.

Now I was hardly a great player in terms of skills, but my passing has been great since I was about 7. I honestly feel had I moved to lets say Italy when I was 14, I would at least have got a chance at playing pro.

estebancambias wrote: »

Yeah I guess it was pretty funny. However the truth often is.

Get this guy a forum of his own, I want to hear more!

mayordenis

he's not getting banned, riquelme is a top player and people embarress themselves by having a go at him.

this forum should take on and alter one of the new rules in football, when somebody calls for a yellow card they should get one, when someone calls for a ban here they should gt one.

Eirebear

mayordenis wrote: »

he's not getting banned, riquelme is a top player and people embarress themselves by having a go at him.

this forum should take on and alter one of the new rules in football, when somebody calls for a yellow card they should get one, when someone calls for a ban here they should gt one.

Thats just crazy..
Impeach MayorDenis!

Raskolnikov

Firstly, I would never refer to anything that anyone wrote on this forum as idiotic.

Secondly, I never questioned Riquelme's ability as a footballer. It's obvious that he's technically gifted. What I do question is his ability to step up to the big occasion and to remain consistant. All he has ever proven is that he can throw the toys out of the pram when things get tough.

He's the definition of a luxury player.

Raskolnikov

Like I said before. The man is damaged goods and I wouldn't let him anywhere near a top side.

The Guardian

He's gone from untouchable, indulged superstar to unwanted outcast booted from the squad; the midfielder whose absence used to be a manager's death warrant but is now a symbol of a new age - and a dream come true for photographers and cameramen. His coach has grown tired of his caprices and insists he lacks commitment, his president has attacked him in public, and his team-mates loudly claim they're backing him all the way, only to take a rather less effusive turn when the microphones are switched off.

He's won nothing since coming to Spain and isn't going to, either. After 3½ years at his dream club, the end is in sight - and it's a bitter end too, full of recrimination and regret. All that's left for him to do now is make a public show of watching the team-mates he's no longer allowed to line up with, all too aware that the cameras are constantly turned on him. Never mind that he's bored to tears and deep down probably wants them to lose, it's his job to get excited, to get nervous and to get seen. To prove that he is committed, really.

No, not David Beckham. Juan Román Riquelme. The Argentinian with the deep eyes, the wonderful touch and the happy-go-lucky charm of Eeyore at a wake, is no more. The man who topped the assists charts, scored 12 and had the league's second best average rating last season can't get a game these days. In fact, he can't even get into the squad any more after Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini dumped him for the opening match of 2007. It was the first time Riquelme had been dropped since joining the club and he hasn't been called back. Nor is he about to be.

"No club in the world would leave Riquelme out," insists team-mate Diego Forlán and the last time a Villarreal coach clashed with the Argentinian it cost him his job. When Benito Floro asked Riquelme to arrive half an hour early to work on an injury, he turned up 20 minutes later and ignored the physios, making a point of doing the ground staff's job instead - sweeping the floor before theatrically polishing his boots until it was time to join the others. When he repeated the trick three days later and the coach said he'd leave him out, Riquelme rang the club's director general and demanded to play. A divide opened and before long, Floro was the ex-coach.

But this time is different. This time, Villarreal have had enough. This time, the coach has the president's backing. This time, Riquelme is no longer untouchable - his contribution no longer warrants indulgence. When he stepped up to take that penalty against Arsenal in the Champions League semi-final last season, you knew he would miss. It was like he was staring into the abyss, which, as it turns out, he was. He has never recovered, retiring from the Argentina squad and scoring just once for Villarreal. The slow-motion genius is half the player he was; these days, he's just slow. It's like he has given up, at 28.

Maybe he has. After all, Riquelme has played a lot of football and been subjected to an enormous amount of pressure. The game has taken its toll, physically and emotionally. At the age of 10 he used to turn up shattered for training with Argentinos Juniors, the coaches later discovering that his father was a violent local gang leader, a Mafioso who hit his 10-year-old son and obliged him to play in matches that provided the basis for illegal gambling rings in the shanty-town neighbourhood of Don Torcuato in Buenos Aires. When he pulled out of the Argentinian squad this summer, he said it was because his mother was getting ill with the stress.

Riquelme is a difficult, introverted character, porcupine-prickly, a man who needs constant reassurance and has to live entirely on his own terms, who utterly lacks the normal trappings of vanity but is vain nonetheless. Villarreal knew that and created the perfect environment for him. They surrounded him with Argentinians, said nothing when he brought a plane-load of friends over from Don Torcuato, never questioned his "injuries", and turned a blind eye when he didn't fancy training. They even turned a blind eye when he didn't fancy playing, even though they'd built a team around him and made him ever-present, whatever his physical condition. If Riquelme wanted to play, he played: in the last two seasons he has not started a single game as sub.

They also allowed him to travel back to Argentina for the birth of his son. And he didn't even say thanks. When he returned from that extended stay, he announced his intention not to train and Pellegrini decided it was the final straw. Likewise, president Fernando Roig, who announced: "He will obey the club and fulfil his obligations - or else he'll have problems with me." The club had given him everything. Never again.

And so it was that Riquelme spent Saturday night watching Villarreal play Sevilla from the stands while the rest of the country spent Saturday night watching Riquelme spend Saturday night watching Villarreal play Sevilla from the stands. Riquelme looks pensive! Riquelme bites his lip! Riquelme puts his head in his hands! Riquelme does nothing in particular!

Mind you, it was better than actually watching the game as the two sides played out a 0-0 draw that ushered in the worst weekend in Primera División history: one that had four 0-0s, four 1-0s and just nine goals, of which, Barça apart, only two came from open play - and one of those was thanks to a defensive error. A weekend which left Real Madrid - four 1-0s in their last five wins - level with newly-crowned winter champions Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid just three points off the top. And still it's the Italians who are boring.

Mikeyt086

But surley the fact that every interviewer he has ever spoken to saying he is the most "Grounded player ever." would suggest he doesnt "Throw the toys out of the pram". He is a gifted player, but look at the things that stood in his way, kidnappings, coaches making fueds public to get the fans against him etc.

Riquelme is a world class player who got a bum-deal. Had he been brought into a good environment at Barca and his brothers life not been in danger he would be regarded as one of the best ever.

And its not like he isnt good, the fact that he rose above all those difficulties proves his pedigrey.

Riqume has not retired from international football.Has he?

Raskolnikov

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

And its not like he isnt good.

Christ.

I never said he was no good and I don't recall saying he was no good, merely that he's overrated.

Peyton Manning

He did retire after the WC but changed his mind.

Morf

You can find articles trying to take most much-vaunted players down a peg. I'd take it with a grain of salt. I don't set out to judge players badly unless I have good reason not too. I'll continue to believe Riquelme is a good egg.

tdv

He's the most gifted attacking player in the world. Bad mentality tho.

eirebhoy

Riquelme's over in Japan with Boca atm but can't play for them til January.