Juan Roman Riquelme, One of Argentina's Best Playmakers.

Juan Roman Riquelme, One of Argentina's Best Playmakers.

Juan Roman Riquelme, what comes to your mind about Juan Roman Riquelme, the player who is identical to the number 10 has the art of playing ball, calm, elegant, yes maybe like that, if we mention Riquelme's name, but maybe you also have other opinions about him.

Maybe he is not as famous as other Argentinian players who use the number 10 like Diego Maradona or even Lionel Messi, but believe me at that time his appearance was very entertaining, he had his own magic, he became the idol of the Argentinean public, football fans at that time.

It's not because of his actions that make Argentina or the club he plays for more known around the world, however, his simple game of playing football can make anyone who watches it really enjoy football. His vision is no less great when compared to Xavi Hernandez and his passes are no less accurate when compared to Andrea Pirlo's passes, actually explaining how Riquelme plays is as simple as explaining the role of a real number ten attacking midfielder.

Juan Roman Riquelme is not a player who is ready to destroy the opponent's defense with his speed of dribbling or receiving a through ball, instead he just walks around in front of the penalty area to find empty space so his partner can give the ball to him.

Maybe If you like Zinadine Zidane, you will also like Riquelme, he is often nicknamed the poor number ten. Many say he is like being born in the number ten position, his ball handling style is very smooth and artsy which often makes opponents become emotional when they face him.

Marcos Senna who is his partner at Villarreal once said, whenever we got the ball, we would pass it straight to him. Besides that, another ability he has is that he is very good at opening up space, you could say Riquelme is a Master in maximizing space and tight corners, opening tight defenses and then playing with opponents, but behind all the stories of his greatness there is an irony, many say that Riquelme is great, he is a legend but in many ways he is a player who strangely does not fit into modern football.

Many controversies surround his prowess, reportedly he is an unruly player including issues of discipline, ego and professionalism. Then what is the true greatness and controversy of Juan Roman Riquelme...?
Why do many people adore him and call him the real number ten? see the following story.

Juan Roman Riquelme was born and raised in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Riquelme knew football from an early age, he joined the local team Argentinos Juniors and quickly his great talent caught the attention of other big Argentine clubs. Before he was 18 Juan Roman Riquelme had made his first big step with Boca Juniors willing to shell out eight hundred thousand US Dollars for a Riquelme.

They believed that he would be a big star in the future, since the moment he was signed by Boca Junior, Juan Roman Riquelme began to compare Riquelme's abilities with the legend Diego Maradona. It is true that Riquelme is not like Maradona, in terms of their style of play, they are very different but they have something in common which is equally effective.

Juan Roman Riquelme was given the heavy burden of being labeled the new Maradona, it might weigh on the smell of other rising young stars, but to Juan Roman Riquelme it meant nothing, he knew he was very different. Maradona for years was considered the most successful player to use the sacred number 10, but his luck was not followed by Marcello Gallardo, Ariel Ortega, Andres d'alessandro and Pablo Aimar until the right choice then fell into the hands of Lionel Messi as the real heir.

Riquelme was caught between the two especially seeing his playing style which was considered slow, but Riquelme managed to get out of the ordeal when he first defended Boca Juniors against River Plate in the El Clasico super match on October 25, 1997. Uniquely he appeared as a substitute in the second half, Riquelme who just 19 years old when he came on for Diego Maradona he managed to turn things around by bringing the boy back from behind to claim a 2-1 win. His creative play in linking the midfield and attack led Boca Juniors to six titles including the Copa libertadores crown in 2000 and 200.

He gave many titles to Boca Junior but what cannot be denied from Riquelme's greatness at that time was Riquelme's brilliance in playing, his movement, his control, his skill and of course his skill. al amazing ability to create something that feels impossible to do. Almost like what the legend Diego Maradona did, despite their different playing styles, Maradona and Riquelme share one innate skill which is their unpredictable game.

Juan Roman Riquelme then wanted to try a new challenge by following in the footsteps of the legend Maradona namely a career in continental Europe, scoring 44 goals and countless accesses while playing for Boca Juniors, making Riquelme confident that he will succeed in Europe. Barcelona came for him and he was confident that he could thrill Spain, after being bought for 10 million Pounds in 2002. Unfortunately his dream to become a star at Barcelona turned out to be beyond expectations, although it is known as a more calm and tactical league, the Spanish League is different from the Argentine League, playing in the Spanish League requires higher intensity and stamina, it is not enough to rely solely on technique.

Juan Roman Riquelme had difficulty adapting to the Barcelona game and was left out of the first team, Barcelona coach at the time Louis Van Gaal considered that Riquelme did not fit into the scheme he was applying even though Van Gaal had tried to put Riquelme in various positions, when he was still defending Boca Juniors Riquelme was the center of the game. the team, formed based on requirements as the center, he was a star there unlike what happened in Barcelona, ​​there he was nothing special, the clash of philosophies between Riquelme and Van Gaal continued to occur, the two of them were always incompatible, there was even a rumor that on the day his first at Barcelona, ​​the Dutch coach gave Riquelme a shirt for his newborn son saying he would probably wear it more than I did.

Van Gaal did not want Riquelme, Riquelme's transfer may have happened because of the wishes of the club board not the wishes of the coach, in the summer of 2003 Barcelona signed Ronaldinho, This caused them to exceed the quota of foreign players who then indirectly kicked Riquelme out of Barcelona. Abandoned from Barcelona Riquelme then found his identity when loaned to Villarreal, playing in a small town on the Mediterranean coast, while the highest position achieved by Riquelme in the 2004-2005 season was finishing in third place, in the summer of 2004 at Villarreal appointed Manuel Pellegrini, he may come from the other side but not like Van Gaal.

The Chilean coach understands Riquelme, he realizes that you have to turn a blind eye to the image of a lazy player attached to him, instead he has to be nurtured. Pellegrini surrounds the Argentine with his 9 South American teammates, grilling steaks on Friday afternoons after training, spoiling him outside. the field, Pellegrini did whatever it took to bring out the best in the Maestro. Riquelme was given the freedom to dictate the game and he will do the rest as teammate Marcos Senna once said.

Apart from that Diego Forlan still remembers how amazing Riquelme was when they played together at Villarreal, I joined him there in 2005, he was a big reason for me, had the area we played together in attack, he was number ten, gave me the ball to score goals, we were great on the pitch, we both had difficult times at our previous clubs, but at Villarreal we came to life under Manuel Pellegrini who has known us both since he was in Argentina where he coached. Riquelme would anticipate my run and give me the ball every striker dreams of, Forlan said.

Under Manuel Pellegrini, Juan Roman Riquelme grew to become one of the best playmakers in the world at the time, his performances for Argentina were consistent and his hard work at Villarreal paid off, despite missing a crucial penalty against Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League semi-finals he was still awarded the award. the most artistic player in Spain.

Juan Roman Riquelme is at the top, performances that many believe will lead to world cup glory with Argentina, in the summer of 2006 he played in the World Cup as a creative midfielder, he once again dazzled ending the tournament as top assist scorer despite losing to Germany in the last eight, after struggling in the 2006 World Cup with Argentina Riquelme returned to Villarreal, but then a lot of problems occurred, Manuel Pellegrini always gave a special dispensation to Riquelme, he missed training hours, when he wanted to run less than most of his teammates and given the leeway to spend more time in his native Argentina.

All of this is done so that Riquelme stays happy and can play under the conditions he wanted, in the end European football was too much for the Argentinian, his adventures at Villarreal no longer motivated him, at the same time Boca Juniors came up with an offer of a salary increase if Juan Roman Riquelme wanted to return to Argentina, he also had the opportunity to return to his mother's house. who was sick at the time, too hard to resist.

Juan Roman Riquelme was given every chance to succeed but Spain's time was running out, Villarreal deliberately brought in a lot of Argentine players to please him, Villarreal didn't protest when he brought his friends from don't torquato, Villarreal also never questioned his injury and turned a blind eye when he is often absent from training, Villarreal give everything for Juan Roman Riquelme, they have built a team around him when Riquelme wants to play, he has played in his last two seasons, there he has not started a single game as a substitute, he has always started.

Things got even more chaotic and out of control when he announced his intention not to train with the squad and Pellegrini decided that was the end of Villarreal's patience with him. The President of Villarreal then spoke up and announced that he would obey the Club and fulfill his obligations or he would be in trouble with me, the club had given him everything.

However, in February 2007 Juan Roman Riquelme decided to return to his hometown of Argentina and returned to defend Boca Juniors, returning to Buenos Aires, Riquelme is still not free from controversy, reportedly there was an ego conflict between him and Martin Palermo the Superstar Boca Junior at that time.

Martin Palermo is a player who is known for his aggressive and extroverted style, he is very different from Riquelme in game and character but later they were able to unite to become the extraordinary strength of Boca Junior in that era. Riquelme managed to score 48 goals in 187 games during that time, returned to Boca Junior and was widely hailed by Boca Junior fans, Juan Roman Riquelme then retired with Argentinos Juniors in 2014 after spending one of his final seasons there, Riquelme represented an idea which unfortunately has no place in the modern game of football, the idea that he is so good at playing football that it makes him play by his own rules, whether that makes him really great or not, is debatable but one thing is for sure, there is greatness in his feet, Riquelme is a genius player who is skilled at stroking the ball, he makes the game seem so easy.

The ball has given me everything, just like a little girl loves dolls, the best toy I have ever owned or ever owned is football, the person who created it is a true hero nothing more than that. Riquelme's words at the end of his career.