• A World Cup Without Superstars? Unthinkable

  New York Times - Found Jun. 11, 2009 ... and his country are running out of time.What they needed Wednesday was someone like Juan Riquelme, the playmaker Maradona overlooked and the...

• A World Cup Without Superstars? Unthinkable

  New York Times - Found Jun. 11, 2009 What they needed Wednesday was someone like Juan Riquelme, the playmaker Maradona overlooked and the artist who now refuses to play for...

• St Mirren v Hibs as it happened

  BBC - Found Apr. 13, 2009 We need a Juan Riquelme to orchestrate proceedings in midfield...but I'm afraid they're about as rare a creature in the Paisley area as a...

• Barca's perfect 10

  Telegraph - Found Apr. 28, 2009 ... should really accelerate in the season he inherited the blessed number for Barca from Ronaldinho, and for Argentina from Juan Riquelme.

• El Madrigal has been a happy hunting ground for Arsenal

  The Ham and High - Found Apr. 7, 2009 Three years ago a last minute Jens Lehmann penalty save from Juan Riquelme put Arsenal through to their first, and only, Champions League...

• Soccer: Small Is Beautiful Again for Maradona?s Argentina

  International Herald Tribune - Found Apr. 1, 2009 He knows many of his countrymen want Juan Riquelme as playmaker. Riquelme quit the national team after Maradona failed to pick him for two...

• Soccer: Small Is Beautiful Again for Maradonas Argentina

  International Herald Tribune - Found Apr. 1, 2009 He knows many of his countrymen want Juan Riquelme as playmaker. Riquelme quit the national team after Maradona failed to pick him for two...

This article's introduction section may not adequately summarize its contents. To comply with Wikipedia's lead section guidelines, please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of the article's key points. (March 2009)

Juan Román Riquelme

Personal information
Date of birth	June 24, 1978 (1978-06-24) (age 31)
Place of birth	San Fernando, Argentina
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position	Attacking Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Boca Juniors
Number	10
Youth career
	Argentinos Juniors
	Boca Juniors
Senior career1
Years	Club	Apps (Gls)2
1996–2002	Boca Juniors	150 (38)
2002–2003	Barcelona	030 0(3)
2003–2007	Villarreal	106 (36)
2007	→ Boca Juniors (loan)	015 0(2)
2008–	Boca Juniors	032 0(6)
National team3
1997–	Argentina	054 (18)
2008	Argentina Olympic	006 0(1)
Honours Competitor for  Argentina Men's Football Gold 2008 Beijing Team Competition
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 16:22, 29 March 2009 (UTC). 2 Appearances (Goals) 3 National team caps and goals correct as of 14 September 2008.

Juan Román Riquelme (born 24 June 1978 in San Fernando, Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football midfielder who currently plays for Boca Juniors of the Argentine First Division and formerly for the Argentine national team. He is a playmaker known for his passing and setting the tempo of the play.

Club career

Early career

Riquelme was born in San Fernando, Buenos Aires, into a family of ten in poverty, and grew up in Don Torcuato. Argentine clubs Boca Juniors and River Plate spotted him when he was a youth player for Argentinos Juniors. He chose to move to Boca in 1995, as he had been a fan of the club since childhood. Boca paid US$800,000 to sign him. A year later, on 10 November 1996, Riquelme played his first professional match in a 2-0 win over Unión de Santa Fe. Two weeks later, he scored his first senior goal in Boca's 6-0 win over Huracán.

Barcelona

In 2002, after seven successful seasons with Boca Juniors, the central midfielder was transferred to FC Barcelona for a reported €11 million.¹ Shortly before his departure from Boca, his brother, Cristian, was kidnapped. Riquelme negotiated for his brother's release and eventually paid the ransom. He has stated before this was one of the reasons why he chose to leave Boca although it has also been noted Riquelme was in dispute with Boca over his contract at the time.^{citation needed} Barcelona coach Louis van Gaal described Riquelme as a "political signing"² and treated him with indifference. When Van Gaal did play him he rarely did so, deploying him on the flanks. He was unable to find his form during a period of largely substitute appearances, losing his place in the first team. Van Gaal instead chose to use him as a backup player, standing in during Spanish Cup and Champions League Group stage matches. He was loaned to Villarreal CF a year later.

Villarreal

At Villarreal CF, he was surrounded by fellow Latin and South American players, including fellow Argentine international and captain Juan Pablo Sorín. At the end of the 2004-05 campaign, Spanish sports newspaper Marca awarded him the title of Artistic Player. He earned a nomination for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year award. In an effort to keep hold of him, Villarreal bought up 75% of Riquelme's rights from FC Barcelona for up to €8 million, dependent on Villarreal performance next two seasons, and gave the player a 4-year contract.³ A 25% transfer fee would also given to Barça if Villarreal resold him.

A peculiar contract situation arose when, on 7 December 2005, Villarreal beat French club Lille OSC 1-0 to win its UEFA Champions League group, knocking out English giants Manchester United, and Lille and advancing to the lucrative knockout stages in the club's debut season in the Champions League. Because of a clause in the transfer contract with Barça, Villarreal had to pay €1 million to the Catalan club. The contract included another two €1 million clauses; one if Villarreal finished in one of the top four positions of the Spanish La Liga in the 2005-06 season, and an identical clause for the 2006-07 season.

During the second leg of the Champions League semi-final match between Villarreal and Arsenal, Jens Lehmann saved a Riquelme penalty that would have taken the match to extra time.

Boca Juniors

Riquelme accepted a five-month loan back to Boca Juniors on February 2007 following a tense situation between him and Villarreal's director general and with club manager Manuel Pellegrini.⁴⁵ Riquelme has played a significant part in Boca's success in the Copa Libertadores 2007, scoring against Vélez Sársfield in the round of 16, Club Libertad in the quarter finals and Cúcuta Deportivo in the semis, earning Boca a place in the finals. In the first leg of the final against Grêmio, Riquelme scored a goal and in the return leg, scored two more, crowning Boca as the 2007 Copa Libertadores Champions. He also won the award for the Copa Libertadores' Most Valuable Player.

In August 2007, it was reported that Boca had given up hope of re-signing Riquelme. However, a few days later the situation changed, as Boca Juniors director Juan Carlos Crespi expressed confidence in Riquelme's return "within 10 days". The negotiations stalled when Villarreal's offer to give up Riquelme in exchange for €4 million, Rodrigo Palacio, and half the rights to either Mauro Boselli or Jonathan Maidana was rejected by Boca. It was announced on 30 August that Riquelme has been signed by Atlético Madrid for a fee of €8 million. This transfer however, fell through at the last minute, and Riquelme remained a Villareal player and was awarded the 16 shirt.

On 26 November 2007, Riquelme reached an agreement with Villarreal to allow him to join Boca Juniors after the transfer window re-opened in January 2008.⁶

International career

Riquelme won the South American Youth Championship and the FIFA U-20 World Cup, both in 1997 with coach José Pekerman. And would receive a call-up, but did not play in the 1998 or 2002 FIFA World Cups. Riquelme announced his retirement from the Argentine national team in early March 2009 after a disagreement with coach Diego Maradona over Maradona's public criticism of his recent performances with his club team Boca Juniors.

2006 World Cup

World Cup 2006

During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Argentina were defeated in the quarter-final by Germany on penalties, after a 1-1 draw after extra-time. Germany equalised moments after Riquelme was substituted off the pitch. Riquelme had delivered the corner from which Roberto Ayala scored Argentina's goal.

Following the loss of Argentina and Pekerman's resignation as head coach, Riquelme was tipped by many to take over the reins of skipper for the Albicelestes in place of the outgoing Juan Pablo Sorín. However, after captaining the team for the first friendly match under new coach Alfio Basile, he announced on 13 September 2006 his decision to retire from the Selección, claiming that the frequent critics from sectors of the press and public had negatively affected his mother's health, who was hospitalized twice in two months after the 2006 World Cup.^{7 8} At that point, Riquelme had played 37 matches for Argentina, scoring eight goals.

2007 Copa América

On 26 June 2007, Riquelme was recalled to the national team by coach Alfio Basile as part of the 23-man squad to represent Argentina in the 2007 Copa América.⁹ Riquelme illustrated his array of skills by scoring two goals – a header and a free kick – against Colombia in the second match of the Copa's group stage. In the quarter-finals against Peru, Riquelme scored two of Argentina's four goals and assisted Lionel Messi for another goal to lead Argentina into the semifinals with a 4-0 win. He scored his fifth goal of the competition in a penalty during the semifinal clash against Mexico, completing Argentina's 3-0 win. After that Argentina was trashed against arch-rivals, Brazil, 3-0 in the final.

2010 World Cup qualification

On 14 October 2007, Riquelme emerged from three months of inactivity at Villarreal CF to score two free kicks in a 2-0 win against Chile to get his team off to a winning start in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. On 17 November, Riquelme scored twice again in Argentina's 3-0 victory against Bolivia. Currently, his four goals are one behind the leading goal scorers in the 2010 CONMEBOL qualifications. However, he decided to retire from the national team after a disagreement with coach Diego Maradona.¹⁰

2008 Beijing Olympics

Argentina included Riquelme as one of the three permitted overage players in the squad for the Olympic Games Football tournament in Beijing. ¹¹. Riquelme captained the side to win the Olympic Gold medal. He scored one goal against Brazil in the semi-final. ¹²

Statistics

Club	Season	League		Libertadores		Copa Mercosur		Super/Inter.		UEFA Champ.		UEFA Cup		Argentina		Total
		GP	Goals	GP	Goals	GP	Goals	GP	Goals	GP	Goals	GP	Goals	GP	Goals	GP	Goals
Boca Juniors	Apertura 1996	8	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	2
	Clausura 1997	13	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	13	2
	Apertura 1997	13	0	-	-	-	-	2	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	15	0
	Clausura 1998	6	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	0
	Apertura 1998	19	3	-	-	6	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	25	3
	Clausura 1999	18	7	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	7
	Apertura 1999	17	2	-	-	5	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	22	2
	Clausura 2000	7	2	11	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	5
	Apertura 2000	16	5	-	-	1	0	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	18	5
	Clausura 2001	11	5	12	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	23	8
	Apertura 2001	13	7	-	-	1	0	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	14	7
	Clausura 2002	9	3	4	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0	13	3
	Subtotal	148	36	27	6	13	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	193	44
Barcelona	2002–03	29	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	11	2	-	-	2	0	41	5
Villarreal	2003–04	33	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	4	1	0	47	12
	2004–05	31	15	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	3	9	5	41	19
	2005–06	25	12	-	-	-	-	-	-	12	2	-	-	8?	1?	45	15
	2006–07	13	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8?	0?	21	1
	Subtotal	131	39	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	4	21	7	18	2	195	52
Boca Juniors	Clausura 2007	15	2	11	8	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	9?	9?	35	19
	Clausura 2008	10	1	10	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	2?	0?	22	5
	Apertura 2008	16	5	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	1	22	6
	Subtotal	25	3	21	12	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	17?	10?	57	24
	Total	304	78	48	18	13	0	4	0	23	4	21	7	?	?	-	-

Argentina Goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	April 30, 2003	Tripoli, Libya	Libya	3-1	Win	Friendly
2.	November 17, 2004	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Venezuela	3-2	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
3.	June 8, 2005	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Brazil	3-1	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
4.	June 15, 2005	Cologne, Germany	Tunisia	2-1	Win	2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
5.	June 18, 2005	Nuremberg, Germany	Australia	4-2	Win	2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
6.	June 21, 2005	Nuremberg, Germany	Germany	2-2	Draw	2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
7.	October 9, 2005	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Peru	2-0	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
8.	November 16, 2005	Doha, Qatar	Qatar	3-0	Win	Friendly
9.	July 2, 2007	Maracaibo, Venezuela	Colombia	4-2	Win	Copa América 2007
10.	July 2, 2007	Maracaibo, Venezuela	Colombia	4-2	Win	Copa América 2007
11.	July 8, 2007	Barquisimeto, Venezuela	Peru	4-0	Win	Copa América 2007
12.	July 8, 2007	Barquisimeto, Venezuela	Peru	4-0	Win	Copa América 2007
13.	July 11, 2007	Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela	Mexico	3-0	Win	Copa América 2007
14.	October 13, 2007	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	1-0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
15.	October 13, 2007	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Chile	2-0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
16.	November 17, 2007	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Bolivia	3-0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)
17.	November 17, 2007	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Bolivia	3-0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CONMEBOL)

Honours

Villarreal

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004

Boca Juniors

• Argentine Apertura: 1998, 2000, 2008
• Argentine Clausura: 1999
• Intercontinental Cup: 2000
• Copa Libertadores: 2000, 2001, 2007
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2008

International

• FIFA U-20 World Youth Championship: 1997
• 2008 Summer Olympics: Gold medal

Individual

• South American Footballer of the Year: 2001
• Copa Libertadores Most Valuable Player: 2007
• Player of the Year of Argentina: 2000,2001,2008

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Juan Román Riquelme

• Argentine Primera statistics
• Juan Roman Riquelme tribute site
• FootballDatabase provides Juan Roman Riquelme's profile and stats
• JuanRomanRiquelme.com.ar - pictures, profile and biography

Argentina Squad v • d • e Argentina squad – 1999 Copa América 1 Burgos • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Ibarra • 5 Simeone • 6 Samuel • 7 Barros Schelotto • 8 Zanetti • 9 Palermo • 10 Ortega • 11 López • 12 Bizzarri • 13 Vivas • 14 Pochettino • 15 Berizzo • 16 Guglielminpietro • 17 Husaín • 18 Cagna • 19 Calderón • 20 Aimar • 21 González • 22 Riquelme • Coach: Bielsa v • d • e Argentina squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup Runners-up 1 Franco • 2 Samuel • 3 Sorín • 4 Zanetti • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Tévez • 8 Riquelme • 9 Saviola • 10 Aimar • 11 Delgado • 12 Lux • 13 G.J. Rodríguez • 14 Milito • 15 Placente • 16 Coloccini • 17 Bernardi • 18 Santana • 19 Maxi Rodríguez • 20 Demichelis • 21 Figueroa • 22 Galletti • 23 Caballero • Coach: Pekerman v • d • e Argentina squad – 2006 FIFA World Cup 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Sorín • 4 Coloccini • 5 Cambiasso • 6 Heinze • 7 Saviola • 8 Mascherano • 9 Crespo • 10 Riquelme • 11 Tévez • 12 Franco • 13 Scaloni • 14 Palacio • 15 Milito • 16 Aimar • 17 Cufré • 18 Rodríguez • 19 Messi • 20 Cruz • 21 Burdisso • 22 González • 23 Ustari • Coach: Pekerman v • d • e Argentina squad – Copa América 2007 Runners-up 1 Abbondanzieri • 2 Ayala • 3 Díaz • 4 Ibarra • 5 Gago • 6 Heinze • 7 Palacio • 8 Zanetti • 9 Crespo • 10 Riquelme • 11 Tévez • 12 Carrizo • 13 González • 14 Mascherano • 15 G.Milito • 16 Aimar • 17 Burdisso • 18 Messi • 19 Cambiasso • 20 Verón • 21 D.Milito • 22 Orión • Coach: Basile v • d • e Argentina squad – 2008 Olympic Gold Medalists 1 Ustari • 2 Garay • 3 Monzón • 4 Zabaleta • 5 Gago • 6 Fazio • 7 Sosa • 8 Banega • 9 Lavezzi • 10 Riquelme • 11 Di María • 12 Pareja • 13 Acosta • 14 Mascherano • 15 Messi • 16 Agüero • 17 Buonanotte • 18 Romero • 22 Navarro • Coach: Batista