Juan Román Riquelme ( born 24 June 1978 ) is a former Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward footballer. One of the best Argentine superstars in world football.
Riquelme
Riquelme was once hailed as the last classical football master in football, he has the most unexpected passes and magical footwork, he does not need speed to dance the most beautiful tango, seemingly slow, but in fact hidden murder. It has been said that Riquelme is a thinker on the pitch, always thinking about how to turn an attack into a goal.
Riquelme, who has the South American's crushing possession skills, once said: "There are two ways for an opponent to destroy Riquelme's dribbling, one is Riquelme's own mistake, and the other is a foul." However, Riquelme's soft style and poor physical ability have always been criticized, which is the main reason for his long-term isolation from the European football league giants. It is worth mentioning that Riquelme's free kicks are very accurate, and this is also a big weapon for him to help the team win.
Riquelme and Raul
Riquelme played as a teenager for the youth academy of Argentine Juniors and then the youth academy of Boca Juniors.
When Riquelme played for Argentina Juniors, two major Argentine clubs, Boca Juniors and River Plate, had already eyed him. Riquelme joined Boca Juniors in 1995 for a transfer fee of $800,000.
Riquelme made his Argentine Serie A debut on 10 November 1996 and scored his first league goal two weeks later.
In 1997, Riquelme led Argentina's U-20 national team to win the World Youth Cup.
Riquelme
During his time at Boca Juniors, Riquelme led the team to several honours, including three Argentine Serie A titles (Spring 1998, Autumn 1999, Spring 2000), two Copa Libertadores (2000, 2001) and one Toyota Cup (2000). Riquelme was awarded the 2001 South American Footballer of the Year and the 2000 and 2001 Argentine Footballer of the Year for his outstanding performances in the early 2000s.
For the national team, Riquelme made his debut for Argentina on 16 November 1997 against Colombia. Unfortunately, he was not selected to represent the national team in the World Cup in France and the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, and in 2002, the Argentine national team, which had a high reputation for winning the championship before the tournament, was also unexpectedly out of the group stage.
After seven years in professional football in Argentina, Riquelme moved from Boca Juniors to La Liga powerhouse Barcelona in 2002 for a transfer fee of 9 million euros. However, he was not reused at Barcelona by then-manager Louis van Gaal, and his style of play was often accused of not being suitable for Barca's style of play, which made it difficult for him to adapt. When Brazil's Ronaldinho joined in the same position, Riquelme was sadly loaned to Villarreal.
Riquelme
Switching to Villarreal was Riquelme's wisest decision, and his insight and sense of position on the pitch have long been affirmed by Villarreal. He first helped the club win the International Toto Cup in 2004. In the 2004–05 season , he finished third in La Liga for Villarreal with 15 goals and 11 assists , a very successful season for the club. At the end of the season, the Spanish sports newspaper Marca named Riquelme "the most artistic player". To retain the loaned player, Villarreal bought ownership of Riquelme from Barcelona for €5 million for four years.
In 2006, Riquelme led Villarreal to the last four of the Champions League, losing to Premier League side Arsenal.
At the 2006 World Cup, on June 30, Riquelme led Argentina to the last eight of the World Cup in Germany, but was defeated by the final runner-up and host Germany. On September 13, Riquelme officially decided to retire from the national team.
Riquelme
In February 2007, Riquelme was loaned to Boca Juniors by Villarreal for five months. There, he successfully helped the team win the 2007 Copa Libertadores and was named the 2007 Copa Libertadores Most Valuable Player. In the same year, Riquelme returned to the Argentine national team shirt for the Copa America, where he remained the soul of the team, scoring five goals, ranking second in the top scorers list and helping Argentina reach the final, losing to arch-rivals Brazil and finishing runner-up.
In 2008, a bumper year for Riquelme, he won the Argentine Serie A (spring) and the South American Cup Winners' Cup for Boca Juniors, and captained the Argentine Olympic team in the men's football competition at the Beijing Olympics, successfully defending the title. Naturally, he also became the Argentine Footballer of the Year that year, winning the award for the third time after 2000 and 2001.
Riquelme
In March 2009 , Riquelme announced his withdrawal from the Argentine national team due to a conflict with Maradona, then the head coach of the Argentine national team.
Riquelme
In July 2014, Riquelme returned to the Argentine Youth Football Club as a free agent in the second division of Argentine football. In the 2014 season, Riquelme made 15 appearances for Argentine youth in the second division of Argentine football, scoring three goals and providing three assists, helping the Argentine youth to advance to the Argentine Primera División after finishing third.
In January 2015, Riquelme officially announced his retirement.
In November 2019, Riquelme successfully joined Boca Juniors and became the club's vice-president.
Riquelme
Riquelme 's wife is Anabella, and the two have three children. After a two-year affair with model Jessica Toscanini, Riquelme and Anabella's marriage began to break down, and in 2008, Anabella and Riquelme officially divorced.