Juan Román Riquelme

Juan Román Riquelme

Riquelme in training with Boca
Personal information
Full name	Juan Román Riquelme
Date of birth	June 24, 1978 (1978-06-24)
Place of birth	San Fernando, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Attacking midfielder
Club information
Current club	Boca Juniors
Number	10
Youth career
	Argentinos Juniors
1995–2000	Boca Juniors
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–2002	Boca Juniors	151	(38)
2002–2005	Barcelona	30	(3)
2003–2005	→ Villarreal (loan)	68	(23)
2005–2008	Villarreal	127	(61)
2007–2008	→ Boca Juniors (loan)	26	(10)
2008–	Boca Juniors	147	(27)
National team
1996–2008	Argentina U23
1997	Argentina U20	7	(4)
1997–	Argentina	51	(17)
Honours Competitor for Argentina Men's Football Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing Team Competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15:11, 25 June 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals).

Juan Román Riquelme (born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Boca Juniors as an attacking midfielder.

A playmaker, he combines passing, vision and skills with goalscoring ability from midfield. He spent most of his career with Boca Juniors, but also had a significant spell in Spain with Villarreal. He was named the Argentine Footballer of the Year four times.

A longtime Argentine international, Riquelme represented the nation at the 2006 World Cup and two Copa América tournaments.

Club career

Early years / Boca Juniors

Born in San Fernando, Buenos Aires, Riquelme was born into a family of ten in poverty, and grew up in Don Torcuato. Boca Juniors and Club Atlético River Plate spotted him when he was a youth player for Argentinos Juniors, and he chose to move to the former in 1995 for US$800,000, as he had been a fan of the club since childhood.

On 10 November 1996, aged 18, Riquelme made his Primera División debut, in a 2–0 win against Unión de Santa Fe. Two weeks later, he scored his first senior goal, in a 6–0 triumph over Club Atlético Huracán.

Barcelona

In late November 2002, after seven successful seasons with Boca Juniors which brought him and the club six major titles, including the Intercontinental Cup and the Copa Libertadores in 2000, Riquelme was transferred to FC Barcelona in Spain, for a reported €11 million. Shortly before his departure, his brother, Cristian, was kidnapped: Riquelme negotiated for his brother's release and eventually paid the ransom, later stating this was one of the reasons why he chose to leave Boca.

Manager Louis van Gaal described Riquelme as a "political signing" and treated him with indifference. When the Dutch did play him, he did so rarely, deploying him as a winger; thus, the player was unable to find his form during a period of largely substitute appearances, losing his place in the first team. He played mainly - as a starter - in the Spanish Cup, and netted the game's only goal in a rare UEFA Champions League first XI opportunity, at Club Brugge K.V. in the group stage.

Villarreal

When Barcelona signed Ronaldinho, the club exceeded the maximum foreign players that Spanish teams were allowed and so, Riquelme was loaned to fellow La Liga side Villarreal CF for the following two years. There, he played alongside four compatriots, including Rodolfo Arruabarrena and Juan Pablo Sorín.

At the end of 2004–05, Spanish sports newspaper Marca awarded Riquelme with the title of Most Artistic Player, and he also earned a nomination for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year award, after scoring a career-best 15 goals in 35 games as the Valencian finished in a best-ever third position. In an effort to keep hold of him, Villarreal bought up 75% of his rights from Barcelona for up to €8 million, depending on Villarreal performance in the next two seasons, and gave the player a four-year contract; 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 Champions League group, knocking out English giants Manchester United and advancing to the knockout stages in the club's debut season in the main continental competition: because of a clause in the transfer contract with Barcelona, Villarreal had to pay €1 million to the Catalan club; additionally, the contract included another two €1 million clauses; one if Villarreal finished in one of the top four league positions in 2005–06, and an identical clause for the following season.

On 25 April 2006, as Villarreal reached the last-four in the Champions League, in the second leg against Arsenal, Jens Lehmann saved a Riquelme penalty that would have taken the match to extra time. The game ended 0–0 at El Madrigal.

Boca return

Following a tense situation between player, board of directors and manager Manuel Pellegrini, Riquelme accepted a five-month loan back to Boca Juniors, in February 2007. He went on to play a monumental part in Boca's success in the 2007 Libertadores run, scoring against Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield in the round-of-16, Club Libertad in the quarterfinals and Cúcuta Deportivo in the last-four, earning Boca a place in the finals: in the first leg of the final against Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, he netted once, adding two more in the return in an eventual 5–0 aggregate win - he also won the competition's Most Valuable Player award.

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 the team's director Juan Carlos Crespi expressed confidence in the player'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 the 30th that he had 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, being awarded the 16 shirt.

On 26 November 2007, Riquelme reached an agreement with the Spaniards and was allowed to re-join Boca Juniors after the transfer window re-opened in January 2008. He had managed no official appearances for the Yellow Submarine during the first half of 2007–08.

Upon his official return to the club, Riquelme played in the 2008 Clausura and the 2008 Libertadores, with Boca reaching the semi-finals of the latter tournament: in the last group stage game against Venezuela's Maracaibo, he assisted Gabriel Paletta and scored one himself in a 3–0 home win - he netted four times during the competition.

International career

In 1997 Riquelme won the South American Youth Championship and captained the under-20 team to the FIFA U-20 World Cup, on both occasions under coach José Pekerman. He played regularly for the full squad during 1999, but would not be selected for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

Riquelme at the 2006 World Cup

In the 2006 World Cup in Germany, Riquelme played all the games as Argentina were defeated in the quarter-finals by the hosts on penalties after a 1–1 draw after extra-time. He delivered the corner from which Roberto Ayala scored the Albiceleste goal.

Following Pekerman's resignation as head coach, Riquelme was tipped by many to take over the reins of captain, in place of the outgoing Sorín. However, after taking that role in the first 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; at that point, he had played 37 international matches, scoring eight goals.

On 26 June 2007, Riquelme was recalled to the national team by Basile as part of the 23-man squad to represent Argentina in the 2007 Copa América. He scored twice in the second group stage game, against Colombia (4–2 win), adding another brace in the quarter-finals against Peru and assisting Lionel Messi on another (4–0); his fifth came in the semi-finals clash against Mexico (3–0), as the national team went on to lose in the final to Brazil.

On 14 October 2007, Riquelme emerged from three months of inactivity at Villarreal 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, he netted twice again in Argentina's 3–0 victory over Bolivia; in March 2009, however, he decided to retire from the national team after a disagreement with coach Diego Maradona.

Argentina included Riquelme as one of the three permitted overage players in the squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics football tournament in Beijing. He captained the team to the gold medal scoring once, against Brazil in the semi-final.

Former manager Sergio Batista stated he would have liked for Riquelme to return to international play, hinting at the possibility of the player appearing in a friendly with Spain in August 2010, which eventually did not happen.

New Coach Alejandro Sabella has included Riquelme in the Argentina Nationa Team (He has been recalled after a gap of more than 2 years) comprising of local players for their next Brazil tie on 14 and 28 September 2011.

International goals

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

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Argentina			League		Cup		South America		Total
1996–97	Boca Juniors	Primera División	22	4
1997–98			19	0			2	0	21	0
1998–99			37	10			5	0	42	10
1999–00			24	4			16	3	40	7
2000–01			27	10			14	3	41	13
2001–02			22	10			6	0	28	10
Subtotal			151	38			43	6	194	44
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Total
2002–03	Barcelona	La Liga	30	3	1	1	11	2	42	6
2003–04	Villarreal	La Liga	33	8	3	1	12	4	48	13
2004–05			35	15	0	0	11	2	46	17
2005–06			25	12	1	0	12	2	38	14
2006–07			13	1	0	0	-	-	13	1
Subtotal			136	39	5	2	46	10	185	51
Argentina			League		Cup		South America		Total
2007	Boca Juniors	Primera División	15	2			11	8	26	10
2007–08			10	1			10	4	20	5
2008–09			28	5			7	4	35	9
2009–10			24	3			2	0	26	3
2010–11			13	4					13	4
2011–12			14	2	1	0	1	0	16	2
Subtotal			104	17	1	0	31	16	136	33
Country	Argentina		256	55	1	0	74	22	330	77
	Spain		136	39	5	2	46	10	185	51
Total			392	94	6	2	120	32	515	128

International

Argentina national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1997	1	0
1998	0	0
1999	5	0
2000	0	0
2001	0	0
2002	1	0
2003	3	1
2004	6	1
2005	13	6
2006	8	0
2007	9	9
2008	6	0
Total	51	17

Honours

Club

Boca Juniors

• Primera División: 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2008 Apertura, 2011 Apertura
• Intercontinental Cup: 2000
• Copa Libertadores: 2000, 2001, 2007
• Recopa Sudamericana: 2008

Villarreal

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003, 2004

National team

Argentina U-20

• FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1997

Argentina U-23

• Summer Olympics: 2008

Argentina

• Copa América: Runner-up 2007
• FIFA Confederations Cup: Runner-up 2005

Individual

• Argentine Footballer of the Year: 2000, 2001, 2008, 2011
• South American Footballer of the Year: 2001
• La Liga: Don Balón Award (Foreign Player of the Year) 2004–05
• FIFA Confederations Cup: Silver Ball 2005
• Copa Libertadores: Most Valuable Player 2007

External links

• Argentine League statistics (Spanish)
• Riquelme, Juan Román; Historia de Boca (Spanish)
• BDFutbol profile
• Juan Román Riquelme at National-Football-Teams.com
• Juan Román Riquelme – FIFA competition record
• Official website
• Tribute site (Spanish)
• Futbol360 profile (Spanish)
• Guardian Stats Centre