Profile: The Riquelme Puzzle
1/20/2005 3:03:00 AM
Goal.com’s Primera Liga expert John Rowlands attempts to unravel the Riquelme riddle…
San Francisco-based Goal.com fan David Agnew e-mailed us to say: “I just read John Rowlands’ excellent and informative piece on Pablo Aimar, and I realized that I might be able to get a similarly informed answer as to the mystery that is Riquelme. Watching him control the Barcelona game at the weekend was no surprise ...what is a surprise is that there isn’t a queue of top clubs (wake up Liverpool...he would be perfect for you!) lining up to make him their playmaker. Villareal went to the Uefa cup final, where they certainly would not have been had it not been for him. I understand that Barcelona, who as you know owns his rights, have the awesome Ronaldhino, who would come in front of anyone in the world right now, so they really don’t need him, but what about everyone else? So what do all these clubs know that I don’t about Riquelme? Is he difficult to manage...are there off the field problems....are teams reluctant to use him because he seems to defend so little, or is that tactically just how Villareal use him? Is there an issue of lack of pace??...but he seems never beaten for pace. I don’t get it...this guy is easily in the top ten in terms of ability in the world, so what gives?
John Rowlands replies…
Can anybody tell me how many players have been labelled ‘the next Maradona’?… answers on a gigantic postcard. I bet you have to sit back and think about that mathematical conundrum of a question.
The great Diego only stopped playing in the mid/late nineties, yet already we would have to consciously count how many pretenders there have been to his throne in order to correctly answer the above. Who was the first? Ah yes, Ariel Ortega I believe, poor sucker. He was always going to fail to live up to expectations in the eyes of the media after that ridiculous curse. Since then we’ve had Pablo Aimar, Andres D’Alessandro and now Carlos Tevez (there are probably more, but you get the point). It’s just typical really. It took ages for a genius like Diego Maradona to come on the scene, and then four come along at once!
Ok, maybe not. But Juan Roman Riquelme was one of this merry band of media-labelled ‘second comings’ (apparently this is because these guys, like Maradona, tend to wear the number 10 jersey…but the likes of big John Hartson wear it too, so what does that mean!), and was arguably the most hyped of them all.
Riquelme was considered to be easily the best player in South America and one of the most gifted on the planet, destined for a glittering career in European football where his enormous potential would make the world sit up and appreciate what Boca Junior’s fans had been raving about, but at Barca it never happened. Now on a two year sabbatical at Villarreal, we are starting to see the Riquelme we had expected.
The South American creative is magnificent on his day – such days were immensely rare at Camp Nou, but quite common at El Madrigal. So why is this? His failure in Catalynia encapsulates the poor on-field and off-field management of the Blaugrana, in the years immediately after the departure of Van Gaal in 2000. A variety of often-dreadful acquisitions were made with numerous players inadequately utilised, failing to perform due to team-imbalance and tactical ineptitude. Unfortunately for Riquelme, he was the most notable of many arrivals during the club’s laughing stock years at the dawn of the new century, and took the brunt of the criticism during his one forgettable season.
There are few footballing reasons that clearly underline why he failed to make the desired impact at Camp Nou. It could be considered a sad indictment of the state of the Blaugrana when he arrived, but he was supposed to be the great redeemer. His overall skill is unquestionable. His command of the ball and awareness of team mates and the game is outstanding. He is always looking for the killer pass – one thing he regularly missed at Barca, incredibly, were players to pass the ball to. He is by no means a forward, rather a quintessential playmaker, but the team must be shaped around him to maximise his effect – it is often very much a case of ‘give the ball to Riquelme’ - let him dictate the game and make the opposition pay. Villarreal have essentially adopted this approach which is arguably something a much bigger, star-studded team is less likely to do but, nevertheless, his current club seem to have quite easily succeeded where Barcelona so dismally failed - all after spending millions of pounds on the Argentine.
True, he does not track back, which is something many coaches find difficult to tolerate for a midfielder, no matter how potent a weapon in attack he may be, but you must ignore the irrelevant and boorish comments on his lack of pace. Who the hell cares? Sure, he would be better if he was lightning fast, so would anybody. Riquelme’s game is not based on physical speed. It is based, quite naturally, on his assets - mental speed. His vision and pace of thought are matched only by his passing ability, which is virtually unrivalled. Altogether it makes him an extremely dangerous weapon and a great addition to any team’s arsenal.
It’s nice to see that he has found his niche with a manager and a club that recognises his undoubted world-class talent. He could conceivably stay on at Villarreal (the tiny club have a mysterious ability to attract, pay and hold on to high calibre, international players with relative ease) but you would be surprised if a major European club does not come knocking on Barca’s door in June. It is difficult to see him fitting in to Rijkaard’s all action, ultra-mobile set up at Camp Nou, and they will be tempted to cash-in on what is clearly a considerable financial asset, which in truth is only good news for the Argentine. Watch this space.
John Rowlands - goal.com
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