no place like home: the past, present and future of Juan Roman Riquelme

(Picture swiped from ole.com)

The Argentine press had repeatedly asked him whether the final victory would put an end to his spell at Boca, but the midfielder didn’t want to talk about the subject.

“I’m very happy, I’m very happy”, he responded when asked about his plans.

Punditry and fan opinion is sharply divided on Juan Roman Riquelme, especially amongst Argentina supporters. I think it's probably fair to say that the non-Argentina supporting press are far more admiring about him than the actual supporters. I'm one of his many strong admirers, but that doesn't mean I'm blind to his faults. It does mean that I'm willing to give him the credit he is due, and at least try to explain his issues as well.

the story so far

Even when at his peak in Europe, there were those who insisted that Roman's best days were back at Boca Juniors, under Carlos Bianchi, right after the turn of the millennium. The many honours he won during that time, both personal and as part of a great Boca team would seem to back that up. Before a combination of reasons led to Roman leaving for Europe, La Bombonera was his home in every sense, and many would say that he's never found anywhere to equal it since. Having seen him play amazingly for Boca this season, I'm starting to believe that.

However, there seems to be a tendency for current evaluations of his talent to dismiss his European adventures, which is an astounding bit of revisionist history. Leaving aside the Barcelona years, in which he was brought by a crazy president for a coach who didn't want him and didn't play him, I think it's hard to argue that his first 3 seasons at Villarreal were anything but a great success.

In the 02-03 season, Villarreal finished 15th. In 03-04, Roman's first season, they finished 8th in La Liga and went out in the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup, losing to regional rivals Valencia, who eventually won the trophy. The next season they finished an amazing 3rd in La Liga and again reached the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup. (Villarreal qualified for the competition by winning the Intertoto Cup both times.) In the 05-06 season, they gained international recognition by making it into the semi-finals of the Champions League in their first ever season in the competition, eventually going out to Arsenal by a single goal. Their Liga campaign suffered from the priority placed on the European stage, and they finished a reputable 7th.

Least anyone forget, Villarreal were only promoted to the first division in 2000. Prior to that, the club spent all of its time - bar one season - in the lower divisions. The town in which the club is based has a population of less than 50,000. The club's upturn in fortunes came when Fernando Roig decided to invest in the club, bringing in a succession of South American players who proved successful. While Roman was not the only player responsible for Villarreal's rise, he was certainly widely acknowledged as the most important.

Why did I bore you with the above two paragraphs, you ask. Because it's a self-contained argument against the statement that Roman came running back to Argentina because he couldn't cut it in Europe. Wrong. The European press spent the 05-06 season practically salivating over him and expressing surprise that he wasn't more highly rated. I'll come back this point later. For now, we continue with the story.

Various injury-related and other, less tangible problems plagued Roman as the 06-07 season opened, and led to both a loss of form on the pitch and a falling out with the coach off it. Eventually, they came to the decision to off-load him, and Boca came in eagerly for their prodigal son in the January transfer market with a loan deal. There were some initial struggles, but it seems that La Bombonera does indeed suit him in every way, and eventually Roman began to show some of the form they still remembered from his last stay. The rest, as they say, is history.

MVP of the final series and second highest scorer of the Copa Libertadores, I don't think anyone would protest the statement that he was the player of the tournament. Roman showed all his usual talent in controlling the tempo of a game, finding a killer pass and scored some fantastic goals. His deadballs were as deadly as ever. For those of us who were saddened by his downward spiral in the 06-07 season and heartbroken by his departure from Villarreal, the sight of him playing so well again is a great comfort.

However, there are fresh questions over Roman's future. I'll discuss his recall to the national team in another post, but on the club front this is a time of instability for him. Villarreal have made it clear that they don't want him back, while being open to amiable negotiations of some kind from interested clubs. Boca have consistently said that they can't afford him for more than the six months he's already been there, but now that the reunion has been so successful, there are rumours that he wants to stay and will try to swing negotiations in that direction. Otherwise, there will no doubt be European clubs interested in trying to convert Roman's particular brand of magic to their own use.

understanding Riquelme

In the previous section, I've recapped Roman's club career so far using facts and statistics. This section is based on my own conjecture, which while based on fact is still only speculation, and definitely not meant in anything other than the most admiring manner.

Many of the positive profiles of Roman that I've read in the press go into his rather unique personality. He possesses a type of reticence that is fairly rare amongst footballers, especially attacking, showman-type players who have teams built around them. The only two other flair players I can think of who have similar personalities which causes difficulties for them professionally are Sevilla's Jesus Navas and Barcelona's Leo Messi. The former has anxiety attacks and chronic homesickness to the extent that he has walked out on training camps within Spain because they were too far away from Seville. (So take any transfer speculation surrounding him with a pinch of salt.) The latter would seem to have no problems in his club career, but his extremely reserved nature complicated his integration into the Argentinean national team, especially while at the 2006 World Cup.

Roman suffers from what might be termed a sensitive and depressive personality where traumatic events - like missing the penalty that would have sent Villarreal into the Champions League final and Argentina's exit from Germany 2006, along with the associated criticism of him within the press whenever he plays for the national team - affect his mood and by extension, his form. (If you read the Argentinean press, this is nothing new.) He can only play well when he feels comfortable and happy. When Villarreal were accomodating of him and built their team around him, he was fine there. But the aftementioned penalty incident soured that.

Something about being at Boca seems to curb the depressiveness, at least at the moment. Therefore, I can only hope that he stays there. It's so good to see him smiling and playing his best football again. Long may it continue.

A heavy-hearted goodbye: Juan Roman Riquelme leaves La Liga

For those who have read my previous writing on Argentina before, my reaction to the news that Juan Roman Riquelme the depressive genius had finally given up on life in the Spanish league and returned to Argentina is probably quite predictable. I'm heartbroken, just a bit.

The terms of the deal, in black and white, are these: Boca Juniors, who were Roman's benefactor (and he theirs) before Villarreal, have taken him on a five-month loan.

I don't think he'll be back, not in any meaningful sense. His fairytale in European football ended the moment he missed that penalty. Yes, that damned penalty in the semi-final against Arsenal last season. That damned penalty, taken by a man with the look of someone damned in his eyes, saved by Jens Lehmann, of all people.

After that, he went to the World Cup and played beautifully, and I, who had merely been an admirer before, fell in love with his slow motion genius - the passes, the set pieces, the intricate scheming, and even the sorrow, which never really seems to leave him.

But Riquelme has always been loved and hated in equal measure, especially in Argentina. That's perfectly understandable - his is not a style to everyone's taste.

In Argentina, the weight of expectation on the shoulders of the number 10 is enormous, far more than a man can bear. Maradona did it, but look at what happened afterwards; Ortega is still battling his demons in public, even today; Aimar has always been brilliant but too brittle, with his countless setbacks and wildly inconsistent form; and then there's Riquelme, whose performances are dependent on mood, and who has always been moody.

That has proven his downfall at Villarreal, a club where his stay has been highly successful for both parties. Villarreal would not have finished third in La Liga or gotten into the semi-finals of the Champions League without him, and he would not have enjoyed a career revival without the support and trust he had at the club. He once won awards for best foreign player, most artistic player - and this in a league with Ronaldinho and (at the time) Zizou. But it's all over now.

Perhaps I'm being pessimistic. Perhaps Roman will find himself again, back at his old stomping ground, where some say he played his best football ever at the turn of the century. But I don't think he'll come back.

That's enough wailing and garment-rending from me. Just to conclude, I wanted to quote some passages from articles about Riquelme. He was always a pundits' favourite, but these passages encompass both the positive and the negative sides of his game, and I thought that was fitting.

Former Real Madrid and Argentina striker Jorge Valdano:

A friend of mine calls him "tollbooth" because when the ball passes through him it has to stop. It's a jibe I don't subscribe to but it helps to define him in football terms. The rhythm and direction of play will depend, to a great degree, on Riquelme's level of inspiration. And Riquelme is not always inspired.

Argentinean football journalist Marcela Mora y Araujo

[Vs Serbia and Montenegro] Riquelme was the axis, constant and steady like the beat of Tula's drum, calmly setting the pace, playing like only he can.

For him football is the same always and everywhere. He plays the way he plays and if you don't like it, that's not his problem.

Jason Cowley in the Guardian:

Very occasionally a player emerges in world football who, in style and method, defies categorisation. He is the player who invents his own idiom, plays in a manner and at a tempo that is entirely his own...At this World Cup we have Juan Roman Riquelme of Argentina, the outstanding player of the tournament so far, and the one stylistically most unlike any other here in Germany.

...in many ways, he is the closest thing football has to a quarterback, the most influential and glamorous position in American sport. The quarterback is the creator, the player who invents the game as he goes along. If it means passing back or sideways, in order to progress, so be it. Because what Riquelme has, above all else, is patience...

Sid Lowe in the Guardian:

Riquelme is a difficult, introverted character, porcupine-prickly, a man who needs constant reassurance and has to live entirely on his own terms, who utterly lacks the normal trappings of vanity but is vain nonetheless. Villarreal knew that and created the perfect environment for him.

...it has become impossible to exaggerate his importance, his centrality to Villarreal. He may not run defences ragged like Maradona but he does run games. In his own way he is as dominant. [In the 04-05 season] Riquelme picked up 13 man-of-the-match awards, scored 14 goals and provided 15 assists, more than any other player in the top flight.

"We play to Riquelme the way we played to Zinedine Zidane at Juventus," says Alessio Tacchinardi. "Whenever we have the ball we just give it to him," adds Senna, while Arruabarrena rates him as one of the five finest players in the world. "Román," he says, "carries the team on his shoulders."

Goodbye, Roman. I still like the Yellow Submarines, but it won't be the same without you.

making fun of transfer rumours

I have a stated policy of not mentioning ridiculous transfer rumours, but there's no harm in making fun of the most insane ones. So here's my attempt at dissecting two bits of transfer speculation surrounding Barcelona.

I'll start with the persistent reports linking Boca Juniors striker and occasional Argentinean international Rodrigo Palacio with Barcelona. The strongest basis for these claims seems to be the fact that a couple of Barca technical directors were invited to watch the derby between River Plate and Boca Juniors. What some reporters seem to have missed is the fact that those directors were invited by River. On top of that, reports of meetings between Barca president Laporta and Boca suits have yet to be proven.

This next bit is the part I really want to make fun of, though. One report I read - I won't say which website produced this gem of investigative reporting - claimed that Barca were looking to sign Palacio to eventually replace Deco. This would make slightly more sense if Palacio was anything like a playmaker, which as you'll have noticed in the last paragraph, he is definitely not.

So that's that. Now, the Ronaldinho to AC Milan rumours are slightly more tricky. Maybe he will go there someday - I can't see why, but people sometimes make decisions only they understand. The way the sporting media have gone about trying to play up this 'transfer' is comical, to say the least. Their latest ploy seems to be trying to claim Milan owner Silvio Berlusconi having lunch with Ronaldinho's brother and agent is proof that the transfer is on. This would seem damning at first glance, right up until the point one realises that Roberto de Assis also happens to represent Milan's new signing Ricardo Oliveira. Not too strange to see the club chairman having dinner with the agent who represents one of his players, is it?

(Spain-Argentina report to come, when I get my objectivity back.)