Riquelme-The Hero of La Bombonera

One of the best ever playmakers in the World, Juan Roman Riquelme decided to call it quits on his career in the Argentine national team. This came as a result of the clash of opinion with Argentina boss Diego Armando Maradona. The story becomes even more interesting when you take into account the fact that these players are the true idols of Boca Juniors fans and that La Doce have decided to stand by Riquelme.

Juan Roman Riquelme is one of the most creative players in the history of football and his admirers are regretting the fact that he failed to make a breakthrough in Europe. The attacking midfielder started his career at the La Bombonera outfit and he became a real star in South America before transferring to Barcelona. He played just one season for the Catalans even though he had been expected to reach the stars with Barca. However, he was constantly played out of position and that is the only reason why he failed to show all his potential. Riquelme is what we call The 10 and he can only play behind the two strikers, where he can really make wonders. He has an outstanding vision and eye for the pass and is able to create a number of clear-cut chances for his forwards in every single match. However, play him in any other position and he is lost. That is something Barca’s coaching staff never really comprehended but I am confident that they are regretting for never giving him a real chance.

Riquelme blossomed when he was loaned to Villarreal and he managed to lead the small club to the Champions League semi-finals with the series of impressive performances. Still, after the clash with the club management he was dropped from the squad and Boca Juniors took the chance to get their hero back to the club on a five-month loan, during which he helped Boca win the Copa Libertadores title in 2007. He returned to Villarreal for the start to the next season but he still found himself in the reserves and he didn’t even play a single game for Villarreal that season. Nevertheless, that did not stop him from being a regular in the national team, where he scored a couple of very important goals for Argentina. Even though he was offered piles of cash from Tottenham, Atletico Madrid and other European clubs, Roman decided to take a pay cut and return to Boca, his second home. He showed that money was not the only motive and that there are still players who just love playing football. Boca fans were delighted to have him back and he continued to enchant them with dazzling displays.

The fans even voted him the best ever Boca Juniors’ player, with Diego Armando Maradona coming second. In the meantime, Maradona become the coach of the national team, while Roman continued to impress playing for both club and the country. Nobody could even imagine that these two Boca’s heroes would clash, especially as Maradona stated upon being appointed Argentine coach, that he saw Riquelme as one of the leaders of the national team. Nonetheless, Riquelme has recently stated that he would never play for the national team as long as Maradona was the coach, disappointed of the treatment he had received from El Pibe. Roman heard that he wasn’t playing against France on the radio and that was certainly a big blow, while he also didn’t like the way Maradona spoke about his performances on television. The hero of La Bombonera is definitely the man with principles and he will not change his mind.

I don’t want to take any sides but I am sure that the national team will not be the same without Riquelme, one of the rare players who can make you stand and applaud him even if he plays against your favourite team. Boca fans are probably one of the luckiest people in the World as they can watch The Magician week in week out. It is no wonder that they have supported Riquelme in this recent clash but all the football fans should be sad as the World Cup in South Africa will be deprived of one true artist.

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