for all 'em haters who think the man is finished, my boy Juan Roman Riquelme _{my personal best midfielder in the world}  still got game - last night Boca jnrs beat Gremio 3 - 0 in the first leg of the Copa libertadores final.
Riquelme scored his side's second of the night with scorching drive from about 30 meters from a free-kick. he's due back in Villareal next season, now am go'nna watch La liga much more !

WHy did he go to Boca Juniors in the first place, i used to like him as a player but taking 5 steps backwards aint a very bold statement, quite a lot of clubs wanted him a few seasons back, all for him to stay at Villareal and then go on loan to Boca Juniors, if scoring against weaker opposition in the Argentine league is his idea of progress then i sorry for what is left of his career

he is a good midfielder .

i love the fact that he missed that spot kick last season

hey chuckdee4, ever heard of "taking a breather" - thats exactly what this guy's doing & its gonna be the better for him. look at Becks now & thats the kinda therapy we're suggesting for Frank Lamps too !

& boy, that was the final of the COPA LIBERTADORES - of which he could wound up being MVP; not some 5-a-side beach  tourney !

The dude still got game only he figured he couldnt take the pace of the european game and decided to go back home where his slow style would be a lot more appreciated,

@muki
I remain forever grateful to him for missing that penalty

Riquelme will be great in England. There are so incapable of holding the ball that any body with such talents will succeed in England.

I would suggest Newcatle.

About the missed pen. Look what good it did Arsenal in the Final.

doyin13:

About the missed pen. Look what good it did Arsenal in the Final. 

mind your bizness

Who remembers d Riquelme vs Pirlo arguments this time last year?

Pirlo 4 where Baba Riquelme dey - that wan no be yarn nah ! Riquelme is head and shoulders above Pirlo and in fact, 80% of all the shitty so-called "star" midfielders we've got running around nowadays !

of course Pirlo is by far a better player than Riquelme

even those that like quoting statistics and figures can attest to this

abeg leave those numbers wey people dey count evrytime - we dey talk of ability. wether ball dey your body pass the other man!

Id rather have Pirlo, Riquelme is way too slow for my liking its almost like he plays with a grudge like hes being forced

thats his style abeg leave - you saw what happened to Argetina when they took him out in the game against Germany. its almost as if his presence on the field holds all spell-bound c'os everybody have to play the at his pace even the opposition - now that's what i call INFLUENCE !

doyin13:

Riquelme will be great in England. There are so incapable of holding the ball that any body with such talents will succeed in England.

I would suggest Newcatle.

About the missed pen. Look what good it did Arsenal in the Final.

Says who, Riquelme would be nothing in England, the land where defenders no go let u turn easily, the land of fast football, he will have no time to show his skills, why do u think Veron was so crap for united. Riquelme is a class player but too slow for my liking and his unwillingness to alter his game to suit the European style won't help[

quote author=RuuDie link=topic=59702.msg1202314#msg1202314 date=1181832561]
hey chuckdee4, ever heard of "taking a breather" - thats exactly what this guy's doing & its going to be the better for him. look at Becks now & thats the kind of therapy we're suggesting for Frank Lamps too !

& boy, that was the final of the COPA LIBERTADORES - of which he could wound up being MVP; not some 5-a-side beach tourney !
[quote][/quote]

Taking a breather, he's still playing football, as skillful as he is, he just wasn't man enough to take Europe by the balls, time is not on his side u know and him taking a breather is just a waste of 1 year in his career. I agree Lampard does need a breather but a breather will not make a crap player like Lampard any good . Once a crap player, always a crap player

in as much as we agree on a lot of stuff like "FRANK LAMPARD SUCKS"; i beg to disagree with you about Riquelme not fitting into the English game - i think he'd do just good with a decent side !

as for him chickening out, it was just a loan deal; he's g'onna be back in European next season with Villareal, so watch out !

More like what they prescribed 4 Adriano to get back his form? Pirlo has been on top of his game 4 years unend now, Riquelme was even bettered by him at d WC, moreso he would remind u of Crapista in Premiership . .

Ruddie, maybe La Liga or Serie A but the Premiership is no place for a painfully skillful player like Riquelme and i still insist on calling him chicken, if the heat in Europe was too hot for him what should players like Henry, Viera, Lampard, Terry who play almost every game for their clubs be saying, he's just another lazy south American who can't cut it in Europe so he looks to run rather than fight, reminds me of Ariel Ortega, a beauty on the ball but sulked like mad if things didn't go his way

Riquelme in the premiership , he would be a massive flop

well, to the best of my knowledge, Riquelme had kwanta with the coach and as we
know that two Oga can't be in the same ship, Riquelme had to be shipped out on loan.

Riquelme Vs. Pirlo? Too close to call. I love the guy style like anything. He is a marvelous playmaker to me. He was at his best at the WC in Germany. Argentina lost when that yeye
coach replace am.

chuckdee, was Veron crap for United? I don't think so. The only issue with him was that he
came when he was NOT needed. Keano was running the show then and Veron, being a
superstar couldn't be benched, so he was just accomodated in the team. He was played out
of position most times and that even affected the balance of our team in the years he was
with us

Omoh! Riquelme is a don! Forget that he's not playing in one of those mega leagues right now, Like my man said, look what happened when he was removed against Germany in d world-cup. Even Ballack, d man who dictated d pace of the Bundesliga was on leave while Riquelme was on,
The guy is good o! Make no mistake

I don't know how long people have been following Riquelme but for me, I have dreamt of him been the best in the world. He is very talented, no nonsense and very tactical and disciplined. Injury took him out of Villar and he's not in good terms with the coach that why he was loaned to Boca Juniors, another great team and he performed greatly. Please don't compare south American teams with any team in Europe, they are far far better, the problem their is money. Why is it that Boca will always win Barca and other European teams in WORLD CLUB CUP? Infact football orginated from South America if u remember.

For me, he is a rare gem and a good player.

kitaun:

Pirlo has been on top of his game 4 years unend now

How about Pirlo going to play a couple of seasons at Villareal; lets see how much game he's got !

A-40:

Riquelme in the premiership , he would be a massive flop

chuckdee4:

Ruddie, maybe La Liga or Serie A but the Premiership is no place for a painfully skillful player like Riquelme and i still insist on calling him chicken, if the heat in Europe was too hot for him what should players like Henry, Viera, Lampard, Terry who play almost every game for their clubs be saying, he's just another lazy south American who can't cut it in Europe so he looks to run rather than fight, reminds me of Ariel Ortega, a beauty on the ball but sulked like mad if things didn't go his way

everybody sulks when things don't go their way - you should know better !
Veron left Inter and went back to Argentina; now he's back in the national team does that make him "chicken"

guys if you've ever watched Riquelme play; you wouldn't be saying he can't play in the premiership - its like saying Zidane would never make it if he'd played in the premier ligue.
players of Riquelme's quality are rare - they do not play to the dictates of the game rather they dictate the play of the game - giddit !

@ Ruddie,

I don't think there's a better Midfielder than Roman Riquelme in the whole world.
He epitomises skills, vision and subliminal touches.
How can u even compare Pirlo to Riquelme?
Ship Pirlo to Villareal and lets see how he performs OR ship RIQUELME to AC Milan and letz see his input.

The way RIQUELME strings passes on the pitch makes me go wow.
Every move is initiated through him and he is a master at what he does.
Premiership managers are either blind or myopic not to make moves in bringing RIQUELME to England.
Who would u rather have in ur team?
Fat Frank Lampard or Roman Riquelme?
Carrick or Riquelme?
Fabregas or Riquelme?
Mascherano or Riquelme?

Me thinks RIQUELME beats 'em HANDS DOWN!!!!!!!!!!

young men,

before u all go gaga about your Riquelme . . . .

I see no reason why you would compare a Pirlo that has seen it all, won it all, faster and sharper than what did u say his name is again, oh is it Riquelme again?

even at the world cup where u could comfortably place a comparison, Pirlo was adjudged best player on the field for 3 different matches, completed more passes, more assists et all than ur Riquelme

granted that Riquelme is a top dog, but when its about Pirlo . . . .abeg make una stop that joke, the guy has paid his dues playing consistently well for the most consistent team in European footie

besides why compare "Mr Big Game Bottler" to those players in the Prem. Granted he is far more skillful than all mentioned, but i doubt he would last in the Prem.

He couldn't hack it there playing under constant pressure that those aforementioned midfielders go through.

Spain and his home league suit his style, since they are far slower in their approach play, compared to a league which runs at 100 mph pace or bone crunching leagues like Italy or Germany.

Like Kitaun said, Pirlo has been there and done that, Riquelme can only dream of getting the medal and accolades Pirlo has gotten both for club and Country (i do remember Riquelme didn't really light the Nou camp on fire when he played there, but i guess a lot of that had to do with Van Gaal not giving him a chance).

The Guy is good no doubt, but he ain't that good as compared to others like Zidane or Pirlo

GOONER 89

why do folks always w'anna look at the medals you've won or the no. of trophys in your cabinet when comparing players ? if we were talking personal memorabilia, i'd understand . . . but when you say, he's won world cup . . . he's won champions ligue and this and that; did he win that title alone ? those are team titles and no one man can lay claim to 'em . . . if he wins s golden ball or boot, we can associate that to him directly.

yes, Riquelme has never won any major titles that Pirlo has won but individually, who is the more talented . . . who is more skillful . . . who is the better passer of the ball etc. thats the crux of the matter and not how many cups you have or have not won!

okay, now . . . "the phenom", Ronaldo has not won the champs ligue title does that make Benni McCarthy, Pippo Inzaghi, Andrei Samuel Eto'o or Djibril Cisse etc. (all champs ligue winner) better than him ?

kitaun:

young men,

before u all go gaga about your Riquelme . . . .

I see no reason why you would compare a Pirlo that has seen it all, won it all, faster and sharper than what did u say his name is again, oh is it Riquelme again?

even at the world cup where u could comfortably place a comparison, Pirlo was adjudged best player on the field for 3 different matches, completed more passes, more assists et all than your Riquelme

granted that Riquelme is a top dog, but when its about Pirlo . . . .abeg make una stop that joke, the guy has paid his dues playing consistently well for the most consistent team in European footie

Word!!

Oh . . . Pirlo was adjudged MVP in 3 matches and that makes him better . . . for your info. Riquelme also got MVP for all the games Argentina played up until they lost to Germany . . .
in the last, Champs ligue Villareal starred . . . he was MVP for like 90% of all the games they played then. i'm not even g'onna start counting 'em.
in the just concluded COPA, he's the highest goal scorer . . . ala' the Libertadores, so what ?

Jackal:

You should know better as a soccer-buff.
How can u judge Tevez's performance based on what happened in a shitty club like West Ham?
How may matches did he feature in until the closing hour of the Premiership last season when the fans forced Curbishley to play him?
What was Wazza's input at Everton when he had shitty teammates? What is his input now @ Man Utd with brilliant players like Giggs, Scholes and Ronaldo?
How many goals do u think Drogba or Henry will score if they play for a shitty team like West Ham or Sheffield United?
I tell u, Henry will be happy to score 10 league goals in a season as the team's total goals might not even exceed 30.

Javier Mascherano is another classic example.
He was crap at West Ham because he had mediocre team mates who cannot understand his level of football brilliance.
Did u notice the transformation when he joined Liverpool?
Remember how he single-handely destroyed Chelsea's midfield machine in Anfield in the Champions league semis?
That is what playing in a good team can do for players with natural ability.
There's no way in HELL Tevez won't be a Zeus if he plays with Ronaldo, Rooney, Scholes and Giggs at Man Utd.
Its like disobeying the laws of nature . . . . . . . .Tevez will definitely blaze the league if he joins Man Utd.

https://www.nairaland.com/nigeria?action=post;topic=17491.5824;num_replies=5837#top

Lets equate this line of argument to our l'il Riquelme vs Pirlo jaw-jaw!