South America

Nick Dorrington

"We did not agree on much. We do not have the same principles. As he's long as he is coach of the team, we cannot work together” – Juan Roman Riquelme, talking of Argentina coach Diego Maradona, as he sensationally quit the national team during a television interview.

Maradona was quick to offer Riquelme the opportunity to reverse his decision before Argentina’s two upcoming World Cup Qualifiers, but it looks like the Boca Juniors playmaker has made up his mind. "It hurts me in my soul to do this, but hopefully everything will turn out well for the team and they can qualify for the World Cup without me."

Riquelme has always divided media opinion in Argentina and the reaction to his decision has been predictably varied. ESPN Deportes columnist Mariano Hamilton described it as “pathetic” to see two men “who have given the country such success,” get involved in such a public spat. Various retired players came out of the woodwork to denounce Riquelme for abandoning his country, while AFA president Julio Grondona indicated that he was “hurt, but not surprised” to see the 30-year old quit.

It is not the first time that Riquelme has declared his retirement from international football. The first time was in August of 2006, just one game into Alfio Basile’s reign as national team coach. He blamed media criticism following the 2006 World Cup for his mother’s poor state of health, and decided that foregoing the intense spotlight of international football would be the best way forward for him and his family.

It was a believable excuse, and one that was unlikely to be questioned. However, it was hard to think that his mother’s health was the only reason behind the decision.

Riquelme has always been a player who has thrived on knowing that he is the focal point of a side and has the full trust of his coach. His success with Villarreal in Spain was built upon him being the star attraction – responsibility that he was more than happy to take on. He led a side that first tasted Spanish top-flight football in 1998 to two top four finishes and a Champions League semi-final in his four years at El Madrigal.

Up until the end of the 2005/06 season, Riquelme had never started a Villarreal game on the substitutes bench. He either deemed himself fit enough to play or decided he wasn’t quite up to it. Coach Manuel Pellegrini was willing to put up with Riquelme’s idiosyncrasies while the team was successful, but soon decided that a tactical change was needed so his side didn’t become over-reliant on the unpredictable playmaker.

A move to a 4-2-2-2 formation stripped Riquelme of the sole creative responsibility he had previously enjoyed and with his role diminished, he quickly became restless. An abject performance in Villarreal’s 4-1 defeat by Osasuna in December of 2006 proved to be the final straw and Riquelme was back in Argentina with Boca by the end of January – Pellegrini and the Villarreal directors no longer willing to cater to his every need.

At international level, it was Jose Pekerman, coach of the 2006 World Cup side, who showed the necessary belief in Riquelme to make him the central focus of the national team during his reign. Pekerman had been the coach Argentina’s World Youth Cup winning side in 1997 – a team Riquelme was a part of – and the pair enjoyed an excellent relationship, Riquelme flourishing under his command. When Pekerman left following the 2006 World Cup, Riquelme couldn’t be certain that Basile would have the same trust in his ability.

At the time, he said that his decision to retire was “definitive,” but once he returned to his best form – on loan at Boca following the strained conclusion to his time at Villarreal – it wasn’t long before he was back in the international fold. Basile reached out to him, and Riquelme responded by performing excellently as Argentina played the best football of the 2007 Copa America, despite losing to Brazil in the final.

Basile even showed faith in Riquelme when he went six months without club football in the second half of 2007 before Boca finally agreed a permanent deal with Villarreal. While Riquelme often repaid the faith shown in him, his form dipped in the latter stages of Basile’s reign, and the coach’s decision to stick with the playmaker has, in many quarters, been attributed to his downfall.

And so, with Maradona taking charge of the national team, the question on everyone’s lips was whether Riquelme would have such a central role to play under his command. Early signs were good, as the new coach asserted that "one of Riquelme or Verón must start, as they can take charge of the team, issue orders and take on the role of on-field coach.”

However, his comments last Thursday during an interview on TycSports indicated that he was expecting a little more from Riquelme if he was to be a starter in his national team. ''I need to see him going past a tackle or two, and then combining with the strikers,'' Maradona asserted, going on to explain that he wanted Riquelme to be quicker in his play, in order to be decisive “in the last twenty yards.”

Maradona may have intended his words to be a motivator for Riquelme to prove him wrong in the run-up to the next round of World Cup qualifiers. The former Villarreal man though clearly took them as a criticism of his style of play, a slight against what it is that makes him, on his day, one of the most watch-able footballers in the world.

Unfortunately, his decision to quit the international scene means that the majority of the worldwide audience will probably never again get to see him in action. Maradona and the Argentina national team may well move on to better things, but there has to be a little sadness in every football purist to know that Riquelme will never again grace the world stage with his mercurial talent.