Juan roman riquelme

Juan Román Riquelme (San Fernando, June 24, 1978) is an Argentine former soccer player, and current vice president and sports director of Club Atlético Boca Juniors. An emblem of the "classic number 10", Riquelme stood out as one of the best Argentine players of all time and the most acclaimed midfielder of his generation, and one of the last benchmarks of his position. In addition, he is widely named as the best player of the history of Boca Juniors and one of its most important figures, due to his performance for 13 seasons (1996-2014) at the club, in which he managed to win three Copa Libertadores de América and one Intercontinental Cup, among others Titles.

He was trained in the youth divisions of Argentinos Juniors, to later debut at Boca Juniors in 1996. In the rivera team, he spent six seasons where he lived through one of the club's most glorious eras, winning three local titles (Apertura 1998, Opening 2000, Closing 1999) and three international (Copas Libertadores 2000, 2001 and Intercontinental Cup 2000). He was an important figure among all those championships, mainly promoted by his coach and mentor Carlos Bianchi. In 2002, he was transferred to Barcelona, where he only stayed one season due to his problems with the team's coach at the time, Louis van Gaal. He went on loan to Villarreal, the Spanish club where he achieved his greatest successes in Europe, reaching a historic third place in the league and the semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. In 2007, he returned to Boca and won his third Copa Libertadores in extraordinary fashion, being the team's top scorer and the best player in the tournament. In his third cycle at the club, he won the 2008 Recopa Sudamericana and the 2008 Apertura and 2011 Apertura tournaments. He ended up leaving in 2014, being the 6th player with the most caps for the club (388), the 7th with the most titles (11) and his 11th all-time top scorer, with 92 goals. He is also the player with the most appearances at La Bombonera, with 206. He retired at Argentinos Juniors, where he reached promotion to the First Division.

At international level, he was part of Argentina's under-20 youth team, with which he won the 1997 U-20 South American Championship and the 1997 Youth World Cup in Malaysia. In 1997 he made his debut in the senior team, where he only played in the 2006 World Cup in Germany, being left out in the quarterfinals. He reached the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup and the 2007 Copa América, losing both against Brazil. In 2008, he was part of the team that won the gold medal at the Beijing Olympics. In 2009 he decided to retire from the national team, losing the chance to play in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

He was distinguished as the soccer player of the year in Argentina four times (2000, 2001, 2008 and 2011) and as the soccer player of the year in South America in 2001. He also won the Don Balón Award for the best foreign player in the Spanish League in the 2004-05 season, and between 2005 and 2007 he was included in the list of nominees for the shortlists for the FIFA World Player of the Year and Ballon d'Or awards. Riquelme was part of the Ideal Team of America six times (1999, 2000, 2001, 2007, 2008 and 2011).

Biography

Juan Román Riquelme was born on June 24, 1978 in a hospital in San Fernando, Buenos Aires province. His birth occurred one day before the Argentine team won the World Cup, the first Argentine conquest and as host of the tournament.

Son of Ernesto ''Cacho'' and María Ana, is the eldest of eleven siblings, of whom he and his brother Cristian dedicated their lives to soccer. Riquelme grew up in a humble and hard-working family, who lived in the village of San Jorge in the town of Don Torcuato. Riquelme studied until seventh grade at the Independencia school n. dedicate himself fully to football.

At the age of six, during halftime of a game where his father's team was playing, Riquelme was spotted by a scout from a Bella Vista team. Jorge Rodríguez approached the Riquelme house and offered him to play for his team, although at first he lied that he was a scout for Ferro, which at that time was one of the best teams in Argentina, in an attempt to persuade him so that he will play against the constant refusals of a shy Román.

Riquelme went to Defensores de Bella Vista, and stood out playing for different associations and neighborhood clubs, such as La Carpita, and Parque, for baby soccer. At that time, one of the subsidiary teams of Argentinos Juniors had an agreement with Lucas Villasenin, player representative, and put Román to the test, who was chosen to stay in the club's lower ranks.

Sports career

Inferiors in Argentinos Juniors (1991-1996)

Riquelme in its passage through the lower categories of Argentinos Juniors (the last player on the right in the row above).

Riquelme's arrival at Argentinos Juniors occurred at the beginning of 1991. Several players who would later go on to professional soccer became Román's teammates, such as Cristian "Lobo" Ledesma or the brothers Esteban and Nicolás Cambiasso. However, in his first years, Riquelme would not have a good time, being relegated to the substitute bench because he had not yet developed his physique. In 1993, his father came to doubt his stay in Argentinos, and wanted to change him to another club, until Carlos Balcaza, coach of the 1980 category and who had already trained previous legends who went through the club's youth teams such as Diego Maradona, Fernando Redondo and Claudio Borghi, changed his position from hook to defensive midfielder, and Riquelme's career took off.

He began to make differences with respect to his peers and at the same time he hit the physical growth: he became more stylized. That 1978 category of Argentines, which was led by striker Emanuel "Suchard" Ruíz, became one of the best youth teams in the world. Riquelme participated in several international tours to which the club was invited, one in Brazil, and two for the under-17s in Gradisca, Italy. The first time, they lost third place to Barcelona, which was led by Carles Puyol. The second time, in 1995, they won the final against Roma with Riquelme being a figure, and the following year they were two-time champions by defeating Borussia Dortmund; Along with his successes with Argentinos, his first calls to the Youth Selections of the national team arrived.

In 1996, Riquelme's rapid rise saw him play nine games for the first-team reserves, although his sale was already imminent. Some businessmen bought his card, and a transfer to River Plate could have occurred, but at that time Riquelme's mother flatly denied him entry to her house if he accepted, due to the fanaticism that his family had for Boca Juniors. During the week, Boca was interested in him because of Carlos Bilardo, the club's coach at the time, and who sent his brother to watch the games of that Reserve where Román played. Finally, in July 1996, Riquelme was acquired by the xeneize club, in an $800,000 operation where five players from those Argentinos Juniors reserves, including Suchard Ruíz and César La Paglia, arrived at the club.

First stage in Boca Juniors (1996-2002)

Early years and consolidation in the first team (1996-1998)

His arrival at the club was a real test of fire that he ended up overcoming without incident, earning the consideration of Bilardo, who prepared his debut in the 1996 Apertura Tournament. Indeed, the official debut of Juan Román Riquelme took place on the 10th of November 1996, when he was made the starter against Club Atlético Unión at La Bombonera. The match ended with a score in favor of Boca, with goals from Fernando Cáceres and Hugo Guerra. From a moment he captivated the Boca bias, to the point that from that very day his last name was chanted throughout the stadium, in what was the first step towards idolatry and a loving relationship between the fans and the player. His performance in that match was the reason for the coach to entrust him with ownership until the end of the tournament. Thirteen days after his debut, Riquelme managed to score his first goal in First Division football, after a pass from Cameroonian striker Alphonse Tchami, converting the sixth goal of a win against Huracán. In this way, Riquelme inaugurated his personal harvest on the scores of each game.

After making his debut, Riquelme began a long journey at Boca Juniors to break a streak without championships since winning the 1992 Apertura Tournament. After closing the year, Bilardo resigned from the club's technical direction due to the poor results obtained in the championship, being temporarily succeeded by Francisco Sá and Roberto Mouzo. Román would convert again on December 18 against Rosario Central, and would start in the game played on Christmas Eve on December 22 against Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy, losing 1 to 0. At the beginning of 1997 Héctor "Bambino& #3. 4; Veira as technical director, and for the Clausura 1997 Román would play his first superclásico at El Monumental in a 3-3 draw, with the particularity of Román playing sidelined. Although Boca managed to show some improvement in his football level, Riquelme's participation decreased as a result of the little confidence that the coach on duty gave him. At the end of the 1996-97 season, Román totaled 22 games and converted 4 goals.

At the beginning of the 97-98 season, the second round of Diego Armando Maradona to Boca took place for the Apertura, which further relegated Román from the team. In February 1998, Parma from Serie A negotiated with Boca to buy Riquelme in a negotiation that was around 14 million dollars, in what was going to be the most expensive sale of an Argentine player to European soccer at that time. Although Boca initially accepted the offer, the pass fell through as both Riquelme and his father flatly refused to leave the country. Instead, Riquelme wanted to negotiate for an improvement in his contract. Mauricio Macri, president of Boca at the time, rejected his negotiation, arguing that his salary was already high. This fact caused Riquelme to publicly declare Macri a "liar" in the media, and a short time later, the president of Boca leaked his contract to Diario Olé to prove that he was right. The second vice president of Boca at that time, Luis Conde, would declare in this regard: & # 34; Riquelme should not demand a higher salary because he did not win anything with the club nor is he Pelé & # 34;. This fact would later be marked as the first media confrontation between the player and the president.

The arrival of Bianchi and the golden age (1998-2001)

In the 1998 Clausura, Boca finished sixth and would mean the end of Veira's cycle, who was replaced first by Carlos María García Cambón (who closed the championship with three consecutive victories) and later by the arrival of Carlos Bianchi, who arrived to the club trying to renew the team in order to obtain the championship that had been denied to Boca for six years. Riquelme had returned from being the figure and champion of the Esperanzas de Toulon Tournament in France with the Argentine U-21 team, and in his first meeting with Bianchi, the coach assured him that he would count on him as the undisputed starter for the team for the next tournament. Riquelme played the 19 days of the 1998 Apertura and became one of the greatest figures in Argentine soccer, forming a great attacking trident along with Martín Palermo and Guillermo Barros Schelotto who emerged as undefeated champion.

The following year Boca again showed a solid team despite some changes in the lineup, either due to injuries or player sales. Riquelme maintained his place and position within the team, and he was noted in a more scoring facet when he won the 1999 Clausura Tournament, scoring 7 goals in 18 games. This two-time championship achieved with Boca, not only enriched his personal record, but also placed him directly in his first major international challenge, the 2000 Copa Libertadores, an instance to which Boca returned after six years. Román finished the 98-99 season with 47 games played, 10 goals, 13 assists and 2 titles, and was included for the first time in the Ideal Team of America.

The year 2000 was Riquelme's consecratory season; While the team finished 7th in the Clausura, the titleholders played in the Copa Libertadores, including Román. After missing the first three games due to injury, his debut came against Blooming at La Bombonera, with a 6-1 victory. Boca advanced to the round of 16 where they faced El Nacional from Ecuador, where Riquelme scored his first goal in the entire league. Cup just two minutes from the start of the game. The team managed to reach the quarterfinals, and had to face River Plate, in a final that was advanced in every way. The media confronted Riquelme with Pablo Aimar, the main star and River's hook, with whom Román had shared a team in the youth team with which they became world champions, and with whom he had a deep friendship. one of the highlights in Riquelme's career. For the first leg at El Monumental, Boca was defeated 2-1, but Román managed to score a goal from a free kick to close the gap. In the return at La Bombonera, Boca came out in a rush to overcome the series, and one of the best games of Riquelme's career took place. First, he gave an assist to Marcelo Delgado at 59'; minutes to open the game, then he scores a penalty goal to lead Boca in the result and in the middle, he hit Mario Yepes from behind, a move that would later be immortalized in the history of Boca and Argentine soccer., baptized later in the media as "the pipe of the century".

After suffering with América de México in the semifinals, where Boca managed to go through after a corner kick from Riquelme and a header from Walter Samuel, the team reached the final. On June 21, at the Morumbí Stadium in São Paulo and after an equality in the overall result of 2-2, Boca beat the current champion Palmeiras in a penalty shootout and won the Copa Libertadores after twenty-two years. The first objective accomplished, for the following semester the goal was to win the Apertura and crown the year with the Intercontinental, against none other than Real Madrid, who had just won the Champions League against Valencia 3-0 and joined the Ball Gold Luis Figo.

Boca played the Intercontinental Cup in Japan on November 28, 2000, where another of the most transcendental moments of Riquelme's career would come; he stood out throughout the game and collaborated with Boca's 2-1 victory, with an assist against Palermo of more than fifty meters. In the last minutes, he held the ball against Claude Makélélé and earned the ovation of the entire stadium Against all odds, Boca became world champion, and earned the attention of Europe. A month later, he would become champion of the Apertura Tournament on the last date, and would achieve a historic triple crown. Román would enter the Ideal Team of America again and win the Silver Olimpia for Argentine Soccer Player of the Year.

For the following year, Boca would once again compete for the Copa Libertadores during the first half of the season, leaving aside the Clausura Tournament, which River Plate would end up winning. The team suffered several important casualties, such as Martín Palermo. However, Riquelme's authority on the field became increasingly dominant and imposing, so that Boca, despite having a more limited team, managed to return to the final. Before, he eliminated Junior with a goal from Riquelme in Barranquilla and Vasco da Gama with a win orchestrated by the hitch. In the semifinals, the team met Palmeiras again, led by Alex, with whom Román had already had a confrontation by the journalistic media as the two great figures of their position on the continent. In the first leg, Boca drew 2-2 with the particularity that Riquelme played false 9, and assisted Antonio Barijho's equalizer with a great individual play where he escaped from three Brazilian defenders. On the return leg at Parque Antártica, Riquelme gave one of his best individual performances of his career, considered by various media and journalists as the best game of his career. He scored a goal where he drove from midfield and evaded two defenders Brazilians to place the ball cornered and dodged the constant aggressive fouls of the Brazilian defenders Galeano and Magrao, who defended him with fists. In a tough game, Boca beat Palmeiras on penalties and went to the final against Cruz Azul Mexican. The overall series ended in a draw and Boca once again became the Libertadores champion in the penalty shootout, where Román scored his. On November 10, 2001, Riquelme attended Diego Maradona's farewell match at La Bombonera, who wore one of his shirts. At the end of the year, he was distinguished as the Soccer Player of the Year in Argentina, the Soccer Player of the Year in South America and at the Ideal Team of America.

Last season in Boca: Problems with the leadership and leaving the club (2001-02)

In the middle of 2001, the economic crisis in Argentina caused several clubs to accumulate debts and problems paying their players. This moved to Boca, where the players began to protest to the leadership their lack of payment of the prizes they had agreed to win the Intercontinental. The leadership offered very few answers, and in the middle Riquelme asked for a contract renewal, since he was still paid as a youth, despite being 23 years old. On March 30, Macri publicly revealed that Riquelme "was sold to Barcelona" for 26 million dollars, a record figure for Argentine soccer, as a solution to pay all the debts Hours later, Riquelme declared that he had not found out about the negotiation. As the situation was under pressure on the player to agree to the transfer and thus satisfy the financial debts of the club, on April 8 in a superclassic at La Bombonera, Riquelme after scoring a penalty goal manifested through a celebration taking the hands to the ear in front of the box where the president was located for fifteen seconds. This celebration would later be baptized as the "Topo Gigio", alluding to the old children's program due to the statement made by the player after he They will ask the reason for your gesture.

Trophies exhibited at the Boca Museum, where Riquelme is seen with the Libertadores Cup won in 2001.

"I shouted the goal for nothing in particular, only my daughter likes Topo Gigio and nothing else."

On November 27, 2001, Boca played again in the Intercontinental Cup against Oliver Kahn's Bayern Munich. Despite the fact that Boca had opportunities to get ahead, the expulsion of Marcelo Delgado for simulation, the constant aggressive fouls on Riquelme and the controversial goal converted by Samuel Kuffour for the Germans reduced any opportunity for Boca to defend the title. This ended up causing Bianchi's departure from the club, which left more bad things than good in the club, the media reported that the tension in the dressing room between the players was growing. In replacement of Bianchi, an old glory from Boca arrived, El "Maestro" Tabárez. For the local tournament, Boca finished 3rd, and in the 2002 Copa Libertadores it was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Olimpia. During the break, both Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid wanted Riquelme, but the latter failed to materialize because the Boca leadership did not allow it. Instead, Boca did accept Barcelona's offer and finally Riquelme closed his cycle in Boca after five years.

Stage in Spain: F. C. Barcelona (2002-2003)

After certain frictions with the Boca board of directors, he was transferred to Fútbol Club Barcelona for a figure of around thirteen million dollars and for five seasons. Riquelme was presented on July 15, 2002, with a reception of 500 fans a few days before on his arrival at the Barcelona airport. After the medical check-up, the photos in the stadium and the press conference, Román had his first meeting with the team's coach, Louis Van Gaal. Years later, in an interview that the Argentine midfielder gave to the program Loose Animals , Riquelme revealed his first conversation with the Dutch coach. Van Gaal took him to a room full of videos of the player during his time at Boca Juniors and told him that he was not going to have him for the rest of the season, alluding that he never asked to sign the ex-Boca, but had asked the left winger Kily González, leader of Valencia C. F.

"These videos are all of you. You are the best player in the world when you have the ball; when you do not have it, we play with one less in the field." Van Gaal's Dialogue to Riquelme on the day of his presentation.

In his first game, a friendly played in Amsterdam, he scored two goals against Parma. His official debut came a few weeks later, against Legia Warsaw in the 3-0 first leg of the pre-Champions Champions League after starting as a substitute, where he scored a great goal. Despite this, he failed to fully accentuate himself in subsequent matches and the fact that Van Gaal made him play as a left winger aroused controversy, which did not suit Román so comfortably, until finally be relegated to the bench. At the end of the first round of the season, the team's results were poor at the local level after being eliminated in the first round of the Copa del Rey by the bottom of the third division and reaping only 6 wins in the League out of 19 games. which produced the farewell of Van Gaal, replaced by Radomir Antić, who also did not have Riquelme. In the summer of 2003, the new board of directors chaired by Joan Laporta and the new "culé" coach, Frank Rijkaard revolutionized the club with the aim of recovering the sporting level. In a critical year for the club in every aspect, Riquelme played thirty La Liga games and scored three goals. On the other hand, in the 2002-03 UEFA Champions League, Barça reached the record of eleven consecutive victories with Riquelme as driver. Despite this, the only defeat during his stay at the club was against Juventus in Turin in the Champions League quarterfinals. Riquelme played eleven games in the competition and scored two goals. The imminent arrival of Ronaldinho caused an excess of non-EU players, and the coaching staff and the board of directors announced to the media that Riquelme was going to be part of the group of non-EU players who was going to leave the club.

Success in Europe: years at Villarreal C.F. (2003-2007)

Riquelme training for the Villareal together with Diego Forlán.

After confirming that Riquelme was not going to continue with the Catalan team for the 2003-04 season, Riquelme and the club began to look for possible solutions; the Argentinian tried to return to Boca, but Barcelona flatly denied it, since Rijkaard proposed loaning him out in Spain so that he could adapt to European football permanently. Both Mallorca F.C. and Real Murcia showed interest in the contract, but the Villarreal, who had already had ex-Boca players such as Martín Palermo and Diego Cagna, ended up signing Riquelme in August 2003. The key factor was that the yellow submarine had qualified for the UEFA Cup last season past and Román exclusively asked to be transferred to a team that competes in Europe.

Riquelme made his official debut on September 2, 2003 for the second date of the League against Real Madrid in a 1-1 draw at the Madrigal. In the "submarine" team he would recover his best level and would adapt perfectly to the little boy Spanish club, taking it to an eighth place in the league championship and to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, where they would be eliminated by Valencia. At the end of the season, Riquelme would obtain his first and only title in his time in Europe by winning the Intertoto Cup against Atlético de Madrid.

"Best" years in Spain: third place in the league, semifinals of the Champions League (2004-06)

In the 2004-05 season, Riquelme formed a remembered attacking duo together with the Uruguayan Diego Forlán, from Manchester United. Tactically led by the Chilean Manuel Pellegrini, Villarreal achieved a historic third position in the league, only behind Barcelona and Real Madrid. Riquelme was awarded the Don Balón Award for the best foreign player in La Liga in that campaign, in addition to being the top assistant in the competition. That year, Riquelme had to return to Barcelona but the Castellón team decided to buy 75% of his pass for four seasons and 7 million euros. During this season, a victory for Villarreal over Barça stands out in which Riquelme was the figure of the game with two assists, and retiring cheered by the entire stadium at the end of the game, with several media declaring Riquelme's performance as "revenge" towards the Catalans for wasting it. And in the rest of the world. Years later, Zizou would declare: & # 34; Here the only certain thing is that Riquelme is a magical player who with his quality ruined my farewell in the match in which we tied 3 with Villarreal, that day he drove us crazy to all. It is an honor to have retired with his shirt in my hands."

During the 2005-06 season in the town of Villarreal there was an atmosphere of trust, with the entire city expecting the first participation in its history in the UEFA Champions League. Riquelme was key, his performance in the competition was surprising; He took the team to the semifinals after leaving behind teams like Manchester United, Benfica, Glasgow Rangers and Inter Milan, among others, but in that instance he was eliminated at the hands of Arsenal F.C.. In the second leg, Riquelme had the opportunity to equalize through a penalty taken at the last minute, which would have taken them to extra time and with a chance of reaching the final. However, his shot was blocked by Jens Lehmann, leaving Villarreal out of the cup.

By the beginning of the next season and after his good World Cup, Riquelme no longer felt the same strength to continue playing for the yellow submarine. His constant discussions with the board of directors of the Spanish team, and the break in his relationship with Pellegrini after not agreeing to return to training, meant that after barely playing 13 games in the league, Román was removed from the first team and was replaced by the Chilean midfielder Matías Fernández, eventually ending in his departure from the club in February 2007.

Return to Boca Juniors and champion of the Copa Libertadores (2007)

The president of Boca Juniors, Mauricio Macri, offered the possibility for the club to act as a mediator in the player's conflicts with Villarreal. He requested that Riquelme be loaned until June 30, 2007 and at the same time pay his salary of two million dollars for that period. Both the Villarreal board and Riquelme accepted and on February 11 he was presented at a press conference. On February 17, he reappeared after almost five years at La Bombonera. His return, influenced by a prolonged inactivity, was not good; against Rosario Central Boca barely tied 1 to 1.

However, its performance was increasing. For the group stage of the Copa Libertadores, the team had a good game but the results were not ideal, which is why they reached the last date with the need to score at least four goals against Club Bolívar on the Vélez field (due to that the incidents in the 2005 Libertadores against Chivas had ordered the suspension of the stadium). Boca won 7-0, not only qualifying, but also avoiding traveling abroad, since the goal difference allowed them to face Vélez Sarsfield. In the round of 16 of the Libertadores, Riquelme scored two goals (one Olympic) playing superlatively and being the axis of the team. In the quarterfinals he had an outstanding performance against Libertad from Paraguay; As a visitor, despite suffering from an injury, he scored a goal when the rival was defending better.

In the semifinals, Boca beat Cúcuta from Colombia in a match that was played with almost zero visibility due to the fog that day. Riquelme's role in the final against Grêmio was decisive. Before the game, he commented that it would be his last game at La Bombonera and the outcome could not have been better. Once again he was a figure, Boca won 3-0 in a packed Bombonera and was fired with an ovation by the entire xeneize public. On June 20, in the final match in Porto Alegre, he scored another two goals in a 2-0 victory. The overall result was 5-0, a record in Libertadores finals. Boca achieved its sixth Copa Libertadores, this being the third for Riquelme, the team's top scorer with eight goals in eleven games. As happened in 2001, he was chosen as the "Best Player in the Toyota Libertadores Cup Final". In just one hundred and twenty-three days after his return, he recovered his best level and would accept a new call from DT Alfio Basile to defend the shirt of the Argentine team.

When the loan expired on June 30, 2007, Boca Juniors failed to obtain an extension and Riquelme, after taking a vacation, returned to Villarreal. Although the player trained with the rest of the squad, the coach Manuel Pellegrini (with the approval of the club president) decided not to take him into account for the season. Even without playing for his club, he played four qualifying games with the national team and scored four goals, three of them from free kicks. After a series of twists and turns of negotiations between Villarreal and Boca Juniors, the "xeneize" club decided to buy the entire pass from him, in order to take over his services definitively.

Third stage in Boca Juniors (2008-2012)

Juan Román Riquelme playing the Audi Cup 2009.

After arduous negotiations, the La Ribera club decided to pay Villarreal the sum of fifteen million dollars for the pass (while Villarreal paid approximately three million euros per year for his salary), in all respects, thus being the highest sum paid by an Argentine club for a player in all history. He signed a contract from the end of 2007 to 2010, but he could not play in the Club World Cup that year, due to FIFA's order, which argued that he had not been included in the preliminary list. Boca would end up losing to A.C. Milan 4-2 and various media assumed Riquelme's absence as a key factor in the defeat of the Argentine team.

His first official match in this round was in a 1-1 tie against Rosario Central for the Clausura 2008 Tournament. Riquelme could be seen behind in the field and ordering the advance towards the rival goal from the center and with less speed, although with the technique intact. He also played in the 2008 Copa Libertadores, where Boca was a wide favorite to win the two-time championship, with the attacking trio made up of Riquelme, Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio at their best. However, they would end up eliminated in the semifinals by Fluminense due to the deplorable performance of goalkeeper Pablo Migliore.

Upon his return, he played the second leg of the South American Cup Winners' Cup in which Boca became champion against Arsenal de Sarandí, scoring a goal from a free kick around the time the game ended. In December 2008, Riquelme achieved crowned with Boca as champion of the Apertura Tournament, after a close bid in recent dates after which three teams emerged with thirty-nine points, Boca, C. A. Tigre and San Lorenzo de Almagro. The current legislation provided that a final triangular be played on neutral ground as a tiebreaker.

The first game ended with a 2-1 victory for San Lorenzo de Almagro over Tigre. The second game pitted Boca against San Lorenzo, in one of the most memorable games in recent times due to the number of cards (fourteen yellow and two red) and the emotionality of the game. Riquelme had an outstanding performance, executing the corner kick that preceded Lucas Viatri's header, assisting Rodrigo Palacio, and participating in the play for Cristian Chávez's last goal that left Boedo's club without a chance of championship. For having received his fifth warning, Riquelme could not play on the last date of the triangular game, which consecrated Boca as tournament champion despite the 1-0 defeat against Tigre, for having a better goal difference than his rival. In this tournament, the importance of Riquelme was demonstrated in propping up a team that suffered the absence of its other outstanding figures such as Martín Palermo and Rodrigo Palacio for a large part of the championship. At the end of the year, he received the Olimpia de Plata for Argentine Soccer Player of the Year for the third time in his career.

Injuries, controversies with Palermo and first clashes with Angelici (2009-2010)

Riquelme in a training with Boca Juniors in 2009.

In 2009 one of the worst crises the club experienced began. In the first half of the year they were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores and fell far behind in the tournament, causing the resignation of Carlos Ischia and the return of Alfio Basile to technical management. For the second half of the year, Boca was quickly eliminated from the Copa Sudamericana, and in the tournament it was far from the first places. During the Clausura Tournament, Riquelme's statement stands out, that he had been constantly criticized for his poor performance and injuries, that he was the "only one who played for free". This would be the first indication of a long series of confrontations that Román would begin to have regarding his contract.

At the beginning of 2010 Basile resigned after poor results in the summer. From then on, Boca would suffer constant changes of coaches, added to Riquelme's continuous physical problems. On April 12, on the 14th date of the Clausura Tournament, Boca would beat Arsenal F.C. 4-0, with a goal from Riquelme and two from Martín Palermo, who that day would become Boca's all-time top scorer. The first goal, after a pass from Riquelme, would be remembered for its celebration in which Román would come out celebrating from another side, without hugging or congratulating the Boca striker who had broken the record. by Argentina, who began to speculate about the bad relationship between the midfielder and the striker. Despite this, the two never clarified the reason for their differences and to this day the reason was never known. The 2010 Apertura began with high expectations, but the club quickly ended up being out of the fight for the championship, even losing the classic against River. Boca finished in 12th place.

Riquelme marking 3 to 0 before Arsenal. 2010.

Since June 2010, Riquelme tried to renew his four-year contract with the club and thus achieve his retirement from the institution. This negotiation would be one of the most remembered in Argentine soccer. The club and the footballer had reached an agreement on July 28, 2010 for the continuity of Riquelme for four more years. However, days later, a new problem arose in relation to tax issues that dragged out the negotiations. Daniel Angelici, the club's treasurer at the time, was opposed to renewing Riquelme's contract, since according to him it was not convenient to pay the sum close to five million dollars due to the economic instability of the country and he believed that the renewal should be only two years old. Together with him, seven other managers also opposed it. In a meeting in the corridors of La Bombonera of the board of directors, eight leaders were in favor of the renewal, equaling the other eight who sided with Angelici. Jorge Amor Ameal, president of Boca, ended up deciding the vote in favor of Riquelme. This produced the resignation of the treasury by Daniel Angelici days later, and the start of his campaign for the club's presidency. Finally, on August 6, 2010, Riquelme signed his new contract.

Era Falcioni: return to the Libertadores final and resignation (2011-2012)

Riquelme in a friendly against Espanyol in 2011.

In January 2011 Boca hired Julio César Falcioni to leave the bad results behind. He got off to a bad start in the Clausura, quickly falling out of the fight. However, he managed to recover and managed to remain undefeated for ten rounds and win the last superclassic against River Plate before being relegated. Riquelme managed to give good performances and scored four goals, three of which were free kicks. He was also present at Martín Palermo's last game against Banfield, which ended up drawing 1-1. On July 2, 2011, at the Museum of the Pasión Boquense, they unveiled the statue of Riquelme, which promoted by fans of Boca. The "10" was present at the event and confessed how much this meant to him: "This was the greatest joy in my sports career." Due to the 2011 Apertura Tournament, with the additions of Agustín Orión, Rolando Schiavi and Darío Cvitanich, the return of Facundo Roncaglia, the ownership of Lucas Viatri and with a recovered Riquelme, Boca became undefeated champion on date 17, against Banfield with a resounding 3 to 0. Román scored his only goal in the tournament against Unión de Santa Fe in a 4 to 0 win. He started in all games (except against Independiente), until an injury against Belgrano on date 11 prevented him from continuing to play until he returned as a substitute in the match against Banfield.

In December 2011, Daniel Angelici would become the new president of Boca, after defeating Ameal in the elections, which would be the beginning of a series of confrontations between the midfielder and the club's board of directors, with the player hinting that he could leave the club after what happened. Román would recover his best form to compete for the Triple Crown again. The AFA would return from the historic 2011-12 Argentine Cup, where Riquelme would be essential to reach the end. In the semifinals against Deportivo Merlo, Boca began winning with a goal from a free kick from Román himself, but towards the end, Merlo tied agonizingly. On penalties, Boca won 5-4 and Riquelme converted his Panenka penalty.

Román would have a good Torneo Clausura, scoring goals against Newell's Old Boys and Lanús for the excellent start of the team. On date 16, against Godoy Cruz, Román made three assists, for the goals of Juan Manuel Insaurralde, Darío Cvitanich and Pablo Mouche, being chosen the figure of the match. Even so, the team would end up losing the leadership and the tournament against Arsenal in the last dates. Boca would finally return to international competition after his absence for two years. However, it did not have a great start in the 2012 Copa Libertadores, since in the first match Boca tied with Zamora F.C. and on date 2 they lost to Fluminense 2-1. Boca's classification to the round of 16 was already in doubt., but the team won all the matches that followed to qualify. They won their two games against Arsenal and in the rematch against Fluminense by 2-0. Against Zamora, with a goal from Juan Román, Boca won and qualified for the round of 16 of the Cup as the best second.

In the round of 16 against Unión Española de Chile, Román dominated the series, scoring in the first leg and in the second leg, as well as two notable assists on goals. With a great goal in Chile, Riquelme equaled Martín Palermo in the number of goals in the Copa Libertadores, with 23. In the first leg of the quarterfinals, Fluminense came again and Boca qualified over the final agonizingly with a goal from Santiago Silva. In the semifinals, Boca returned to Chile to beat U de Sampaoli, reaching a new Libertadores final after four years of absence. On June 22, he declared that his fourth Libertadores final would be his "last final", starting rumors about his possible post-season retirement.

On June 27, the first final was played at La Bombonera. Boca received Corinthians from Brazil, and the xeneize managed to open the scoring in the last minutes of the game thanks to a goal by Roncaglia. When everything seemed that Boca was taking the first game, in the 83rd minute after a lost ball from Riquelme, Romarinho tied the game in agony. The return, played on July 4, was a 2-0 defeat for the Argentine team and Román would lose his first Libertadores final. In the post-match press conference, Riquelme announced that he would not continue at the club, alleging that he felt "empty" and that he & # 34; he could not give her more & # 34; to the team. Years later, Angelici would reveal that Riquelme announced his departure a few days before the second final, and added to the sale of Roncaglia, the news could have impacted the team and its performance in the match, although the situation was never clarified by no player.

Fourth and last stage in Boca Juniors (2013-2014)

After the return of Carlos Bianchi in the summer of 2013, and his defeat against River in a friendly, Riquelme called the coach and the president announcing that he reconsidered his position. Finally, on February 8, 2013, after two failed attempts by the club to seek his return, Juan Román Riquelme returned to the Xeneize team. Three days later, he began training with the professional team. On March 3, the footballer wore number 10 again in the match in which his team fell 1:3 against Unión de Santa Fe. Despite the enthusiasm generated in the summer with the return of two of the One of the club's top idols, Boca had one of the worst performances in its history in the Final Tournament, finishing penultimate. Román barely played 5 games in that tournament, playing most of the first half of the 2013 Copa Libertadores, the team's main objective. Riquelme made his debut in La Copa on March 7 in a 1:0 defeat against Nacional. Boca ended up going through the group stage as second classified, and was matched in the round of 16 against Corinthians, in the rematch for last year's final. The first leg at La Bombonera was a 1-0 victory for Boca, and in the second leg at Pacaembú, Riquelme scored an incredible goal from the side of the field, in what seemed to be a cross but ended up getting into the corner of the Brazilian goal, which gave Boca the qualification to the quarterfinals and the elimination of the world champion. In the quarterfinals, Boca ended up eliminated by Newell's del Tata Martino in an extensive and dramatic series of penalties in which Riquelme missed one and managed to score another.

For the 2013-14 season, Boca is completely renewed and Fernando Gago returns. For the Initial Tournament, the team finished 7th with Román playing 12 games and scoring 2 goals, against Belgrano and one from a free kick in the area against Atlético Rafaela. At the end of the championship, Riquelme was injured, 90 days after his recovery for his return to the field, this time already in the Final Tournament. The team got off to a terrible start but with Román recovered and motivated the level rose, and he scored against Olimpo and in the superclásico against River Plate at La Bombonera from a free kick. Even so, the xeneizes lose the game at the end, being Riquelme's first defeat against his eternal rival at home. Then he scores against C. D. Godoy Cruz, Tigre and Arsenal, to reach his last match as a Boca Juniors player on May 11, 2014 on the 18th date of the tournament.

Riquelme signs an excellent match against C. A. Lanús, and crowns it with one of his most mythical plays, when he hit defender Carlos Izquierdoz without touching the ball. With all the emotional fans from Boca, Riquelme withdrew in the last minutes of the match, and celebrated the victory with the fans by flipping his shirt around. In the winter of 2014, the board of directors, headed by Angelici, decided not to renew his contract and the midfielder put a definitive end to his cycle in Boca.

Argentinos Juniors, promotion to First Division and retirement (2014-2015)

On July 17, the agreement between Riquelme and Argentinos Juniors, the club where he was born and which was seeking promotion, was confirmed. His presentation was three days later and his debut on August 9 against Boca Unidos for the first date of the B Nacional, with a great goal to give Argentinos the victory by 1:0. For the Argentine Cup, the third played by Román, the team advanced to the semifinals leaving Racing out in the round of 16, where Román scored a Great goal from a free kick. On December 7, 2014, he managed to return Argentinos Juniors to the highest category of Argentine soccer. He played eighteen games and scored five goals and days after the promotion of Argentinos he parted ways with the club, he announced his retirement from professional football on January 25, 2015, with the intention of becoming politically involved in Boca in the future.

National team

Youth National Team

In the summer of 1996, he was part of an Argentine under-18 team led by José Pékerman that played in Uruguay the "Copa Punta del Este" and he was proclaimed champion serving as central midfielder. At the beginning of 1997, Pekerman summoned him to the Argentine sub-20 team on the occasion of the South American Sub-20 Championship held in Chile. Riquelme played the nine matches of the tournament and scored 3 goals, highlighting his conquest against Brazil in the 2-0 victory. Argentina became South American champion after 30 years. Later, he participated in the U-20 World Cup held in Malaysia. On July 5, 1997, Argentina became champion after beating Uruguay 2-1. Riquelme was the captain of the team in the final, and finished the tournament with 4 goals in 7 games, becoming a great figure in the tournament. After the successes achieved in the under-20 team, Daniel Passarella summoned him to the senior team for the last date of the World Cup Qualifiers in France 98. The match was played at the Boca Juniors stadium, and Riquelme, aged 19, entered in the last minutes of the 1-1 draw against the Colombian team. Around May 1998, Pekerman called him again, this time to be part of the Argentine U-21 team in the Jóvenes Esperanzas de Toulon tournament in France. Argentina was champion, Riquelme played all five games and was awarded by the organizers as the Best Player of the Tournament. In 2000, José Pékerman summoned him to the U-23 team that played in the 2000 South American Pre-Olympic Tournament in Brazil. However, the team made up of the youth champion's base was surprisingly left out of the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Riquelme scored a goal (from a penalty kick) in the competition.

Absolute Selection

America's Cup 1999

Riquelme was included in the 22-man Argentine squad for the 1999 Copa América in Paraguay, wearing the number 22 jersey. He was one of six Boca Juniors players selected in the squad. He played in the opening game of the group stage, a 3-1 win against Ecuador on July 1, 1999. He was replaced in the 90th minute by Diego Cagna. In the second match, on July 4, 1999, Riquelme played the full 90 minutes in a 3-0 loss to Colombia. On July 7, 1999, he again played the entire game, the last in the group stage, with a 2-0 victory over Uruguay. Argentina finished in second place in their respective group with six points, facing Brazil in the quarterfinals on July 11, 1999. Riquelme played the game that ended in a 2-1 defeat for Argentina, having led 1-0. until the 32nd minute of the match.

FIFA Confederations Cup 2005

Juan Román Riquelme (#8) before the end begins in front of Brazil.

Under the guidance of former national youth team coach José Pékerman, Riquelme was called up for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in June, where he wore the number 8 jersey. He played in the opening match of the group stage against Tunisia on June 15, opening the scoring by converting a penalty in the 33rd minute, Argentina finally earned a 2-1 victory. On June 18, Argentina faced Australia. Already leading 1-0, Riquelme scored a 31st-minute penalty to give Argentina a 2-0 lead and they went on to win 4-2. In the final group stage match, against hosts Germany on June 21, Riquelme scored a 33rd-minute goal for Argentina just four minutes after Germany had taken the lead. The match ended 2-2. Argentina earned seven points, along with Germany, and advanced to the next round of the tournament.

On June 26, Argentina faced Mexico in the semifinal. After extra time, the match was tied at 1-1 and led to a penalty shootout. Riquelme converted Argentina's first penalty, they won 6-5. On June 29, Argentina faced Brazil in the final. He played all 90 minutes as Argentina were beaten 4-1 at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt. Riquelme was awarded as the winner of the Silver Ball, being the second best player in the tournament.

Soccer World Cup 2006

Riquelme at the 2006 German World Cup.

Pékerman assigned Riquelme the historic number 10 jersey of the national team for the first time (until then he wore number 8). From the beginning of his cycle, Pekerman trusted him as the axis of the national team. In the group stage matches Argentina finished in first place. In their debut, they beat the Ivory Coast 2-1. On June 14, the team played its best game and beat Serbia and Montenegro categorically 6-0. The last game of the group stage was a 0-0 against the Netherlands. In the round of 16, Argentina faced Mexico and won 2-1 in extra time. Against the host team, Germany, he had full participation in the conquest of the Argentine goal: he executed a precise cross for Roberto Ayala to open the scoring, even the Argentine defender celebrated the goal pointing to Riquelme and shouting at him "it's yours, it's yours" #3. 4;. In the second half, Pekerman decided to replace him and once he was out, Germany equalized after a few minutes. After parity in extra time, the local team won 4-2 on penalties and left the Argentines out of the competition.

Riquelme closed his participation in the World Cup with 5 assists, one to Saviola and another after a corner that led to Ayala's goal and no goal scored.

In September 2006 he was summoned by the new coach of the national team Alfio Basile, who named him team captain. With few training sessions, the team faced Brazil and was thrashed 0-3. Once again, Riquelme received much of the criticism and responsibility for the defeat. In Buenos Aires, this affected the health of his mother - hospitalized twice -, which is why, after speaking with Basile, he publicly announced his resignation from the Argentine team in a TV report.

America's Cup 2007

Riquelme together with his colleagues celebrating a goal at the Copa América de Venezuela 2007.

In the early morning of the day after winning the 2007 Copa Libertadores with Boca Juniors, he returned to Buenos Aires and left with the team to play the 2007 Copa América in Venezuela. Despite not having more than a week of training with the rest of the team, he had an acceptable performance in his debut against the United States, a 4-1 win. Against Colombia he scored a header and a free kick in Argentina's 4-2 victory. On July 8, 2007, in the 4-0 win against Peru, he again scored two goals (one with each foot) and assisted Lionel Messi with a great pass "between the lines". Already in the semifinals of the tournament, facing Mexico, he assisted Gabriel Heinze in a set play and executed a penalty with class (with a soft shot over the goalkeeper) in the final 3-0.

Despite the good level displayed throughout the tournament, Argentina had to settle for runner-up as they were defeated 0-3 in the final against Brazil. Riquelme was the top scorer for the Argentine national team, scoring a bit less than Robinho, who in the end was the tournament's top scorer.

2008 Olympic Games

Marking a criminal goal in Brazil.

In August 2008, Riquelme was the captain of the Argentine team that won the gold medal in men's soccer at the Beijing Olympics. Along with Javier Mascherano and Nicolás Pareja, he was one of the three players over the age of 23 selected by the technical director Sergio Batista. The team managed to pass the first phase, finishing first with 9 points, by defeating the Ivory Coast (2-1), Australia (1-0) and Serbia (2-0). In the quarterfinals they faced the Netherlands, achieving a 2-1 victory, after Ángel Di María's goal in extra time. In the semifinal he played against Brazil, where he scored a penalty goal to seal his team's 3-0 victory. He eventually clinched the tournament's gold medal by beating Nigeria 1-0 in the final.

Resignation from the Argentine national team

In March 2009, in an interview he gave on television on Channel 13 in Argentina, Juan Román Riquelme announced his final and indeclinable resignation from the Argentine National Team, directed by Diego Armando Maradona, due to personal differences with the coach. The reason that is supposed ^{[ by whom? ]} was a comment made by the technical director about his level in two games he played with Boca Juniors.

Superclassic of the Americas 2011

In September 2011, Riquelme had been called up by Alejandro Sabella to play the Superclásico de las Américas against Brazil in a round-trip match. However, he later suffered muscle fatigue in the hamstring in a match with Boca Juniors, For which reason he could not play the games, in which Argentina tied the first leg and lost the second leg 2-0. This was his last call.

Gamer Profile

Style of Play

Boca’s alignment to Real Madrid by the Intercontinental Cup 2000, with Riquelme as the team’s axis.

Riquelme's main position was that of an organizing midfielder, better known as the enganche in Argentine soccer, although during his youth years he also served as a starting midfielder and wing midfielder. A talent of "potrero," as children who emerge from low-income places or "villas, are known in Argentina, Román stood out for his grace, style and elegance on the court, as well as for his creative and intelligent passes. Unlike other Argentinian players who excelled in that position, such as Diego Maradona or Ricardo Bochini, who were short in stature and had a strong low ball, Riquelme was a tall, lean midfielder who combined outstanding passing range, vision, anticipation, technique, control and dribbling with a prolific ability to score goals from midfield, being named several times a "wizard" and "artist" of the ball. In addition, one of his greatest talents was holding the ball and playing with his back, despite his weak physical build, which made it very difficult for rivals to defend and control. The journalist Ariel Scher described it as follows: “All the time you get the feeling that Riquelme is a profound connoisseur of the game and that he favors playing for knowledge, pleasure and identity, in that understanding. But he also knows other understandings of the game and therefore he is also very tactical. He says "this team works like this, I push to play there or here." He sees all things…”. Alejandro Dolina, Argentine writer, presenter, broadcaster and musician, described the Riquelme phenomenon as follows: "soccer is happier when these players step on a basketball court. Román is a representative of a football that has a chain of reasoning, which consists of thinking. He is all the time spying on reality & # 34;.

However, since his debut, it was not until the retirement of Diego Maradona in 1997 and the arrival of coach Carlos Bianchi in 1998 that he was able to establish himself as a starter at Boca Juniors, establishing himself as the team's hook in a 4-3 formation -1-2, where Riquelme developed his game behind two forwards. From there, he generally played in a free central role, where he could make the most of his ability to dictate the pace of the game in midfield, orchestrate attacking movements and create spaces and opportunities for his teammates. As Boca won everything at the local and continental level and the level of the team diminished with the departure of figures like Palermo, Riquelme became more and more the tactical focal point of the team. team, to the point of reaching other positions, such as false nine. However, during his stay in Barcelona, his performance was diminished due to his position as an inside forward on the left, in which his coach, Louis Van Gaal, was convinced that he had to play, since the Dutchman used formations without a hitch and with three forwards. Even so, Riquelme admitted to disobeying him several times and putting himself in his usual position, which ended up costing him his ownership in the team and his subsequent departure from the club.

It was at Villarreal where he was able to recover his best level, partly thanks to the South American football doctrine that the club practiced, in which his Chilean coach, Manuel Pellegrini, returned him to his role as a coach. In Europe, Román he became less of a dribbler, more of an organizer and more of a leader, admitting that "he hadn't become faster, he just released the ball faster". In addition, he improved his goalscoring numbers, to the point of placing himself for two years in a row among the top scorers in the Spanish league. On his return to Boca in 2007, he was the top scorer in the Copa Libertadores that the team ended up winning, scoring 3 goals in the final against Gremio.

A set piece specialist, he was an excellent kicker of free kicks, penalties and corners, where the spin and power he gave to the ball stood out; due to that, he has several Olympic goals and from difficult angles. His style served as an inspiration for players like Lionel Messi. In addition to his peculiar way of dribbling rivals, where he did not look like a frenetic dribbler like Maradona or Messi, but he stood out more for "stepping on", "demonstrating", and "fainting" the ball to his rivals, Riquelme also has several plays that became popular all over the world and that are still remembered to this day, such as a pipe made from behind Mario Yepes during a superclassic in the 2000 Copa Libertadores, which was baptized in the media as "the pipe of the century", a pipe made of roulette against Rosario Central in a league match in 1999, which was called years later as "the best pipe of the world", or a pipe without touching the ball against Lanús during his last game with Boca in 2014. Riquelme named José Luis Villarreal and Fernando Galetto among his greatest inspirations when he was a youth, and already as a professional, to Zinedine Zidane. Players who have named who were inspired by Riquelme have been Andrés Iniesta, Leandro Paredes, and Mesut Özil.

However, despite his talent, Riquelme was criticized for his lack of rhythm, for being inconsistent and for having an introverted but difficult character, as well as for his poor sacrifice, both on the pitch and in training. Several coaches noted that he had a "weird" personality, temperamental and cold, as well as Riquelme was involved in various controversies regarding his attitudes within the locker room and his relationships with his teammates and coaches. Despite this, several former teammates noted that the media was portraying the wrong image of him.

In public opinion

Riquelme is widely considered one of the best Argentine soccer players of all time, and of his generation. In addition, he is widely named as the best player in the history of Boca Juniors, and his maximum idol and benchmark. However, despite his success in Argentine soccer, many consider that Riquelme failed in Europe, due to his short stint in Barcelona and his few titles obtained in his five years of stay. Even Thus, he is considered one of the best players in history and one of Villarreal's greatest legends, despite having only played four seasons with the Spanish club.

During his career, Riquelme generated several different opinions about his personality on and off the field. While he was laureate in Boca since his youth, several critics, journalists and players questioned his commitment in big events, in special with the Argentine national team. His decision to withdraw from the national team at the gates of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, to which Román alleged that it was for his mother's health, was one of the most criticized in Argentine soccer at that time. After his retirement, looking back at his career gave Riquelme another image, becoming one of the most emblematic and representative figures of Argentine soccer.

In popular culture

Riquelme has been represented by Adidas clothing since 2004, although he was also part of Reebok, Miter and Nike during his youth. With the German brand, he was part of the promotional campaign for the 2006 World Cup in Germany, along with players like Beckham or Zidane, and the advertising campaign under the slogan "Riquelme +10" where, together with the soccer player Kaká, they put together an all-star team. He was also part of the advertising campaigns for Lay's and Pepsi, where the slogan was "Riquelme is happy", for the Argentine beer Quilmes, and for Rexona deodorant.

On April 8, 2001, in a match against River for the Clausura Tournament, Boca was winning 1-0 with a goal from Hugo Ibarra. Then, Riquelme puts the penalty 2 to 0, and he celebrates until he is faced with the box of the president of Boca at that moment, Mauricio Macri, and made an "indirectly" gesture; he did, putting his hands over his ears, as a sign of protest he made the complaints that Riquelme had about his contract. The president had said that people paid to see Boca, not Riquelme, and the public, as always, defended his greatest idol. This celebration would later be immortalized as the & # 34; Topo Gigio & # 34;, alluding to Riquelme's statement after the celebration where he said that he only imitated the protagonist of a children's puppet show that the daughter of he. Since then, this celebration has been imitated by players and athletes from all over the world, such as Roger Federer, Ronaldo, Eden Hazard, or Lionel Messi, among others. The celebration is generally used as a sign of protest by players against leaders or even swollen, and also as a way of saying, "Come on, I want to hear them scream loud!".

Work done in Argentina called the Sistine Chapel of Football where Riquelme is included next to Maradona and Messi.

In 2014, a book was published called "The most beautiful pipe in the world", by Diego Tomasi, in honor of the play that Riquelme played against Yepes in the superclassic for the Libertadores 2000. In 2019, "ROMÁN" was released, a documentary film about Riquelme's last game for Boca Juniors in 2014, and which included testimonies from Indio Solari, Alejandro Dolina, Eduardo Sacheri and Víctor Hugo Morales.

Journalist Guillermo Abel Blanco, Maradona's press officer for many years, expresses the impact of meeting Riquelme: “When I saw him for the first time, I felt like the whole paddock was coming down on me. I saw him as genuine, primary, deep, from practice defending an idea of the game that many of us barely try to sustain from the letters. I would have liked him to coincide in time with Pedernera, who would have contributed so much from his personal experience surpassing football... I'm talking about life itself.& # 34;

In 2015, the Buenos Aires Legislature approved a bill that named Riquelme an Outstanding Sports Personality for his importance in Argentine popular culture, and because he highlights the values of sport. Fernando Muñoz, the main promoter of the idea, explained the fact: “Riquelme's meaning is closer to the popular idol, and to the soccer public and not only to Boca. We also associate the fact that Riquelme has an ability, which the people in countries like ours have, where we have to endure attacks from all sides, in order to survive with dignity.”

Acknowledgments

On July 3, 2011, the statue of Riquelme was presented at the Boquense Passion Museum. "I never imagined something like this, it's the greatest emotion as a footballer. This is too much for me. I will never be able to forget it, neither will my family. We will be forever grateful. I was born a bullfighter and I'm going to die a bullfighter like all of you" declared Juan Román, with tears in his eyes, in front of hundreds of fans.

On June 25, 2016, a mural of Riquelme was made with his celebration of Topo Gigio in La Bombonera, due to the 38th birthday of the soccer player.

Politics in Boca

Second Vice President Candidate

After listening to the different candidates for the 2019 presidential elections of Club Atlético Boca Juniors, Juan Román Riquelme decided to accompany the Agrupación Identidad Xeneize with the formula Jorge Amor Ameal-Mario Pergolini who offered him the candidacy for second vice president to take charge of everything related to club soccer. On December 8, 2019, the list headed by Ameal was elected with 52.84% of the votes, achieving the historical record in Argentine soccer of 20,045 votes in total. They assume their positions on December 19, 2019.

Second Vice President

One of the first decisions he made at the head of his new position is the hiring of Miguel Ángel Russo as coach of the main soccer team, beginning his second cycle at the club.

On Saturday, March 7, 2020, he obtained his first title as manager at Club Atlético Boca Juniors. He is crowned champion of the 2019-20 Super League.

On January 13, 2021, Boca Juniors was eliminated from the 2020 Copa Libertadores in the semifinals. Throughout the tournament, especially in the knockout phase, the team led by Miguel Ángel Russo failed to maintain a convincing level of play and received various criticisms. In the semifinals they were eliminated after being defeated 3:0 by Santos Fútbol Club in Brazil.

On January 17, 2021, Boca Juniors became champion of the 2020 Professional League Cup against Banfield after drawing 1-1 and winning on penalties 5-3. This being the second title for the management of Riquelme together with Jorge Amor Ameal and Mario Pergolini.

In just over a year of work, Boca won the two tournaments it played, and had started the 2020 Super League Cup very well, which was suspended due to COVID-19 and then canceled due to the dissolution of its organizer. Thus closed the first official year of Riquelme in charge of the vice presidency.

In the 2021 and 2022 Copa Libertadores, Boca Juniors was eliminated in the round of 16, leaving a poor image. Likewise, in July 2022, Sebastián Battaglia was fired as coach of the first team, in a controversial dismissal that took place at a service station.

Private life

On April 2, 2002, his younger brother Cristian, 18, was kidnapped. He spent at least thirty hours in the hands of the criminals, who took US$160,000 for freeing him. Riquelme in person, from his house and through a mobile phone, was the one who commanded the negotiation. On April 7, he returns to the Boca first team with a flag of thanks to the fans for the support received: “Thank you all. Riquelme”. That day he was the figure of the game and scored the last goal in the 3-0 victory over Unión de Santa Fe.

Clubs

Club	Country	Year
Argentinos Juniors	Argentina	1991 - 1996 (Inferiors)
Boca Juniors		1996 - 2002
F.C. Barcelona	SpainSpain	2002 - 2003
Villarreal C.F.		2003 - 2007
Boca Juniors	Argentina	2007 (Cedido)
		2007 - 2012
		2013 - 2014
Argentinos Juniors		2014 - 2015

Statistics

Clubs

Club	Div.	Season	League			Cups national(1)			Cups international(2)			Total			Media Shotgun(3)
			Part.	Goles	Assist.	Part.	Goles	Assist.	Part.	Goles	Assist.	Part.	Goles	Assist.
Boca Juniors Argentina	1. a	1996-97	22	4	4	-			-			22	4	4	0.18
		1997-98	19	0	0	-			2	0	0	21	0	0	0.00
		1998-99	37	10	13	-			5	0	0	42	10	13	0.23
		1999-00	24	4	9	-			16	3	8	40	7	17	0.17
		2000-01	27	10	9	-			14	3	4	41	13	13	0.31
		2001-02	22	10	13	-			12	3	0	28	10	13	0.35
		2007	15	2	6	-			11	8	5	26	10	11	0.38
		2008	10	1	4	-			10	4	5	20	5	9	0.25
		2008-09	28	5	8	-			7	4	4	35	9	12	0.26
		2009-10	24	3	12	-			2	0	0	26	3	12	0.11
		2010-11	13	4	1	-			-			13	4	1	0.30
		2011-12	23	4	7	2	1	1	13	3	4	38	8	12	0.21
		2012-13	5	0	0	1	0	0	7	2	1	13	2	1	0.15
		2013-14	23	7	5	-			-			23	7	5	0.26
	Total		292	64	91	3	1	1	93	27	31	388	92	123	0.24
FC Barcelona SpainSpain	1. a	2002-03	30	3	6	1	1	0	11	2	4	42	6	10	0.14
	Total		30	3	6	1	1	0	11	2	4	42	6	10	0.14
Villarreal CF SpainSpain	1. a	2003-04	33	8	7	3	1	1	12	4	2	48	13	10	0.27
		2004-05	35	15	17	-			11	2	4	46	17	21	0.38
		2005-06	25	12	10	1	0	0	12	2	2	38	14	12	0.37
		2006-07	13	1	6	-			-			13	1	6	0.07
	Total		106	36	40	4	1	1	35	8	8	145	45	49	0.31
Argentinos Juniors Argentina	2. a	2014	15	3	3	3	2	0	-			18	5	3	0.27
	Total		15	3	3	3	2	0	0	0	0	18	5	3	0.27
Total in your career			443	106	140	11	5	2	139	37	43	593	148	185.	0.25
(1) Includes data from the Copa del Rey and Copa Argentina. (2) Includes data from the Copa Mercosur, Supercopa Sudamericana, Copa Libertadores, Copa Sudamericana, Recopa Sudamericana, Copa Intercontinental, Copa Intertototo, Champions League and Europa League. (3) Half of goals per encounter. It does not include goals in friendly matches.

Source: Boca Juniors History

National teams

Selection	Year	Friendly			South American			Cup America			World (1)			Elimination			Confederations			Games Olympics			Total
		PJ	G	A	PJ	G	A	PJ	G	A	PJ	G	A	PJ	G	A	PJ	G	A	PJ	G	A	PJ	G	A
Argentina Sub-20 Argentina	1997	0	0	0	9	3	3	-	-	-	7	4	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	16	7	9
	1998	5	0	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	0	2
	Total	5	0	2	9	3	3	-	-	-	7	4	6	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	21	7	11
Argentina Argentina	2000	-	-	-	3	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	1	0
	2008	2	0	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	1	1	7	1	2
	Total	2	0	1	3	1	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	1	1	10	2	2
Argentina Argentina	1997	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0	0
	1999	1	0	0	-	-	-	4	0	3	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	0	3
	2002	1	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1	0	0
	2003	3	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	3	1	2
	2004	2	0	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	4	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	6	1	3
	2005	3	1	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	2	0	5	3	1	-	-	-	13	6	3
	2006	3	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	0	4	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	8	0	4
	2007	0	0	0	-	-	-	5	5	3	-	-	-	4	4	2	-	-	-	-	-	-	9	9	5
	2008	0	0	0	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	0	1	-	-	-	-	-	-	5	0	1
	Total	13	2	5	-	-	-	9	5	6	5	0	4	19	7	5	5	3	1	-	-	-	51	17	21
Total		20	2	8	12	4	3	9	5	6	12	4	10	19	7	5	5	3	1	5	1	1	82	26	34
(1) Includes data from the 1997 World Cup Youth Football and the 2006 World Cup Soccer.

International goals
#	Date	Place	Rival	Gol	Outcome	Competition
1	30-04-2003	Stadium 11 June, Libya	LBYLibya	1-2	1-3	Friendly
2	17-11-2004	Mâs Monumental Stadium, Argentina	VENVenezuela	2-1	3-2	World rankings 2006
3	08-06-2005		BRABrazil	3-1	3-1
4	15-06-2005	RheinEnergieStadion, Germany	TUNTunisia	1-0	2-1	Confederations Cup 2005
5	18-06-2005	easyCredit-Stadion, Germany	AUSAustralia	0-2	2-4
6	21-06-2005		GERGermany	1-1	2-2
7	09-10-2005	Mâs Monumental Stadium, Argentina	PERPeru	1-0	2-0	World rankings 2006
8	16-10-2005	Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium, Catar	QATQatar	0-1	0-3	Friendly
9	02-07-2007	Estadio José Encarnación Romero, Venezuela	COLColombia	2-1	4-2	Copa América 2007
10	02-07-2007			3-1	4-2
11	08-07-2007	Metropolitan Stadium of Barquisimeto, Venezuela	PERPeru	1-0	4-0
12	08-07-2007			4-0	4-0
13	11-07-2007	Cachamay Stadium, Venezuela	MEXMexico	0-3	0-3
14	13-10-2007	Mâs Monumental Stadium, Argentina	CHIChile	1-0	2-0	Global Classification 2010
15	13-10-2007			2-0	2-0
16	17-11-2007		BOLBolivia	2-0	3-0
17	17-11-2007			3-0	3-0
18	19-08-2008	Workers' Stadium, China	BRABrazil	3-0	3-0	Beijing Olympics 2008

International assistance
N.o	Date	Final outcome	Rival	Assistant Player	Competition
1	1 July 1999	3-1	EcuadorEcuador	Diego Simeone	Copa America 1999
2	7 July 1999	2-0	Uruguay Uruguay	Kily González
3				Martín Palermo
4	9 October 2004	4-2	Uruguay Uruguay	Javier Zanetti	2006
5				Luciano Figueroa
6	18 June 2005	4-2	Australia	Luciano Figueroa	Confederations Cup 2005
7	16 November 2005	3-0	QatarQatar	July Cruz	Friendly
8	10 June 2006	2-1	Ivory CoastIvory Coast	Javier Saviola	FIFA World Cup 2006
9	16 June 2006	6-0	Serbia and Montenegro	Carlos Tévez
10	24 June 2006	2-1	Mexico Mexico	Hernan Crespo
11	30 June 2006	1-1	GermanyGermany	Roberto Ayala
12	28 June 2007	4-1	United States	Carlos Tévez	Copa América 2007
13	8 July 2007	4-0	Peru Peru	Lionel Messi
14	11 July 2007	3-0	Mexico Mexico	Gabriel Heinze
15	16 October 2007	2-0	Venezuela Venezuela	Gabriel Milito	2010
16	11 October 2008	2-0	Uruguay Uruguay	Lionel Messi

Participations in final phases

Competition	Headquarters	Outcome	Parties	Goles
South American Sub-20 1997	ChileChile	Champion	9	3
1997 Sub-20 World Cup	MalaysiaMalaysia		7	4
Toulon Hope Tournament 1998	France		5	0
Copa America 1999	Paraguay Paraguay	Final rooms	4	0
South American Preolympic Sub-23 of 2000	BrazilBrazil	Third place	3	1
Confederations Cup 2005	GermanyGermany	Subfield	5	3
2006 Football World Cup	GermanyGermany	Final rooms	5	0
Copa América 2007	Venezuela Venezuela	Subfield	6	5
Beijing Olympics 2008	Beijing	Champion	6	1

Participations in Qualifiers

Statistical summary

	Parties	Goles	Assistance	+
Boca Juniors	388	92	123	215
Villarreal	145	45	49	94
Barcelona	42	6	10	16
Argentinos Juniors	18	5	3	8
Sub-20 selection	21	7	11	18
Olympic Selection	10	2	2	4
Argentina	51	17	21	38
TOTAL	675	174	219	393

Hat-tricks

Matches in which he scored three or more goals: Updated according to the last game played on March 31, 2014.

Hat-tricks
N.o	Date	Stadium	Party	Goles	Outcome	Competition
1	23 January 2005	El Madrigal, Villarreal	Villarreal C. F. - Valencia C. F.	17' (p.) 45' 94' (p.)	3 - 1	First Division of Spain 2004/05

Palmares and distinctions

Titles as a player

National Championships

Title	Equipment	Country	Year
Opening Tour	Boca Juniors	Argentina	1998
Closing Tour			1999
Opening Tour			2000
Opening Tour			2008
Opening Tour			2011
Copa Argentina			2011-12

International Championships

Title	Equipment	Headquarters	Year
South American Sub-20	Argentina Sub-20	ChileChile	1997
Sub-20 World Cup		MalaysiaMalaysia	1997
Copa Libertadores	Boca Juniors	São Paulo	2000
Intercontinental Cup		Tokyo	2000
Copa Libertadores		Buenos Aires	2001
Interto Cup	Villarreal CF	Madrid	2004
Copa Libertadores	Boca Juniors	Porto Alegre	2007
Football Olympic Tournament	Argentina Olympic Selection	Beijing	2008
Recopa Sudamericana	Boca Juniors	Buenos Aires	2008

Individual awards

Vice President Titles

National Championships

Title	Club	Country	Year
Superliga Argentina	Boca Juniors	Argentina	2019-20
League Cup			2020
Copa Argentina			2019-20
League Cup			2022
First Division			2022
Supercopa Argentina			2022

Tournaments played as second vice president

National Championships

Title	Headquarters	Outcome
First Division 2019-20	ARGArgentina	Champion
Professional League 2021		4th position
Professional League 2022		Champion

National Cups

Title	Headquarters	Outcome
Superlight Cup 2020	ARGArgentina	Cancelled
Professional League Cup 2020		Champion
Professional League Cup 2021		Semifinal
Argentina Cup 2019-20		Champion
Professional League Cup 2022		Champion
Argentina Cup 2022		Semifinal
Champion Trophy 2022		Subfield
International Super Cup 2022		Subfield
Supercopa Argentina 2022		Champion

International Championships

Title	Headquarters	Outcome
Copa Libertadores 2020	CONMEBOL	Semifinal
Copa Libertadores 2021		Final Octavos
Copa Libertadores 2022		Final Octavos

Other titles obtained during his tenure

Reserve Championships

• Professional Reserve League 2021
• 2021 Reserve Champion Trophy
• Professional Reserve League 2022
• 2022 Reserve Champion Trophy

AFA Women's Soccer Championships

• Transition 2020
• Closing Tour 2021
• Championship 2022

AFA Futsal Soccer Championships

• Transition Championship 2020