Juan Roman Riquelme

Argentina’s gifted midfielder could be the star of the show in Germany

‘If he played in Brazil, he’d be Riquelminho and the world No 1’
Jose Pekerman has no doubt about the quality of his playmaker

WILL JOSE PEKERMAN’S side field a back three or a back four? Will they play with a
winger? Will Gabriel Heinze, Roberto Ayala and Javier Mascherano be fi t in time?
Argentina’s build up to the World Cup is riddled with uncertainties.
Some say that the more Pekerman talks, the less he clarifi es. But on one vital point
Argentina’s coach could not be clearer. From the day Pekerman was appointed,
Juan Roman Riquelme has been the most important member of his team.
Constructing a midfi eld around Riquelme may now seem like an obvious
move.

Villarreal’s former Boca Juniors favourite passed holes in Brazil’s defence in
Buenos Aires last June during Argentina’s 3-1 World Cup qualifying win. A short while
later, Germany coach Jurgen Klinsmann described him as “almost perfect” after the
sides’ 2-2 draw at the Confederations Cup.

But there was nothing obvious about the Riquelme option back in October 2004,
when Pekerman took over. At the time, Riquelme had won just
13 caps in seven years, most of them in friendlies. He played in the 1999 Copa
America, when Argentina sent an experimental squad, but was overlooked
for the World Cups of 1998 and 2002, and had never even started a qualifying match.
He had also struggled at Barcelona, whom he joined from Boca, and not many were
convinced he could reproduce his Boca form at international level, either. He was, it was
widely believed, lacking half a yard of pace.

Pekerman did not agree. “Some say that Riquelme is slow,” the coach said in one of
his fi rst interviews after taking the reins. “But there’s nothing slow about him when
he’s in possession. It’s the ball that should do the running, not the player.”

Pass master

Riquelme’s selection was not just because of a simple preference for a player. It was
part of a manifesto for a type of football – traditional Argentinian passing football.
Pekerman’s side would seek to pass, pass and pass again. They would aim to have
possession at all times, and dictate the rhythm of the game from the centre of
the fi eld. Riquelme’s gift for giving a pass is unrivalled. With his foot-on-the-ball
elegance and unhurried gait, he would be the controller in chief.

To some, it felt like the clock was being turned back. “We used to have players like
Riquelme,” said Pele recently. Indeed, Brazil once had a veritable production line for
magnifi cent central midfi elders. Not any more. They are as overfl owing with talent
as ever, but nowadays it is to be found either higher up the fi eld or at full-back.
Other countries also churned out midfi eld generals, but this type of player is
increasingly being squeezed out of the game. He is a victim of the frenetic rush
towards ever-greater athleticism, and he can also fall foul of the dreaded statistical
analysis. Recently, even Brazil’s chief scout, Jairo Santos, argued that if a team take
more than eight passes in a single move they are reducing their chances of scoring.
The traditional Argentinian school would completely disagree. It holds that
the more the ball is passed, the more the opposing defence is shifted around and
the greater the possibility of creating twoagainst-one situations and goalscoring
chances. It all depends on the quality of the passing and movement, and the mix
of long and short-range balls.

The modernists contend that the physical development of the game has
reduced the amount of space available on the fi eld and consequently cut the scope for
passing moves. Argentina’s traditionalists see it differently. For them, the problem
stems from a lack of attention to basics.

Local coach Angel Cappa writes that “the elementary steps that defi ne a good
player are that he receives the ball, passes, and then runs. Not the opposite. But
increasingly frequently we see that when a player receives the ball, the fi rst thing he
does is run with it. Then when he looks up, it’s already too late. He is surrounded, and
if he tries to go forward he runs into an opponent. And so the journalists have a
justifi cation for their view that nowadays there is no space on the fi eld. Of course
there isn’t; playing like that, the players close down their own space.”

In contrast, Riquelme opens up the field, creating space and surprising opponents
with his quick passing. By placing such a player at the centre of his plans, Pekerman
is fl ying in the face of the contemporary idea that the game is won and lost either
on set-pieces or on transitions, those moments when possession changes hands
and a rapid counter-attack can be launched.

Instead, control of midfi eld is king. As Riquelme says: “Pekerman wants us to have
the ball for the entire game, and my job is to make sure that my team-mates can
always fi nd me to give me the ball.”

Intelligence

So, Riquelme is in charge of the distribution, a task in which his intelligence is as
important as his ability. “I’ve seen very few players with Riquelme’s capacity to
understand the game,” Pekerman said recently. “He knows
everything that’s going on around him. He can fi nd any player with precision. He can
tell you why a team is playing well or badly. He knows when to slow the game down
and when to speed it up. Football is producing electrifying players, speed
merchants. But it’s losing the type of player like him who really knows what he’s doing.
“If Roman played in Brazil he’d be Riquelminho and would be the world No 1.

The way he strikes the ball is tremendous, and so is the coolness he shows when
slipping his team-mates through on goal. But Brazilians are more highly rated. The
decision to choose Ronaldinho as the best in the world was unfair.”

Riquelme, of course, has a wonderful opportunity to push his own claims for
wider recognition at the World Cup. Approaching 28, he is now at his peak and
has the backing of his coach, colleagues, Argentinian fans and media.
“Pekerman has given me the chance to have a solid run in the national team,”
he says. “I hope I don’t let him or the rest of the team down. I’m happy playing for
Argentina. The coach makes me feel good and my team-mates make me aware of my
importance. The fact they’re always looking to give me the ball boosts my confi dence.”

This is of great importance to a player who by nature is an introvert. Keeping him
happy and his confi dence high will be fundamental to Argentina’s World Cup
challenge. At times, Riquelme has been known to disappear from games. His team
need him to be constantly imposing himself. If he hits form in June then Argentina’s
opponents will fi nd out that his relentless passing is as gentle as Chinese water
torture – and just as destructive.