Argentina’s Riquelme to Retire from International Play

I’m surprised at this and it’s not good news. He still has a few good years left in him. I wish he’d stick around at least for Euro 08 and then retire.

Posted from  United States

Oops, my mistake - I didn’t mean to say Euro 08 - obviuosly he wouldn’t play in that tournament. I meant South American’s next international competition.

Posted from  United States

I hope Riquelme will change his mind in the coming years b/c he still has some years left and is a bit young for international retirement. I guess the pressure was too insurmountable.

Posted from  United States

This opens all kinds of doors for Argentina.

Aimar, Insua, D’Alessandro and even Gallardo could replace Riquelme.

Look for Basile to do some more experimentation with the team as well.

Perhaps Tevez will be pushed back in the “10″ role, as he did with Boca Juniors. Maybe Messi in the same role… we’ll see. It’s going to be very exciting.

It’s a shame he won’t be wearing the blue and white, though. Riquelme is an incredible player. He will be missed.

Posted from  United States

This is sad news indeed. I love watching him play, he’s so creative and there are’nt too many players that play w/ the same vision as him when its all about speed these days. The brazil match wasn’t worth anything and i hope he’s not bowing to pressure. I think ppl are too quick to criticize sometimes, it was just one match and it was’nt the world cup or something. I’d like to see him play in the copa at least b/c he still has a few good years in him. Aimar has had his chance before, so i’m not sure he’s going to be that consistent either. It actually would have been great to see aimar and riquelme play together. i’ll miss seeing him in blue and white too, he was my favorite player this WC.

Posted from  Canada

m,
argentina was not great in the worldcup. I can only say that argentina was great in 1978 when it had a TEAM!! guys who played with heart and passion that one team I take my hat off to!! pasarella, kempes, alonso, fillol…..that was a great team!! in mexico manodona with his big HAND!! great volleyball player I guess…..

in germany 2006 I think portugal was the best team because they played with heart and as a TEAM!! argentina did ok with lesser teams let’s face it and when it came time to face the real teams they fell apart…..

as for brazil well, they are the craddle of the world’s best soccerplayers. behind the current crop of great players there are already 100 players to follow suit…..I was glad they were sent home because that blob (aka ronaldo) was sickening with his obsession to be the top scorer in worldcups as it this would compare to the fact that mueller got all his goals in two cups and not three…..but that is what they call great players today ronaldo the primadonna and ronaldinho who might be good at barcelona but sucks in the national team…..he should be ignored in the national team…..now we hear about messi here messi there blah, blah…..when the guy is half of what cristiano ronaldo, robinho, ronaldinho and many other players are but I guess argentina has to root for something even to the extreme of calling it great.

al,

ok i can understand ronaldinho being considered great presently..altho i tho really like him…but robinho and cr. ronaldo……..mite as well we put in dwarika in there hahahah

Posted from  Trinidad And Tobago

and btw ….argy out of the wc cuz of pekerman……..riquelme didnt had the best of wcz…but ppl had so much high expectation of him…he didnt live up to it…yes i agree…but he played well abve average….remember the mexico game…didnt have the best match..but 3 times.with the touch of the ball he put tru saviola tevez and aimar alone infront of goal….form is temp, class is permanent….all he needed was a touch of the ball.

Posted from  Trinidad And Tobago

k,
that was mexico and argentina had a difficult time with mexico!! that was lousy…..

ok, robinho is starting out but wait and see, he will be better than messi and cristiano ronaldo well, I personally find him annoying but what a talent man, what a talent.

al is what we call a”hater” and he is also jealous!!! oviously anyone who says all those things must smoking god knows what….anyone who knows anyone about soccer pronounced argentina as being one of or the best team in the world cup….argentina beat costa merfil(best team from africa), serbia 6 to 0 ( serbia only allowed one goal all through qualification, and netherlands only managed one goal also) and tied with netherlands…then beat mexico(mexico always plays argentina liek its the finals) and tied germany) please al point to me and your vivid readers were argentina missed fire??? actually dont i already know waht your going to say…something like..argentina sucked ok they suck ….which is all u can say since u have no facts nor knowledge to back up your claim….argentina and brazil are the only 2 countries that can be easily said can put two or even three teams in any world cup..so please take your ignorance to maybe a baseball blog…concerning riquelme..im so sad but he is 28 anyways and by 32 i dont knwo how much he would have left ..though since he doesn rely on speed nor endurance as much as othr players he could of pulled a zidane and taken argentina far next world cup…but he wont..plus he was hinting about retirement even before the world cup started…now we can find another “enganche” that can hopefully ad more speed to our attack (maybe montenegro, since he is tearing it up) dale rojo!!!

Posted from  United States

well said AA. great post…

and I totally agree with you on the 82 team being better than the 70s team and maybe the best team of all time. I’ve always thought that Pele was way too hyped and not enough credit was given to Garrincha who made those teams of the 80s a joy to watch.

Posted from  Canada

I’ve got time to kill at work, so here goes:

Some very good opinions on here. I personally enjoy listening to peoples opinions on who is better than who etc, and most of this makes for interesting reading.

Firstly, not to have too big a dig, but Al I’m not sure what game your watching, but if you insist that C. Ronaldo is better than Messi, although your entitled to your opinion, I’m afraid there are absolutely no facts to back that statement up, and majority would always side with Messi. Again, not saying you have to agree, but I don’t think the two compare. No way, no how! One word describes the difference between Messi and C. Ronaldo – product. Both are technically gifted with sublime skills but unfortunately, both don’t have a final ball and both can’t shoot accurately and I think most knowledgeable football fans know which one hasn’t. Running at people and getting tackled by the third man after skinning two, having all the arrogance in the world, doing step-overs and taking TERRIBLE free-kicks was not the material on what previous greats were built on. Until that changes, or he changes, C. Ronaldo is NOT better than Messi, and if politics weren’t rife, as well as the fact that Scolari dismisses this guy for the lack of defence cover that has now been addressed, he would be being pushed by Quaresma for his Portuguese shirt!

On to Argentina….England fan by any chance Al? Argentina have been the best team in possession of a football for years…when Brazil were boring the world in to becoming World Champions for a fourth time in 1994, check out some of Argentina’s matches. Go back and watch the Argentina v Romania game where they were knocked out. True, they should not have let the problems with Maradona affect them, but anybody watching the game should no the difference between hype (Brazil other than a few great sides that have been produced as a team, David Beckham as a player) that the mainstream know, and the real deal that footballing fans know. Check out the World Cup in 1994, check out that Brazilian midfield….Zinho (a glorified full-back, and a bad one at that), Mauro Silva, Dunga and Mazinho in midfield…my word, that must go down as the worst midfield in history to win the world cup. Their only flair midfielder, Rai, was dropped because Pele wanted him dropped, after the first game. I’m sure a Redondo inspired Argentina midfield did not want to have anything to do with that Brazil team or their brand of football, yet people just stereotype the great 1970’s team as how Brazil are. Brazil also had a PHENOMENAL team in 1982 and 86, perhaps the best footballing team they have ever had and one that ranks with the great teams in history. Just because they didn’t win the World Cup and the 1994 team did, doesn’t make them better!

When Brazil are good, they are awesome, but it’s the same for Argentina.

On to Riquelme. It’s a shame to see him leave, if these stories are correct. He’s the last of a dying breed, a foot-on-the-ball midfielder who dictates the speed of a game. I’m a season ticket holder for my team in the premiership, and for excitement and spectacle, I love the premiership, but premiership-only fans will not appreciate the role Riquelme plays. In a world of athletic central midfielders with limited abilities on the ball, Riquelme was a breath of fresh air – a total genius.

Finally, the world cup was NOT lost by Riquelme. It was Pekerman at the helm, and to take off Roman and not bring on another attacking player was a terrible decision, that led to Argentina handing the initiative to Germany. Still Germany only equalised and the game was decided on penalties.

Posted from  United Kingdom

well said aa i dont knwo nearly half as much as you yet i understood your argument to the T….

Posted from  United States

i think argentina is still looking for that 2nd maradona and its riquelme who’s suffering from all that. argentines regarded maradona as a hero. he was really a big thing for them.

don’t go riquelme!!!! such brilliance, such a waste…

Posted from  Philippines

aa,
no, I am not an english fan, I tend to go with brazil but I make the point “I tend” because in this last cup I saw portugal and think they did better than anybody else by virtue of their passion.
now, brazil has a problem: too many darn good players! and a tournament is won by a team. argentina as someone said in other post keeps on looking for the next maradona while brazil can forego looking for a new pele because they produce player upon player…..listen, any team will have a good game here and there so why should it be strange to find some nice games by argentina? even the greatest will face defeat as we have seen in any sport but come on, brazil and argentina are not worth the comparison at all…..
about messi all I can say is we will see. I have seen this before, all the hype about a player who only passes by without any final greatness…..

Posted from  United States

If you can’t stand the heat get out of the kitchen….seems that’s what Riquelme did, got out.

As for these consistent(delusional) claims that Argentina was the best team at the world cup. I know it’s an Argentine blog but please a little bit of common sense is in order.

If someone references the SM game again i think i’m gonna snap. The powerfull SM team….please.

Qualification games

vs Mexico…coud have gone either way.

vs the always powerfull Germans…lost. and PK’s are part of the game for some of you who are confused.

If it makes you feel better and can sleep at night by believing Argentina had the best team…ok I guess. I just hope it doesnt cause further psychological damage and you actually start hurting people.

I wouldn’t even mind if Fifa gave out little WC key chains to Argentina.

PS….stop looking for another Maradonna. That was a fluke of nature he was born in Argentina. Just be happy with continuing to qualify for future WC.

Other than that I like your blog.

I can’t believe this. I love the way he plays and he shouldn’t be blamed for our loss. He is one of the best players Argentine ever had and he will be missed. I am so saddddddddd. hope it is not true.
don’t do it Juan pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee

by the way Fred Shut the F… UP

@carrie

truth hurts i know, but i calls it as i sees it.

don’t think we can be friends after your last post.

I do not wish to be friend with an A.. Hole like you and I repeat Shut the F… UP

@carrie

im starting not to like you. maybe you should retire from posting, as Riquelme did from international play.

you will find the reason he retired was because his mother was sick because of the negative press he was getting. Absolute genius player, real shame but i suppose he can concentrate more on villarreal now

Posted from  United Kingdom

Riquelme should have continued until 2007 but you can’t blame him. Thier is so much pressure on the player who inherits the number 10 since Maradona it is unbelievable.

I couldn’t see Riquelme playing for argentina in the next world cup as the playmaker….. not at 32 anyway.

Messi should NOT be given the number 10 shirt. He needs someone to take pressure of himself so he can roam freely. D’alessandro isnt good enough to be given that role. Hes got the tricks but not the passing and vision. He sits more on the left anyway.

Insua is another one who isnt good enough for that role. Theirs too many imposters here when we all know whose turn it is to lead the next assault.

Posted from  United Kingdom

i will have to agree with m you really dont know do you? and to top it off talking about ronaldo and rhonaldino and one of the best MESSI you must really need to pay attention to the game these guys playe.

Posted from  United States

Riquelme is a real genius, he has a superb view on the pitch. U must all have seen those brilliant cutting passes that he created in germany. Argentina made a n excellent world cup; won over cote d’hivoir-they neutrilised this game in fear of being left leg broken by the brutal africans;serbia montenegro(caused much problem to spain during qualifications)were simply crushed; they should have won over holland remember messi and tevez misses; mexico showed some difficulty but riquelme set up saviola and tevez to play the kill many times;The gauchos should have won over germany( a brutal side) but faced extreme bad luck, riquelme and Hernan crespo could have killed the match!!!