Zidane or Riquelme?

[Robbie Quaid]

Haha! Yeah I think your right. He would have been better off staying in Europe but I think he was homesick & missed his family. At least that's what I've read but who knows!:D

[schafer]

You should not post while drunk. Zidane is also far more of a 'hack & a punk & a dirty player' than Materazzi. A simple look over their careers is proof of that fact. In actual fact, Materazzi is a quality defender and has proved that over his career.

Just kind of something that bothers me with calling Zidane a 'hack'*. I'm aware of his disciplinary record, but to me the word connotes a player who plays dirty in order to compensate for a lack of skill. Zidane had a temper, but calling him a hack just seems off, IMO.

*I know this seems like nitpicking, but I believe it was mentioned in another Zidane thread as well.

[Robbie Quaid]

Haha! Yeah dude your right. Zidane in his time as a player had a bad temper no question about that but he was no hack! He happened to be one of the best skilled player's in the game in his time in the top flight. What happened in the 06 final was a bad way for him to bow out but then again I'm not Zidane so I can't say how the comments the hack Materazzi made Zidane feel! At least Zidane is a man unlike Materazzi who lied one time after another after that showdown took place! If Materazzi did nothing wrong then FIFA wouldn't have come down on him. I'm not too fond of FIFA at all but at least they did the right thing with Materazzi. See the way I see it is we are all different & if a hack trouble maker like Materazzi goes around making rude comments' about other peoples' family members' then it's just a matter of time before somebody hand's him his lunch! I think Italy really feared having Zidane in the game so they set about finding a way to have him sent off as if he had stayed on I'm pretty sure France would have won the game as they had the better team. So ... Up comes Materazzi ... The perfect hack trouble maker! ... He got Zidane all fired up & Zidane took the bait & the rest is history! Funny thing is though in the majority of the publics' eyes' Zidane is still loved & respected all over the world so it back fired for Materazzi & Italy in the long run! I have nothing against Italy's team at all as I really like player's like Cannavaro but having a hack like Materazzi on board gives Italian soccer a bad rap as he's nothing but a punk with no respect for anybody! ... He will get his it's only a matter of time!:D

[Teso Dos Bichos]

Just kind of something that bothers me with calling Zidane a 'hack'*. I'm aware of his disciplinary record, but to me the word connotes a player who plays dirty in order to compensate for a lack of skill. Zidane had a temper, but calling him a hack just seems off, IMO.

*I know this seems like nitpicking, but I believe it was mentioned in another Zidane thread as well.

Can I call him 'a punk & a dirty player' then? Any complaints? :rolleyes::D

As for the word 'hack', Materazzi is unfairly labeled that by those who cannot bring themselves to rate him as player or simply do not like that style of defending, which means they do not rate some of the best defenders the world has ever seen.

[schafer]

Can I call him 'a punk & a dirty player' then? Any complaints? :rolleyes::D

Yeah, I don't know why labelling him a hack bothers me so much, but it just does.

As for the word 'hack', Materazzi is unfairly labeled that by those who cannot bring themselves to rate him as player or simply do not like that style of defending, which means they do not rate some of the best defenders the world has ever seen.

Fair enough, I haven't seen enough of Materazzi in the Serie A to comment (although he's no Maldini), but from all reports, it sounds like he had an excellent season last year. Also worth noting he'd probably have far more recognition of his defensive qualities if he weren't stuck behind the likes of Nesta and Cannavaro for the Azzurri.

[Robbie Quaid]

Haha! Well to be fair Materazzi has good skills when he want's to. I mean, you don't reach that level with sub-par skills! The reason I call him a hack is rather than fly by his skills more times more often than not he resorts to cheap shots' & trash talking others' on the field but taking it a step lower by targeting a person's family which shows' a lack of class that's why I look at him as being a hack! I see it like this ... You might not like me as a person, ok whatever then that's your right to feel as you will. If somebody has a problem with me then it's with me, not my family so it's better to leave them out of it. Insult me all you want just don't talk about me family! This is what happened with Materazzi & Zidane. Zidane stood up like a man to admit what he did was wrong but then moved on. Materazzi on the other hand lied over & over changing his story rather than just admit to what he said. Like I said ... If he had a problem with Zidane well then fine ... He sould have left Zidane's family out of it! You might agree or not agree with my but that's my view on it anyway!:D

[Moishe]

I wouldn't go so far as to label ZZ a hack but I'd definitely call him a hot-head. I'm very surprised by the amount of people defending his shot on Materazzi. Aside from the fact that it takes a bigger man to walk away from family smack than it does to hit someone, isn't his sense of responsibility to team and country just as important? Of course family is first all the time but we're talking trash talking. I'm sure each and everyone of us has probably heard something worse than what ZZ may have, who knows. That one action discredits his profesionalism in my eyes. Still a brilliant player but I've always wondered how he'd do being the only go to guy on his squad?

[Moishe]

No, I haven't. In fact, my appreciation for Riquelme was rooted in his performances for Villareal.

Was he fantastic for them? Yes. But, he also bottled a penalty in the CL semi-final and was happy to leave the club soon after. Those aren't the actions of a mentally strong competitor.

If he comes back to Europe and shines in future Champion's League efforts. I'd be inclined to rethink my comparison with Zidane. But, as of now, Riquelme hasn't done as much.

But, I do think the players are similar in ability, style, and attitude.

If your appreciation for Riquelme is based on his time at Villarreal, you should watch how he played for this club called Boca Juniors. The botched PK sucked and the pressure no doubt got to him but that shit just happens sometimes. The decision to leave Villarreal came down more to Manuel Pelligrini than anything else. Had his relationship with the coach not soured, he would never have left Villa. Heck Villa's president to this day has never slammed or totally blamed Riquelme for the whole fall out. The fact that up to this point the only loan/transfer he's publicly come out and said he'd accept is to BOCA. Imagine that, loyalty to the club you love. You don't see much of that in sport anymore. His not playing in Europe would mean less money yet he's willing to do it. That right there is character.

If you want a gauge of how good Riquelme is, find the video for the BOCA/Real Madrid Cup match and you'll see how amazing a player he is. Zidane was great but show me one team he's had to carry on his own without a star-studded supporting cast before you tell me he's up on Roman.

[Robbie Quaid]

Haha! Well no matter I still think Riquelme is a great player even though I feel Zidane is a much better player! The reason I like Riquelme's style of play is he's a very creative player & a great play maker! I think what's happened with him in Europe & also with Argentina's national side is beause he's so good huge expectations have been placed on him & I think it get's to be a bit too much for him to handle at times. Nothing wrong with that as people are all different & we all deal with things' in different ways! Some players' can block all that out & on a mental level they are like a rock, very strong. Riquelme is different in that way that's all!:D

[brassmonkey]

This thread is so pointless, as nearly every Zidane thread since the world cup started last year is. Zidane fans come in here and say he was great and the "Zidane is overrated" crowd comes in and gives their arguments, which never change. It's the same thread over and over. I really wish Zidane hadn't come out of international retirement; he could have ended his career with peace and dignity in Madrid, which is probably what he wanted. All of these bandwagon fans who didn't give two sh-ts about him the last three years he was in Madrid would still be stuck on Ronaldinho and the haters wouldn't feel the need to play down his accomplishments so virulently.

The facts are such:
-Zinedine Zidane, no matter how good he really was, either in comparison to his peers or players of the past, WILL go down as the greatest player of his generation. That title was given to him long before last years world cup. Do I need to pull out the articles from 4 years ago where they were already calling him a legend? He was in the right place at the right time, and showed up in the big games that everyone watched so he became burned into the consciousness of average football fans and the media. He was on a Juventus squad that made it to the European Cup finals twice and the semifinals once, and won two scudettos. His transfer was the biggest in history, and was representative of the galactico era at Real Madrid, which became the biggest club in the world. In his first year he won the Champions League with them after one of the best goals of all time in final. He then won La Liga with them in 03. In 1998 he was the star of the French team, thats a fact. He might not have been the best player on the team, but before that tournament even started the media was calling him the best midfielder in the world and the pressure was put on his shoulders to perform and deliver. People always watch the team from their country plus the home team. There was an extra spotlight on Germany last year, for instance. Zidane scored two goals in the final. It doesn't matter what kind of tournament he had before that, that's the stuff people remember. At Euro 2000 he really did have an amazing tournament, that's something even most anti-Zidaniacs will admit to. He was the star of the team again because of his performance in 98 and so everyone's eyes were on him; he didn't fail to disappoint. He won the FIFA player of the year award three times, and would have won in 2000 if he hadn't headbutted that Hamburg player. Whether its luck or not doesn't really matter. In this case truth is subjective, and public perception is what matters. The media was lavishing the guy with praise from the beginning and calling him a great and then a legend. In 2004, after he was past his prime, he was voted the greatest European Footballer of the last 50 years. So it doesn't matter how good he was, he was the greatest player of his generation.

- Juan Roman Riquelme will always be associated with the word underachiever. Unless he joins a major Euro side and has a great couple of years and does well in 2010 to cap off his career he will go down in history as someone who didn't live up to his potential.

[Moishe]

This thread is so pointless, as nearly every Zidane thread since the world cup started last year is. Zidane fans come in here and say he was great and the "Zidane is overrated" crowd comes in and gives their arguments, which never change. It's the same thread over and over. I really wish Zidane hadn't come out of international retirement; he could have ended his career with peace and dignity in Madrid, which is probably what he wanted. All of these bandwagon fans who didn't give two sh-ts about him the last three years he was in Madrid would still be stuck on Ronaldinho and the haters wouldn't feel the need to play down his accomplishments so virulently.

The facts are such:
-Zinedine Zidane, no matter how good he really was, either in comparison to his peers or players of the past, WILL go down as the greatest player of his generation. That title was given to him long before last years world cup. Do I need to pull out the articles from 4 years ago where they were already calling him a legend? He was in the right place at the right time, and showed up in the big games that everyone watched so he became burned into the consciousness of average football fans and the media. He was on a Juventus squad that made it to the European Cup finals twice and the semifinals once, and won two scudettos. His transfer was the biggest in history, and was representative of the galactico era at Real Madrid, which became the biggest club in the world. In his first year he won the Champions League with them after one of the best goals of all time in final. He then won La Liga with them in 03. In 1998 he was the star of the French team, thats a fact. He might not have been the best player on the team, but before that tournament even started the media was calling him the best midfielder in the world and the pressure was put on his shoulders to perform and deliver. People always watch the team from their country plus the home team. There was an extra spotlight on Germany last year, for instance. Zidane scored two goals in the final. It doesn't matter what kind of tournament he had before that, that's the stuff people remember. At Euro 2000 he really did have an amazing tournament, that's something even most anti-Zidaniacs will admit to. He was the star of the team again because of his performance in 98 and so everyone's eyes were on him; he didn't fail to disappoint. He won the FIFA player of the year award three times, and would have won in 2000 if he hadn't headbutted that Hamburg player. Whether its luck or not doesn't really matter. In this case truth is subjective, and public perception is what matters. The media was lavishing the guy with praise from the beginning and calling him a great and then a legend. In 2004, after he was past his prime, he was voted the greatest European Footballer of the last 50 years. So it doesn't matter how good he was, he was the greatest player of his generation.

- Juan Roman Riquelme will always be associated with the word underachiever. Unless he joins a major Euro side and has a great couple of years and does well in 2010 to cap off his career he will go down in history as someone who didn't live up to his potential.


While I will not disagree on your ZZ paragraph, calling Riquelme an underachiever is a bit harsh. If all your basing your comment on is European achievements then they don't carry much merit. I'd say his accomplishments in South America clearly fall into the category of achievements. I don't weigh acheivements in Europe any higher than those in South America. The only reason European futbol is more prestigous is due to money, media and imported players. I guess Villarreal isn't in Europe because you've discounted one the great small club futbol stories in years.

[elciclon]

While I will not disagree on your ZZ paragraph, calling Riquelme an underachiever is a bit harsh. If all your basing your comment on is European achievements then they don't carry much merit. I'd say his accomplishments in South America clearly fall into the category of achievements. I don't weigh acheivements in Europe any higher than those in South America. The only reason European futbol is more prestigous is due to money, media and imported players. I guess Villarreal isn't in Europe because you've discounted one the great small club futbol stories in years.

cause we all know that liverpool and bucaramanga are would be the same if it wasnt for the money.

[Teso Dos Bichos]

I don't weigh acheivements in Europe any higher than those in South America. The only reason European futbol is more prestigous is due to money, media and imported players.

It is more prestigious because it contains the best players and therefore impressing against them should deservedly be considered above any South American equivalent. There is a big difference between playing against the best the world has to offer and doing so against 'what-ifs'.

[Moishe]

cause we all know that liverpool and bucaramanga are would be the same if it wasnt for the money.

Your missing the point. Do you remember the time when most South American players stayed in South America? Playing for BOCA, river, Santos.....were like playing for Milan, ManU et al. European futbol is what it is in large part due to the influx of foreign talent. You can't seem to turn down a chance to disagree with me:rolleyes:

[Moishe]

It is more prestigious because it contains the best players and therefore impressing against them should deservedly be considered above any South American equivalent. There is a big difference between playing against the best the world has to offer and doing so against 'what-ifs'.

While your point is truly valid, I still believe that the best of South America can compete with the best of Europe plain and simple.

[Robbie Quaid]

Haha! Hey! Brassmonkey! If you think this thread is pointless then why are you posting to it? If your sick & tired about reading Zidane threads' then it's quite simple! ... Don't read them! Go start your own thread you could title it ...(Disgrunted & unhappy!):D You would make a great Mod here for the forum I'll give you that! You have the personality of a wet paper sack!:D

[brassmonkey]

Haha! Hey! Brassmonkey! If you think this thread is pointless then why are you posting to it? If your sick & tired about reading Zidane threads' then it's quite simple! ... Don't read them! Go start your own thread you could title it ...(Disgrunted & unhappy!):D You would make a great Mod here for the forum I'll give you that! You have the personality of a wet paper sack!:D

I posted to point out why this issue is ridiculous, and hopefully to save some people from typing. These things come down to opinion and perception. Anyone can either twist the stats or throw out opinions as fact with no proof to back it up. Most of the Zidane "fans" on this thread haven't really even seen much of him, and the people that dislike or discredit Zidane get tired of that and use these people's ignorance as fuel. The fact is that Riquelme is a great player, who in the minds of many will never have lived up to his potential. He only wants to play for Boca or Villareal. One doesn't want him, the other can't afford the wages he demands. Neither are big clubs. If he would suck it up and go play for a side that needs him, like say Tottenham or Juventus, he could do insanely well.

[Monzon]

let's ramble a bit in spanish...

...de golpe leo Boca es un equipo chico (en mismo renglón que Villareal) asi como si nada en medio de una opinion con aires de objetividad (objetividad ke por cierto jamas existe desde el momento en que humanos somos)...

si no fuera por el omnipresente tufillo a baja autoestima y necesidad de aprobacion de la metropli (Europa) por parte de sudamericanos y americanos en gral...y que el sol a veces parece solo brillar en la vieja Uropa, brillando tanto que enceguece en mas de una ocasión...muchas opiniones tendrian un cariz, un sustento bastante mayor del que tienen.


Zidane es un talento superior a Riquelme en todo aspecto, menos en el "manejo" continuo de un equipo tactica y estrategicamente durante un partido (o cuando en sintonia) un torneo.

Zidane palidece en esto, comparandolo con Platini por caso y otros grandes...lo solventa? con apariciones magistrales, que fueron CONTINUAS en toda su carrera.

Opinion la mia, a grandes rasgos, pincelada de caracteristicas de ambos, no verdades a ultranza sin matices ni excepciones.

...pero Zizou siempre se me hizo mas esporadico que un Cryuff, Maradona, Pele, Di Stefano, Platini, Garrincha etc inclsuo que un contemporaneo Figo o más pleno en forma Ronaldo...y si esto se compensa para enaltecer su grandeza y repetida ubicación en los ultimos años con los mas grandes genios de todos los tiempos con:

- momentos de efectividad brillante, o
- y ppalmente. con momentos de una gracia estetica insuperable...pues bienvenido sea!! en contra de los agoreros de la efectividad y desdeño de la belleza, como si ambas aristas jamas se tocaran..mientras han sido la conjunción de ambas, la mayoria de los momentos mas sublimes de este deporte en sus mas grandes triunfos, de los cuales Zidane? guarda varios en su haber.

La forma es fondo en el futbol, solo aquellos mas grandes genios suben a tal pedestal, a caballo de una sensación de inmejorable tecnica, que no solo se nota, se nos impone y subyuga.
El mas grande profesional, es aquel queno dirime ni entrega a mejor postor su mejor enfoque amateur hacia el juego, con la prepotencia bien entendida de saberse el mejor y querer demostarlo como en el barrio.

A mi me gusta coger con la luz prendida, para luces apagadas? gente con otros gustos, porque despues de todo? se trata mucho de eso, gustos, de los ke esta mucho escrito....

Jamas entendere en esa sintonia el menospreciar a Zidane por su menor manejo tactico de un equipo, o su "egosimo" en no mostarse mas de lo que se mostro, ya que sino? no sería Zidane.

Entiendo igual, es un argumento valido en contra en la comparación con otros genios de todos los tiempos...

por cierto parece que el frances era cabron...y que? lo descortez no quita lo valiente.


Mientras Riquelme tiene un talento posible de genialidades, su carater (moody como dirian los ingleses) y ppalmente. su forma tactica de ver, sentir y jugar el juego, más su menor caudal técnico (vale aclarar estoy hablando a niveles técnicos donde los Rufetes y Pernías de este mundo ni vendiendo el alma al diablo podran obtener) lo van a poner siempre en un escalon inferior, sino dos o más en algunas ocasiones...frente a la prepotencia mas habitual y menos necesitada de equipo alrededor de un jugador como Zidane.


Riquelme te puede llevar a la semi final de una CL, ganar Libertadores, pero es una bomba de tiempo en su terquedad y sus garantias individuales de generar una aparicion salvadora por si mismo, son menores que las de otros jugadores capaces de genialidades en la historia del juego...

No por falta de tecnica o caracter, sino por falta de que el juego se desarrolle como él quiere:

Si el defensor se desordena, si no tiene lateral a quiien abrir la pelota, no va a reaccionar con un plan B, seguira en su plan A y con "suerte" frota la lampara y hace un gol de 25 metros; o hace bailar a su favor a todo su equipo, mientras desespera a sus rivales...o...lamentablemente...sigue en plan A y solo estrella una pelota contra un palo y da solo una "asistencia" que jamas se concreta..

Con Riquelme, al ser tan tactico, y terco en su visión y forma de juego.
se cumple muchas veces la máxima de Murphy de que si algo que puede salir mal, saldrá peor...

con Zidane, Pele, Maradona, Di Stefano y tantos otros..da la sensacion de que si algo puede salir mal? con ellos? puede terminar en lo mejor...

Se dice es la presencia justa, en el momento necesario, pero se escapa a muchos, que ellos lo imponen asi, lo inventan, y nos generan una sensación de que "y si, algo iba hacer, y lo hizo, si despues de todo? "siempre" lo hace y cuando se debe".

Si bien como hincha de Boca y fanatico de Roman, no dejo de ver las diferencias sustanciales que se han dado en su carrera con respecto no solo a Zidane, sino a otros grandes.

Tampoco puedo olvidar nos dio de esas genialidades atemporales (que ya son de todos, porke las genialidades atemporales, son patrimono de todo aquel dsifrute este juego)...y a montones....

No puedo dejar de pensar que un mundo donde diversidad es regla y la regla del mejor es su excepcionalidad...a mas excepciones fuera de regla un jugador es más genial, mas "bello" y por ende mas efectivo...

Romy no rinde todas las materias para entrar en ese Olimpo van los que en el mundo no se nhacen, nacen Genios...viven y nunca mueren...Genios...

Zizou golpea esa puerta con la prepotencia de la belleza hecha juego en mano y una valija de exitos variados...aun cuando no falte quien el critique, justo o no, que Platini fue mejor...a la mesa Redonda de Pele, se sienta trankilo sin desentonar y comodo, Roman no comeria de la emoción de la invitación.

Se dice Riquleme fracasa, o no trinufa del todo en Europa por su escasa "adaptacion", cuando Roman casi desaperece bajo Bilardo y Veira en Boca mismo inmerso en su terquedad, y porque no, nobleza obliga, en la terquedad de aquel no sabe manejar el diamante tiene en manos....


En un analisis mas amplio no es un caso de Europa vs America el de Roman (y el de tantos). Las diferencias entre las ligas mas tradicionales no es tal incluso dentro de la misma Europa...todas parece tienden a emparejar hacia abajo cuando el negocio se come al juego, cuando ya no se tiene miedo a perder, sino directamente a ganar.


Incluso en relación al respeto, un enemigo se lo puede odiar, a un rival? se lo enaltece si lo merece, porke eso lo enaltece a uno en su triunfo.

Si jamas existio un gran respeto por las Ligas Sudamericanas, sino mas bien una actitud colonialista de obtencion de materias primas, aun en tiempos en que un Di Stefano, Sivori, Pele jugaba en Sudamerica...como va a existir ahora en un mundo mediatizado y con Insuas, Tchecos, o Montenegros de este lado???..

Desde la vision Europea se ven o no diamantes, se acumulan, y si hay menos diamantes de un lado ke del otro...ya sea por apropiacion, generacion, etc...este lado americano, no ha de ser tan bueno.

Pero como el futbol es un juego extraño donde prima el concepto, todo aquel equipo donde prime este y maneje las variables del deporte, le puede plantar cara a cualquiera...

Las ligas sudamericanas al mantener mejor esta tradicon, con mas o menos diamantes, siempre le va plantar cara a cualquiera....

Por eso valen tambien los triunfos del otro lado del oceano y por eso tambien seguiran surgiendo nuevos muy talentosos jugadores..

La mera acumulación de nombres no hace a una mejor Liga ni a un mejor equipo y ese es un error mas usual en Europa que en Sudamerica donde paradojicamente siempre ha habido una mayor cantera...

Pero el futbol como desarrollo estrategico-tactico con funciones, donde a los genios se los deja crear y deshacer reglas...es un concepto con mejor arraigo de este lado del charco que cuando el negocio se fagocita todo concepto en Europa.
Esta bella y vieja señora presa a veces de su propio canibalismo mediatico y su prisa y la acumulacion de materias primas, con el continuo reemplazo de la novedad por otras mas novedosa...

Pero mientras inalterable se mantiene el concepto de que el el tiempo sigue siendo la materia de la que esta hecha una leyenda...por ende hoy, no es suficiente tiempo...

en la tierra de las "muy superiores ligas"...Messi YA es Maradona y el Barca se va a comer al Inter de Porto Alegre sin salir a la cancha.

Al cesar lo que es del Cesar, un centenar de años de campeonatos brasileños, argentinos, no se voltea de la noche a la mañana, ni los logros en ellos son de caucho y en Europa solo de Oro, porque si bien la brecha existe, es una brecha mas basada en que no todo lo que brilla es Oro, pero ************ que brilla, que otra cosa.

Una sensación de incomprensión y falta de "afecto" porke eso es lo ke esta manga de **************es que somos los americanos queremos...les damos jugadorazos y no paran de mesnospreciarnos, mientras bastante tenemos con el complejo de padre ausente o incestuoso que se comio a los hijos de estas tierras...para que ni el futbol nos reconozcan en justa medida.

Ni nosotros sudacas debemos retribuir con exceso de soberbia a la tierra de los Cryuffs, Kaisers, Giussepes, Stanleys, Herencs, Lusitos y tantos otros...ni ponernos el disfraz de primer mundo futbolsitico con americanos mas norteños, centrales con menos historia.

Si Zidane es mejor que Riquelme, no es porque Zidane jugo y gano en Europa, es porque es mejor.


Terminada la biblia, se piden las disculpas del caso..estaba verborragico se ve...me pasa de vez en cuando.

[Volrath]

Initially, it does seem surprising there hasn't been a huge queue of European top clubs lining up to buy him, but I guess we could say that the apparent lack of interest in Riquelme's services says a lot about the playing philosophy of the modern game. Managers almost universally admire Riquelme, but none of them particularly see him as a potential part of their team. Part of that is probably down to Riquelme's personality - his difficulty in adapting, his fragile confidence and all the baggage that goes with it - but plenty of clubs have signed difficult players before without much hesitation. What is really being said here is that managers just don't have much faith in a pure, unadulterated playmaker anymore. What most coaches really want is a midfielder who is going to be able to run up and down the pitch all day, break up the oppostion play, distribute the ball with a minimum of fuss and provide a consistent level of performance in every game. They don't build systems around one player anymore, and certainly not a player who is going to mostly just occupy space in the final third, spraying passes around. I think it was Arsene Wenger who once said something very insightful about Riquelme, about him never going for the most obvious solution. If there are 1,000 solutions to a problem, Riquelme will find the 1,001st. That's something I'm not all that sure modern teams are equipped to deal with having in their side - that kind of creative, on the fly, innovation. Players today are more used to performing set roles according to set plans. Riquelme is like jazz musician, looking for off kilter, unexpected notes to play, whereas the modern coach just wants his team to play straight ahead rock n' roll with a standard backbeat.

If you look at some of the other great players in our time - somebody like Kaka, for example - and don't get me wrong, because Kaka is obviously a superb player - but his style is actually much more direct and simple than some of the great playmakers of the past. His understanding of movement is excellent, and he gets that bit of space on his marker and plays the final pass or takes a shot, but there is not the same kind of elaboration we would see with Brazilian players in the past. Kaka is actually much more European in his approach. A team like AC Milan like to keep the game tight, retain possession, avoid giving their opponents presents, and depend on a player like Kaka to shift up the pace and provide a clinical threat in the final third. That is good football, but it is much more of a planned, tactical game than what we would see Brazil play in 1970, or the Netherlands in 74, or even Argentina today, for that matter. Kaka is rightly proclaimed as one of the pre-eminent creative attacking players of his generation, but he is a very different sort of player to what we thought of as creative players in the past. The game has changed.

Riquelme, then, is more of a throwback to a more elegant era, before coaches automatically added up the faster + stronger = better equation. In some ways, we might say that there has never been a player who quite compares to Riquelme, so unique is his style, and that is why it is so difficult to fit him into any particular jigsaw puzzle. In this sense we can better understand why Riquelme is not coveted by every team in the World, and is openly on the market for the modest fee of 10 million pounds - a paltry sum in comparison to what top players normally go for in the modern game. I've said this many times before, but it's almost as if we don't deserve Riquelme - he is too elegant a player for these times.

Personally I have allways enjoyed watching Riquelme a hell of a lot more then I did watching Zidane.

[peruytu]

I'm a huge Riquelme fan, but there's no comparison... Zidane is more of a complete player. Even Hagi, who is a step below Zidane is better than Riquelme. The only reason Riquelme has not stepped up to the level of Zidane or Hagi is due to his psyche. Riquelme has to be inspired in order for him to constantly perform, he has to want it. Even in the national team where he has yet to show his full potential, it's not something he really wants... for him only exists Boca Juniors, nothing else. If you see him play in Boca you'd think he was better than Ronaldinho and the rest of the best. Its all due to where he comes from, a mentality partly due to the argentine society that has been installed into his psyche. Probably looked down upon all his life due to the fact that he's come from the "villa" or the ghetto shanty towns in the Buenos Aires outskirts, and of course for being dark skinned. This is common with players with his same background... like "Burrito" Ortega and Tevez. I guess it's also due to self confidence... or just simply not giving a sh!t at what other people think or want from him, simply being rebellious... something he's known for at Villarreal.