Personally, I don't see what the big deal is about Riquelme. Don't get me wrong, he's a good player, but nothing special. I wouldn't rate him higher than VDV in his current form (!) at HSV. But then again, it's not like I see Riquelme play weekly. I love Cruz, the former Feijenoord player, but to say that he's better than, for instance, van Nistelrooij is just insane. And I don't even like van Nistelrooij.
Yes, just not good enough at any of those complete facets to be truly world class. As for RvN, I personally think he's slowing down. Hell, he's getting outscored by Lampard this year! () I can only chuckle at the Riquelme to vdv comparisons though.
LOL@drug comment When vdVaart was with Ajax I'd agree about Riquelme being better. But when he hit form with HSV before his suspension I'd rate them equal
You been drinking????? Ruud has 14 goals in 17 games(topscorer in EPL), how is he being outscored by Lampard?????????? And exactly how is he "slowing down" in your opinion????
Right you are, he's overtaken Lampard this month. He's now only outscoring Lampard by two goals. Because he's looked pants in games against good sides. Most of his goals this year have come against crap opposition. Riquelme's been the best player for Argentina for two years and has taken a tiny Villareal club into the Champions league and to the UEFA Cup semis. They won their group this year over ManUtd. And compared to that vdv has done what again? The Bundesliga is not the same as LaLiga, and occasionally playing for Holland is not the same as having the Argentine national team revolve around you. Riquelme was one of the 5 best players on the planet last season.
at the moment i think riquelme is the best Cm in the world being that ronaldinho plays further up field
I was gonna negrep you for the whole RvN post but I looked it up and its true all his goals have been against mediocre opposition. However, the midfield service with ManU has been abysmal at best so to blame RvN is totally unfair I watched some of the CL games and he had very few chances created from his teammates. RvN is still one of the best strikers in the world (if not the best), and he'll show up in 2006, trust me. No need to roll your eyes 3 times, one time is enough Riquelme didnt do this all by himself. VdV's club was never in the CL so its hard to judge HSV is in 2nd spot mostly due to VdV's form. Villareal is in 4th place in what is a slightly tougher league I still think Riquelme and VdV are about equal in talent Thats your opinion, but most people would, if not laught at that, completely disagree with you.
Mediocre? His goals this year have come against: Debrecen (1), Everton (1), Villa (1), Newcastle (1), Citeh (1), Blackburn (1), Benfica (1), Fulham (2), Sunderland (1), Charlton (2), Pompey (1), Wigan (1), Villa (1) and West Brom (1). Of his EPL goals, 11 have come against clubs below the top 10. It'd be 12/14 if Newcastle weren't 10th. 8 have come against the bottom 6. The best club against whom he's scored this year has been bloody Wigan. Not that Wigan aren't playing well, but Citeh just scored 3 on them. Oh, and they're bloody Wigan! In the biggest games of the season he's been AWOL. Second leg in Benfica, games against Villareal, games against Chelsea and Liverpool. AWOL. Has it? Perhaps he's just not that good against top flight teams anymore. And he can't create anything on his own. Which is in part his fault. Why? Has he performed especially well for Holland before? He wasn't all that great at Euro2004. I don't recall him playing especially well in the 2002 qualifiers (although I don't remember him playing then period). I'd have rolled them 15 times if possible. Do you understand just how small of a club Villareal is? They take castoffs from other clubs, for the most parts. Wtf? Was he playing for a different Ajax? And if Ajax weren't in the CL, isn't that his fault? 2nd in Germany does not equal best in South American qualifying. Not particularly close. Otherwise, Lincoln would be amazing. No they wouldn't. Why don't you go start a poll. Oddly enough, people on these boards are comparing Riquelme and Ronaldinho. Not Riqulme and VdV.
Did you check Riquelme's goals??? They came against about the same level of opposition He hasnt lost it, he was never a good playmaker, watch his history and you'll know he's always been a poacher/finisher. He'll never be the same style as Henry or Ronaldo. But that doesnt mean he isnt world class!! He wasnt all that great in Euro 04????? HHmmm.........this is when I start to question your knowledge of footie. Ruud was one of the topscorers of Euro 04 and he didnt play much in our WC 2002 qualifiers ( as a matter of fact I dont think he played at all in WC02 qualifying games)....but I'll have to look that up. Short answer: NO!! Damn right it doesnt and it never will. I'll take the 2nd best in Germany any day No poll needed, I already said they are about equal. Stop bv*llshitt*ing so much and lets see this summer who's better. Okey dokey???
That's incredibly stupid. Riquelme is not a striker. His job isn't to score goals. Although, as I recall, he scored against Brasil in qualifiers this year. It means he may once have been. Whether he is now remains to be seen. I certainly needmore evidence than scoring against Fulham. He was one of the top scoreres in Euro2004? Sure, but............. He had a nice goal in a wretched Holland draw against Germany and then a tap in created by Robben against the Czechs. He had two goals against Latvia (oooh, Latvia - see a pattern?) and was then largely anonymous against Sweden and ESPECIALLY against Portugal. Earlier in his career Ruud USED to score goals against good sides. Lots of them, in fact. But he's getting older, and scoring four against Sparta Prague just isn't all that impressive. So its not vdv's fault for underachieving with Ajax? Is it the underachieving fairy then? (A close cousin of Claudio Ranieri.) Over the 3rd best in Spain and best player in South American qualifiers? I think the drugs commentw was especially apt. I don't really care what you say. You can say the moon is made of blue cheese. You'd be wrong about that. As you are about vdv and Riquelme. Not really. That's a copout. Its clear that Riquelme's better. vdv isn't even Holland's best attacking player.
Well, not ALL by himself. Sorin and Forlan are pretty good. Figueroa's not bad either. But other than that, they're pretty ordinary.
That's a bit shortsighted, and I'm putting it mildly. If you had followed Ajax over the last few seasons you'd know that there have been alot of internal problems between management, coaches and players. Which is the main reason why so many players have left, or are leaving after this season. VDV was amazing the first two years. After that alot of internal problems arose, which is the main reason why he left. And guess what? He seems to be his old self again since he's switched clubs.
DUH.........vdVaart is a midfielder so how can he be Holland's best attacking player????? You'd think Robben, RVN, vPersie, Makaay and Kuyt would go before him........NO???
Yes, it's the whore of amsterdam. Atleast according to alot of supporters (who do not support Ajax). Which is another reason why he left. The fact that supporters chanted that during alot of his matches seemed to be a pretty big distraction aswell.
Not a very ordinary defence either. I agree Riquelme orchestrates a lot of their attacks but he doesn't carry the whole team on his shoulders. I disagree with you on Ruud though, your argument applies to almost every stirker in the World. Any striker would find it harder to score against bigger teams, doens't mean they would be playing like ********. Certainly many highly rated strikers in the Premiership are being outscored by Lampard, doesn't mean they are useless. This has been one of Ruud's best seasons at UTD if you look at all his contributions including assists. Last year, after all those injury layoffs, I would have been worried about him slowing down and not getting back to form. However, he wouldn't be top scorer in the Premiership if he's slowing down regardless of who he scored against. UTD's midfield is not at it's peak either, so he msut be doing something right.