Riquelme retires from international football

In just moments, Roman will be announcing his definite retirement from the argentine national squad wich will allow him to concentrate in his fitness(or someting like that)

Guess we'll have to do with the crystal man(Aimar) for now...

Any thoughts?

EDIT: It's official he's out. Appaarently his mother has been hospitalized a couple of times since the WC finished, and he considers its his responsability to take care of her...(???)

I have to admit I am totally shocked.

He is at his very peak and still has much to offer the Argentine national side.

A great player over the last few years.

Very suprised, and still only 28.

Well it eases the team selection dilemmas that Basile faces, but it's a shame for Intl football. Riquelme is a fantastic player, and is one of the most cultured midfielders in the world.

Wonder who will step in now. Aimar is certainly a worthy candiate, Messi is another. Esteban is also a good AM, but maybe not on the same level, since he rarely plays there...

Riquelme is one of the very last classical playmakers in the game, a dying species. A real pity to see him retire from international football. One of the very best, most elegant players of our times. Hope he reconsiders.

Wow, this did come out of nowhere.

*Sigh*

One of the top five players in the world steps out of the only spotlight that shines on his infinite talent. Just occasionally, you do wish that he did have the "too big for his own boots" personality, that would give his ability the coverage it deserves.

Well he truly is a unique player. Playmakers like him simply aren't formed in football nowadays. I agree with Calidad, this will make Basile's decissions easier. Although there is no player like him to fill the playmaker role on Basile's favourite formation(4-3-1-2), I think that the attacking football Basile wants to give to this team will be closer now that Roman is out.(at last we'll have some verticality on our game!)

Where did this come from i'm

such a pitty he is the last of a dying breed.

has calidad said it eases the team selection dilemmas that Basile faces.

so who will it be Aimar/Maxi/Messi


------Messi-------Aimar----------Tevez/kun

-----Maxi---------Messi------------Kun/Tevez

-----Messi---------Maxi------------Tevez/Kun

-----Maxi---------Aimar--------Tevez/Kun/Messi

which do 3 do you think Basile will choose.

Shocking news,
Argentina needs a central striker though like Crespo was.

I suppose the coach can do what the French do and completely ignore his wishes. However I'm sure they will show him more respect. He'll be missed from international football as he made it worth watching.

This is extremely good news for Argentina! Riquelme was overrated but the whole team was build around his arse.... Now they can play more freely and other players can step up!

I'm not as radical as Ricardo, but I really think he is extermely overrated.

Great player, no doubt, in a role that is dying, fantastic in South America...

... but at the most very top pressure in Europe and International, IMO, never was the world class player. And it explains while he is in Villareal.

You guys are shocked he is still 28, or that he is already 28????

wow what a surprise, he`s still young, well i guess Villarreal benefit from this.

This in " Marca "

Juan Román Riquelme anunció que no volverá a jugar en la selección argentina debido a que su madre ha tenido problemas de salud por las críticas que se formulan en su país a su rendimiento con la camiseta albiceleste.

"Por más ganas que tenga de jugar en la selección, lo que más me importa es la salud de mi madre", dijo el jugador. "Mi madre es mi madre y no se compara con la camiseta de la selección", aseguró al aclarar que "todo el mundo tiene derecho a decir lo que quiera".

Riquelme indicó que la decisión la tomó cuando su hermana le avisó desde Buenos Aires que su madre había sido ingresada por segunda vez en una clínica tras una crisis nerviosa, afectada por las críticas contra su hijo. "Mi obligación es cuidar a mi madre", insistió el futbolista, quien al considerar un ex jugador de la selección dijo: "cada vez que me ponía esa camiseta era una sensación increíble".

Riquelme dijo que antes de aceptar la entrevista del canal 13 de televisión de Buenos Aires, en la que formuló el anuncio, habló con el seleccionador argentino, Alfio Basile, para ponerlo en conocimiento de su decisión.

"El anuncio que hago es normal. He tomado la decisión de no formar parte de la selección. El hecho que tenga que pensar en la salud de mi mama, no se me hizo difícil la decisión", comentó

"Mucho tiempo no me llevó (tomar la decisión). La salud de mi madre me ayudo a decidir. Desde que terminó el Mundial, hace poco tiempo, mi mamá ha terminado internada dos veces. Siempre tuve las cosas claras. Antes que el fútbol está mi familia. Mi responsabilidad es cuidarla todo lo que pueda", añadió.

This is absolutely ludicrous and a crying shame. I will never understand why people do this as international football is the pinnacle and nothing compares to it, whatever the Champions League idolaters say.

Let's hope he comes back, like Larsson, Zizou and the rest.

I'd put the shcok up there with when Paul Scholes retired at a similar age. Great player, what a shame;

although he did seem to slow down argentina's play a lot under Pekerman/Bielsa, they were too dependent on him. Maybe its a blessing in the long run

I'm sorry but there is no way that Aimar is anywhere near as good as Riquelme so this has left a massive whole in Argentina's team.

IMO Messi isn't the right man for his position either - you need someone to play the passes and release the ball.

So this probably means a change of formation - maybe to a 4-3-3- a la Barcelona

The Real White Pele wrote:I'd put the shcok up there with when Paul Scholes retired at a similar age. Great player, what a shame;

Only difference Sven played Scholes out of position. Riquelme had the team set up for him.

Excellent player though, big shame.

Ahh but it Scholes hadn't retired, Lampard might not have broken in to the England team, and what a disaster that would have been!

Shiiiiiiiiit. Only just seen this post, and yes, it is quite similar to Scholes.

His World Cup performances were dissapointing. I think any possibilty of him becoming the World Player of they Year at a stage in his career is now over.

Scholes was rather older and not making that much impact at international level (not that this was entirely his fault, being played out of position and all that).

Has Crespo retired from the national team then?

The other difference is that Scholes had been shit for England for 2 years previously whereas Riquelme, when on song, was the heartbeat of Argentina.

Lights the blue touch paper and retires

That is a franker version of what I was saying – should have had the balls to say so myself. I quite agree, the comparison is ludicrous.

Hey, you can rely on me to be frank at least about Man U players who are shit

Man United > England.

True Story.

Liverpool> Man United > England

I know you guys are having a laugh, but this is a wider and serious point about English football not being the sum of its parts. You are both quite right, whereas e.g. Werder Bremen are vg but not nearly so good as the Nationalmannschaft.

Deserves another thread, perhaps. And the reasons are certainly wider than the number of national players involved in each case...

Nah, I'm deadly serious.

For me, most Man United fans and I'm sure Paul Scholes.

Man United comes before England.

Me too. I've had enough of our players getting injured on international duty.

EPL> Bundesliga because of the amount of foreign imports... hence top clubs> national team in England.

That's the difference to Germany I guess. I bet that for most Germans, the Nationalmannschaft comes first. It's the team that unites us, and has the support of all of us.

I strongly believe that this is one of the main reasons for the relative success of the Mannschaft, and lack of success of national teams like Spain, for example, where club rivalry (Real vs. Barca) is much worse, not just for footballing reasons though. Probably because we are a federal state already, we need more 'symbols of unity' than other centralist countries like the UK, for example.