Juan Roman Riquelme: The Last of His Kind

If you were to ask an Argentinian who their greatest ever footballer was, you would expect to hear 2 names - Lionel Messi and Diego Armando Maradona. However, fixed between these two footballing Gods, there is a 3rd, under-appreciated name that would be uttered - Juan Roman Riquelme. 

Juan Roman Riquelme is an incredibly important figure in the history of football. El Torero, the ‘bullfighter’, was the last of a dying breed, signifying the transition of creative, expressive football to the automative nature of modern day. Everything the number 10 shirt encapsulated died the day Riquelme retired. 

Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima and the Riddle of a God Amongst Men

Juan Roman Riquelme started his career at the illustrious Argentines Juniors FC, also known as the ‘Cradle of the Stars’, with notable graduates such as Diego Maradona, Fernando Redondo and Alexis Mac Allister. Described as slight of frame, shy and suffering from chronic fatigue, there was no doubt in the minds of the Buenos Aires scouts that Riquelme was the most promising talent in Argentina.