Three handsome young men tussle for the ball. But does Riquelme stand for the kind of football Brazil have turned their backs on?
The man who loved his nose so much he changed his name to match it, Juan Roman Riquelme, has come out of retirement to play in this year’s edition of the Copa America. By reversing the decision he made last year, Riquelme joins an illustrious list of players who have made a similar choice. Household names like Zinedine Zidane, Roy Keane, and George McCartney, have all reconsidered the wisdom of depriving the international stage of their incomparable genius, and Riquelme must surely hope to go one better than Zidane in leading his country to a major international trophy. One can only suspect that mummy will expect nothing less than success, or Riquelme may withdraw himself from selection once again.
Riquelme’s volte-face will please fans of patient football generated from the middle of the park. Brazil, the perennial (non-South American) neutral’s favourite at tournaments, have spent the past twenty years undoing the midfield magic of Socrates and Zico, preferring instead to clog the centre of midfield with the water-carrying genius of the likes of Gilberto Silva and leave the excitement to Roberto Carlos and his fellow lifetime members of the Speedy Gonzalez Appreciation Society. For all the press that Kaka, Ronaldinho and Robinho (when he stays on his feet) receive, creativity is in short supply from midfield. The Brazilian backline look more like bouncers at a flashy nightclub than samba warriors. Brazil seem to rely too heavily on a Gilberto Silva figure to receive the ball from the defence and lay it on quickly to the Kaka or Ronaldinho in the hole, or the full-backs bombing forward.
Hopefully the inclusion of more complete central midfielders such as Shaktar Donesk’s Elano, and Werder Bremen’s Diego will restore more balance and beauty to Brazil’s play. In the meantime, with the rejuvenated Riquelme and Juan Sebastian Veron, plus the possiblity of Messi being allowed to influence matches from the centre of the pitch, opens all sorts of possibilities for exciting football played on the ground and through the midfield, the sort of football that Brazil became famous for from the 50s to the 80s. Winners are often copied, so lets hope that even if Argentina don’t win, the team that does win does so by favouring elegance and passing over sheer pace and power.
Football will surely be richer for Riquelme’s return. Let’s hope the fans lay off his mum, this time!
