He was not that bad against Arsenal as you want to make him. I can remember other games when he was shyte and tonight was not one of them. He did not create chances but he held the ball for his team mates and they created chances from crosses actually against a tight Arsenal defense. I can also remember so many games when all those you claimed they are way better than Riquelme had real shyte games including Ronaldinho he was ananymos in so many games and missed so many penalties himself.

Riquelme will not be alone in the NT. Lucho, Messi, Tevez, Maxi and even Mashcerano can exploit the spaces the opposit team gives to close down on Riquelme and this is something Villarreal do not have. That is teh difference in my opinion. Do I trust Riquelme alone? Not 100% even though he single handedly left a small team on his shoulders to such stage which is something Ronaldinho could not do in Paris and he actually been benched there due to his poor performances.

 

agree completely with pooh...this is not argentina of 86 dependent on one single player. never knew ronaldinho was on the bench for paris sg.

 

Yes, Ronaldinho when he was 20 years old, and no one actually saw him playing....fair to compare...

Riquelme was terrible in the first game, and bad today IMO. A player that is expected to make the difference can't just limit his game to side 5-meter passing and one good oportunity created in 180 minutes. More was expected from him, and he will have to do more in the World Cup, if Argentina wants to past 1/4 finals.

And come on, he missed a penalty....did it ever happen again to other players? Of course. But did it ruin Villarreal chances to go to the finals and should be mentioned? Hell yeah. You can't just pretend that it didn't happen just because it happened before to other great players...

 

The penalty missed and that is. So what, again? So other great players were labelled as penalty missers? He ****ed up today with this penalty just as others did. On the other hand, he left this small team on his shoulder and kicked arse and reached this stage, few players can do that.

 

He wasnt really that bad today but he does tend to dissapear....i dont really trust him as much as i hoped but fortunately we have very good backups in case he cant handle the pressure(Aimar).

 

I trust Juan Riquelme 110%, and more than ever. He is the man.

His performance tonight was nothing like as bad as is being made out. He made the mistake of missing a penalty, which can happen to anyone. He can, and will bounce back from this.

What no-one is doing tonight is praising the fact that a Riquelme-led, tiny in comparison Villarreal side got to the semi finals in the first bloody place! I guess it's not in keeping with the reactionary way of things huh? The fact of the matter is Riquelme has basically carried this Villarreal side way beyond reasonable expectations in European competition and the man deserves an abundance of credit for that.

Look at the team who eliminated them, Arsenal. Thierry Henry himself has 'disappeared' as it were under similar circumstances, year after year. Er Go, teams mark the one dangerman out of the game, and the rest of them arent up to the job of carrying the team in the absence, as it were. It's all very well for Saint Ronaldinho who has Deco, Messi, Giuly, Eto'o, Xavi, Gio, Belletti etc all picking up the attacking mantle as well. It's a far different scenario when you've got less capability going forward throughout the team. As far as Ron#10 does, regardless of age, it's a perfectly valid point that Ronnie didn't even get close to inspiring PSG to the semi finals of the Champions League. If he was so much the genius people claim, then even at age 20, why didn't he? The point here is that Riquelme was constricted considerably by a team who flooded the midfield, and there's only so much 'carrying' one man can achieve if his teammates cant carry it on.

And as far as Argentina goes? Well let's see how Tevez, Messi, Crespo, Lucho, Mascherano et al link up with Roman instead, shall we Because if teams focus all their energy on Riquelme in that entirely different scenario, they will be murdered in cold blood.

 

we focused on stopping Riquleme, so much so that we forgot to play football ourselves, now add Messi and Tevez to the Villarreal team then tonight i think my team may have lost 3 or 4

 

But the competition in the WC will be tougher than your team, Jern...

 

So many buts Gallo and failed to make a valid point. Next time, think again before trying to put down a player because he missed a PK.

 

It's all very well for Saint Ronaldinho who has Deco, Messi, Giuly, Eto'o, Xavi, Gio, Belletti etc all picking up the attacking mantle as well. It's a far different scenario when you've got less capability going forward throughout the team. As far as Ron#10 does, regardless of age, it's a perfectly valid point that Ronnie didn't even get close to inspiring PSG to the semi finals of the Champions League. If he was so much the genius people claim, then even at age 20, why didn't he?

Hey ashole, Ronaldinho took Brazil to its 5th World Cup when with two actions of genius he killed the exact team that kicked the butt of Argentina, who were supposed to win it easily, to take the world by storm. He simply destroyed England, while the entire fabulous unstoppable Argentina of Verón, Aimar, Ayala and etc, couldn't do anything when faced with that same team, and were HUMILIATED. Remember that? Yes, Ronaldinho, doing that, was WORLD CHAMPION. Read it out loud: WORLD CHAMPION. Something that Argentina last did twenty long years ago.

So, try thinking twice next time you open your mouth to let the sh.t you have in your brain out.

I'll not comment on the other stupidities, like Ronaldinho only being great because he's playing with Belletti and Xavi, or that Riquelme took Villarreal to the semifinal of a Champions' League single-handedly, or that Ronaldinho was benched on PSG because of poor performances (and not because of a stubborn coach that had to swallow Ronaldinho's greatness and come back in his stupid decision of not playing his best player). I'll not talk about Riquelme's poor performances in Europe before getting to Villarreal. And i'll not remind you that the great achievement of taking Villarreal to a semi-final is a failure, because what counts is to be champion, and nobody cares who were semifinalists in 98 or 89. I'll just remind you this: Ronaldinho was a world champion in a world cup where the great Argentina was HUMILIATED.

 

Relax Dude, he didnt mean that way.

 

And we will see more of this in the WC from Roman:

Roman's Goal

 

So many buts Gallo and failed to make a valid point. Next time, think again before trying to put down a player because he missed a PK.

Actually I'm yet to answer this topic properly, I just gave it a look. :tongue:

 

Hey ashole, Ronaldinho took Brazil to its 5th World Cup when with two actions of genius he killed the exact team that kicked the butt of Argentina, who were supposed to win it easily, to take the world by storm. He simply destroyed England, while the entire fabulous unstoppable Argentina of Verón, Aimar, Ayala and etc, couldn't do anything when faced with that same team, and were HUMILIATED. Remember that? Yes, Ronaldinho, doing that, was WORLD CHAMPION. Read it out loud: WORLD CHAMPION. Something that Argentina last did twenty long years ago.

So, try thinking twice next time you open your mouth to let the sh.t you have in your brain out.

I'll not comment on the other stupidities, like Ronaldinho only being great because he's playing with Belletti and Xavi, or that Riquelme took Villarreal to the semifinal of a Champions' League single-handedly, or that Ronaldinho was benched on PSG because of poor performances (and not because of a stubborn coach that had to swallow Ronaldinho's greatness and come back in his stupid decision of not playing his best player). I'll not talk about Riquelme's poor performances in Europe before getting to Villarreal. And i'll not remind you that the great achievement of taking Villarreal to a semi-final is a failure, because what counts is to be champion, and nobody cares who were semifinalists in 98 or 89. I'll just remind you this: Ronaldinho was a world champion in a world cup where the great Argentina was HUMILIATED.

Excellent post. I think I won't even need to answer anymore.

 

I laugh in Pooh's face. A penalty kick, handed to him on a platter...wow....what can I say...

 

First of all, despite being Brazilian, I'm a big fan of Argentinian football. Players like Verón and Batistuta are some of my favourite players ever.

Riquelme is a good player and has success in Villarreal. This is a fact. But I don't know, I can't see him as a competitive player like Totti, Ronaldinho, Kaká, Gerrard and others. Techinically he is impressive, but I don't think he has the attitude or is competitive enough to lead a champion team.

These two games against Arsenal he almost didn't exist. Not only because he missed a penalty (something that happens with the best players, but also can't be ignored) but also because he wasn't capable of creating more than one good play in 180 minutes.

Riquelme is a player that needs the team to be built around him. And I don't know if it is the smartest idea to do that. IMO, he's simply not complete enough to be so trusted.

Opinions may differ, I just wanted to hear your thoughts and analysis, considering the games against Arsenal too.

Well put. You said it!

 

Yes, Ronaldinho when he was 20 years old, and no one actually saw him playing....fair to compare...

Riquelme was terrible in the first game, and bad today IMO. A player that is expected to make the difference can't just limit his game to side 5-meter passing and one good oportunity created in 180 minutes. More was expected from him, and he will have to do more in the World Cup, if Argentina wants to past 1/4 finals.

And come on, he missed a penalty....did it ever happen again to other players? Of course. But did it ruin Villarreal chances to go to the finals and should be mentioned? Hell yeah. You can't just pretend that it didn't happen just because it happened before to other great players...

Gallo in the first match Arsenal was ALL over the place. You couldn't expect him or anyone to do much about that. The TEAM Arsenal was better than the TEAM Villa.
In the second he was very very poor thats true.

 

Hey ashole, Ronaldinho took Brazil to its 5th World Cup when with two actions of genius he killed the exact team that kicked the butt of Argentina, who were supposed to win it easily, to take the world by storm. He simply destroyed England, while the entire fabulous unstoppable Argentina of Verón, Aimar, Ayala and etc, couldn't do anything when faced with that same team, and were HUMILIATED. Remember that? Yes, Ronaldinho, doing that, was WORLD CHAMPION. Read it out loud: WORLD CHAMPION. Something that Argentina last did twenty long years ago.

So, try thinking twice next time you open your mouth to let the sh.t you have in your brain out.

I'll not comment on the other stupidities, like Ronaldinho only being great because he's playing with Belletti and Xavi, or that Riquelme took Villarreal to the semifinal of a Champions' League single-handedly, or that Ronaldinho was benched on PSG because of poor performances (and not because of a stubborn coach that had to swallow Ronaldinho's greatness and come back in his stupid decision of not playing his best player). I'll not talk about Riquelme's poor performances in Europe before getting to Villarreal. And i'll not remind you that the great achievement of taking Villarreal to a semi-final is a failure, because what counts is to be champion, and nobody cares who were semifinalists in 98 or 89. I'll just remind you this: Ronaldinho was a world champion in a world cup where the great Argentina was HUMILIATED.

Relax. R10 goal against England was plain lucky everybody knows it. R10 is great but he wasn't that great in the last WC. Only truphys mattes..?
So Zico is a shit ass or what?

 

Oh, out come the vipers! Riquelme is bad now: ignore every single statistic.
Technically, what Bocha said on page one I agree with, but I'll say it again:
with Riquelme as the focal point, Boca became one of the most successful club teams of the last 10 years, anywhere!
With Riquelme as the focal point Villarreal, little, little Villarreal, finished third in Spain and went to their THIRD semi-finals in a European competition.
Why is everything this guy does so analysed?? Every kick: 'oh wait, a misplaced pass, he is bad now'. Give the guy a break: he is class and will always be class and I trust him completely!

 

Man, even i cant stand brazil team, every day the brit public go on about them bla bla bal, (which is why brazil cant win again, as i cant stand another 4 years of brazil adverts), but hey, even i admit, ronalhinio is the best player by a mile in t world, and if he playes like he does for next 4 years, im afraisd icapable of passing maradona(who in my mind was the freatest ever). I rermemern seeig ronaldhinio in 1996 olympics, and 19999 copa and thought this guy gonna be good, not a let down like(saviolas, d'allsandros, cavenaghis, romagniliis) etc.
even kaka, is prob beter than riquelme.

I love riquelme, but the guy is 28 soon, and he should be in his peak, but he blows hot and cold. Even pablo aimar has had a better season, whi in my mind should stat in worlld cup, due to his fanstastic season for Valencia.

Pekerman focus 2 much on riquelme that he forgets about rest of team.

 

Give me a break!
All of you Brazilian fanboys make me want to puke. Do you really think that if you keep posting all this shit than it will come true?
First of all, let's review Gallo's players who are allegedly better than Riquelme:
Totti - what exactly has he done for Roma, an obviously superior team to Villareal, since their championship with Batistuta 5 years ago? and waht did he do with Italy?
on to Kaka - the guy plays for Milan, one of the greatest clubs in Europe and still wasn't able to win a Scudetto or a European title (don't worry, Milan will be eliminated tonight). Gerrard - I'm not even gonna say anything on this matter.
Which leaves us with Ronaldinho - no doubt that he's the best in the world right now, but please, do me a favour and look at him closely tonight agains Milan. When Barca are Defending he dissapears. It's only when their attacking and the opponent's deffence needs to close other players that he shines. I am not going to say that Riquelme is better than him but I really do beleive with all my heart and soul that reaching the semis with a small team is more than winning the champions league with a giant such as Barca.
And let me just get one more thing out of my system. Maradona won two Scuddeto's and one uefa cup (when it was still a worthy cup) with Napoly! Where are they now?
Where will Barca be after Ronaldinho?
Think about it the next time you try and compare Ronaldinho to Diego

 

tevezisgod: that was an almost perfect post. Pretty much exactly what I wanted to say

 

Jorge Ben wants us to believe that Ronnie's fluke against England was a genius move! What a shmuck and the funny thing that Gallo agrees with him. Speaks volumes of those two morons.

 

I laugh in Pooh's face. A penalty kick, handed to him on a platter...wow....what can I say...

You can say nothing as he whipped the floor with your shitty team. Guys like you should shut their mouths for god knows how long.

 

You can say nothing as he whipped the floor with your shitty team. Guys like you should shut their mouths for god knows how long.

If Inter are indeed shitty then Riquelme playing well against us is no big deal. Afterall, it's easy playing against a shitty team don't you think ?

doesn't require any brilliance whatsoever.

but against Arsenal he sucked, big time. Not a single decisive pass in 180+ minutes of football, yet some people have the audacity to believe he's better than Totti or Kaka :howler: , who rarely have a bad match.

I won't even compre him to Dinho, that would be an insult to the Brasilian in all honesty. As one Barca poster previously stated, Ronaldinho became GOD where Riquelme was a clown. Nuff said.