Riquelme and Maradona

It seems strange to me that Boca Juniors fans seem to have taken on their former idol, Maradona, now national coach of Argentina, in a very strange controversy with Boca captain Juan Román Riquelme. Apparently Maradona, in an interview, said that if Riquelme didn't play quicker, he couldn't use him on the Argentinean national team. Apparently this was too much for Mr. Riquelme, who promptly announced that he would not return to the Argentinean national team, and refused to take Maradona's phone calls as he was trying to reach him to reconsider. At a later club-match in Boca, Boca-fans turned against the national coach.

I don't believe that what Maradona said was awful: it has been heard before that coaches use the press in order to push players to play better. And as elegant a player Riquelme is, he is certainly not quick, something that may not fit with the style Maradona may be wanting to play on the national team, using the speed and technique of small quick offensive players - Mr. Riquelme in my view does not fit in there. And since Mr. Riquelme seems to be so arrogant and self-centered that he could create split on the Argentinean national side, I thin Maradona would do best by not calling this guy any longer, but just use the many better Argentinean players for the World Cup qualifiers.

Argentina in the Olympic final

I do not think that the game was played harshly: in fact, I feel that the Brazilian red cards were way too harsh! Nevertheless, the Argentinean victory was fully deserved in this semifinal between Argentina and Brazil which should have been the final.

3-0 for Argentina on two goals by Kun Agüero and one penalty by Juán Román Riquelme, and they are now ready to face Nigeria in a repeat of the Atlanta 1996 Olympic final, where the Nigerians ran away with a not entirely deserved victory.
But thank you to the wonderful Brazilians; I hope they win the bronze medal against the poor Belgians, and well... GO ARGENTINA!

Best Player Top 10 of 2005

The year is coming to an end, and it is time to give my own personal compilation of top 10 football players of the year. Most of them are newcomers, but others were also on my 2004 list:

• 10) Didier Drogba: Chelsea has rightfully been criticized for playing overly defensive. But they still have a very powerful striking force, and the best one is Didier Drogba. This year, he has confirmed himself as one of the best strikers in the world. Furthermore, he has been part of the Ivory Coast team that qualified for their first World Cup ever.

• 9) Lionel Messi: The Argentinian youngster is certainly the newcomer of the year. He was the best player for Argentina's U-21 team that won the World Championship in the Netherlands in July. He had some problems starting in Barcelona, due to questions on his status as "extra-comunitario", but has shined since on the great Barcelona team. He will surely be a player to watch in 2006!

• 8) Juan Roman Riquelme: The former Barcelona player was a very important player in the Villarreal side that qualified for its first Champions League ever. At the time of writing, Villarreal had won their first round group in front of Benfica, Lille and mighty Manchester United, and is set to play Glasgow Rangers in the final-16 in February. Mr. Riquelme was also an important player of an Argentinian national team that had an excellent spring, becoming the first South American side to qualify for the World Cup after a marvelous 3-1 victory against Brazil, where Mr. Riquelme scored the second goal.

• 7) Michael Essien: His marvelous performance in Olympique Lyon in the spring, was rewarded with a highly anticipated change to Chelsea. In the London-team he has been an important defensive player, although his imagine has been tarnished by his recent violent tackles, particularly the one on Didi Hamann. However, it does not take away that he has had a wonderful year. He was furthermore an important player on the Ghana national team that qualified for its first World Cup ever.

• 6) Frank Lampard: Frank Lampard was also on last year's list. He has continued playing excellent on a Chelsea side that seems un-beatable. Also on the English national team, he has been one of the better-performing players on a team that had some difficulty qualifying for the World Cup.

• 5) Samuel Eto'o: Topscorer of last season's Spanish league with Barcelona, as well as the leading scorer at the end of the season, he has been another of the important player's on the great Catalan team this year. On another front, the World Cup dream faded for him and Cameroun, so he will be one of the missed great players next year in Germany.

• 4) Juninho: Has been marvelous in the strong Olympique Lyon team. They have been French champions as well as very strong in the Champions League, where a memorable 3-0 victory against Real Madrid gave them an early lead in a group they easily won. Mr. Juninho is probably the best free-kicker in the world at the moment, and in February, we will see his magic against PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League.

• 3) Steven Gerrard: This was a marvelous year for Steven Gerrard. He was the captain of Liverpool's amazing victory in the Champions League final. There was much talk of him changing to a "bigger" club, but he has fortunately stayed in Liverpool. He has continued playing very well into the new season, and will be an important player as Liverpool try to defend their title, as well as for the English side in the World Cup.

• 2) Adriano: The Brazilian striker in Inter Milan is surely the best striker in the world at the moment. He scores many goals in the Italian league as well as in the Champions League. For Brazil he has also become the main striker, and he is specially remembered for his marvelous strike against Argentina in the final of the 2005 Confederations Cup this summer.

• 1) Ronaldinho: The Brazilian was also top of my list in 2004. He has continued as a super-player this year, and now the titles have begun coming: with Barcelona he won the Spanish title, and with Brazil he both qualified for the World Cup and won the 2005 Confederations Cup. There is no doubt Mr. Ronaldinho will be a key player in both Barcelona and Brazil as they contend for Spanish title, Champions League and World Cup in 2006.

The list is as always difficult to complete, and is of course my own personal opinion. I would like to hear others though!

Wonderful Brazil - poor Argentina

Brazil defeated Argentina 4-1 in the final of the Confederations Cup 2005, to win their second title in this tournament. Led by an excellent Ronaldinho, a dangerous Adriano and an amazing Kaka, Brazil was truly superior to Argentina in every aspect of the game. This might be less surprising than Argentina actually being that bad: Argentina has shown little in the tournament, and coach Mr. Pekerman should be very worried about the actual potential of Argentina for next years World Cup. Centering the game around Mr. Riquelme is simply too predictable, and Mr. Riquelme simply lacks the quality (that is why he never made it in Barcelona). Argentina will not get very far playing like this. Brazil on the other hand, should be heading to a new World Cup title - although it is all very early to predict...

Valencia sucks

I used to stay in Castellon, North of Valencia, and not far from Villareal. Villareal just defeated Valencia 3-1, in a match where all goals were scored by Argentinians. One overshadowed them all, Villareal's Riquelme.
Now, some friend from Castellon sent me a message saying "Valencia sucks". These friends never said anything when Valencia took two titles last season, but obviously seem ready to rub Valencia's bad steam in my face. Screw them.
In any case, I agree that Valencia, under Ranieri, seems below the standard I am used to. It is depressing.