Argentina playmaker Juan
Roman Riquelme announced his international retirement on Wednesday at the age of
28, citing family reasons.
Riquelme, an elegant midfielder whose
performances have split critics down the middle, said he had taken the shock
decision because of his mother, who has been suffering from health problems.
"Since the World Cup, my mother has been taken to hospital twice and my
responsibility is to take care of her," said Riquelme.
"It was an easy decision to make. My family comes before the football," said
Riquelme, who captained the team which lost 3-0 to Brazil in a friendly this
month, their first under new coach Alfio Basile.
"It will hurt me deeply not to wear the Argentina shirt again but my mother's
health comes first," said Riquelme, who quit the team at an age when most
players are at their peak.
Riquelme said he feared criticism of his Argentina performances may have
worsened his mother's health.
"There's been a lot of bad blood and I don't want to make her suffer," he
said.
"My mother is my mother and I can't compare her with the Argentina shirt or
anything else."
Riquelme, who plays his club football in Spain for Villareal, won 37 caps in
an international career which spanned nine years.
FOUND WANTING
Riquelme's admirers say he can control the pace of a game and prize open
tough defences with his incisive passing. Critics say he drifts out of games and
has been found wanting on the big occasion.
He was left out of the 2002 World Cup by coach Marcelo Bielsa but, four years
later, he was the central figure in Jose Pekerman's team which reached the
quarter-finals in Germany before losing on penalties to the hosts.
Although he played majestically in the opening games against Ivory Coast and
Serbia & Montenegro, against whom he was named man of the match after the
6-0 rout, he faded against Germany and was substituted.
Riquelme began his club career with Boca Juniors, before joining Barcelona in
2002. He failed to settle and moved to smaller Spanish club Villareal.
After winning the World Youth Cup with Argentina in 1997, he made his full
international debut the same year.
However, he played intermittently until Pekerman took charge in October 2004.
Riquelme said he had told Basile of his decision. "My duty was to tell him
and thank him for picking me for the first game," he said.
"It was a very short chat. I told him what I thought and he understood."
