Juan Román Riquelme is a former professional footballer from Argentina. He has been named the South American Team of the Year five times. In 1997, he was part of the Argentinian team that won the FIFA U-20 World Cup. He has played for teams like FC Barcelona, Villarreal, and Boca Juniors.
Player Profile, Personal Life, and Youth Career
Juan Román Riquelme was born on June 24, 1978, in San Fernando, Argentina. He is the eldest of 11 children. He is the brother of Sebastian Riquelme, who is also a professional football player.
He started his junior career playing for the Argentina Juniors from 1992 to 1996. In 1996, he also played for the Boca Juniors.
| Position | Midfielder |
| Born | 24 Jun 1978 |
| Nationality |
Argentina
|
| Team History | |
Argentinos Juniors
|
2014 - 2015 |
Boca Juniors
|
2007 - 2014 |
|
Boca Juniors
|
2007 (loan) |
Villarreal
|
2005 - 2007 |
|
Villarreal
|
2003 - 2005 (loan) |
Barcelona
|
2002 - 2005 |
|
Boca Juniors
|
1996 - 2002 |
Professional Career
His senior career began with the Boca Juniors. He played with the club from 1996 to 2002. In that time, he made 151 appearances and he helped the Juniors win the Argentine Primera División five times.
While he was with the Juniors, he also helped them win the Copa Argentina for the 2011-2012 season. They also won the Intercontinental Cup in 2000.
From 2002-2005, he played for Barcelona. At that time, he was loaned to Villarreal before the team signed him on in 2005. Between 2005 and 2007, he was loaned back to the Juniors. Then from 2007 to 2014, he signed with the Juniors again. Before he retired in 2015, he played his last season with the Argentinos Juniors.
Career Highlights:
Boca Juniors
- Argentine Primera División - 1998Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000Apertura, 2008 Apertura, 2011Apertura
- Copa Argentina - 2011–12
- Copa Libertadores - 2000, 2001, 2007
- Recopa Sudamericana - 2008
- Intercontinental Cup - 2000
Villarreal
- UEFA Intertoto Cup - 2003, 2004
Argentinos Juniors
- Primera B Nacional - 2014
Argentina U-20
- FIFA U-20 World Cup - 1997
- South American Youth Championship -1997
Argentina U-21
- Toulon Tournament - 1998
Argentina
- Summer Olympics - 2008
- FIFA Confederations Cup - Runner-up2005
- Copa América - Runner-up 2007
Individual
- Toulon Tournament Best Player - 1998
- South American Team of the Year -1999, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2011
- Argentine Footballer of the Year -2000, 2001, 2008, 2011
- Copa Libertadores Most ValuablePlayer - 2001, 2007
- South American Footballer of theYear - 2001
- La Liga Don Balón Award (ForeignPlayer of the Year) - 2004–05
- Most Artistic Player by Marca - 2005
- FIFA Confederations Cup Silver Ball
- 2005
- FIFA World Cup top assist provider -2006
- Copa Libertadores Player of the Week
- May 8–10 / 2012
- The Best Argentine midfielder by Olé
- 2012
- The Best local Argentine player byOlé - 2012
- The Historical Team for CopaLibertadores of all time
- FIFPro World XI Nominee - 2006, 2007
Team History:
National Career
- 1997–1998 - Argentina U20
- 2000 - Argentina U23
- 2008 - Argentina Olympic
- 1997–2008 - Argentina
