Juan Román Riquelme (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈxwan roˈman riˈkelme]; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current president of Boca Juniors. Known for his elegant playing style, passing, vision, creativity, free-kick technique, and ball retention, he is widely considered one of the greatest playmakers of all time. He is a major symbol of the "enganche" figure, a classic attacking midfield role prominent in Argentine football.
In 1996, Riquelme made his professional debut at age 18 at Boca Juniors. Under Carlos Bianchi's coaching, Riquelme led Boca Juniors through their most successful era, winning three Argentine Primera División titles, two back-to-back Copa Libertadores titles, and the 2000 Intercontinental Cup, beating Real Madrid in Tokyo. After five seasons, he signed for Barcelona in 2002, where he had a short spell due to his strained relationship with then-manager Louis van Gaal. He was loaned to fellow La Liga club Villarreal, where Riquelme would help the club achieve a third-place league finish in the 2004–05 La Liga and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history in the 2005–06 campaign. He returned to Boca in 2007, winning the 2007 Copa Libertadores as the tournament's MVP and top scorer, in addition to two Primera División titles, one Copa Argentina, and one Recopa Sudamericana. After losing the 2012 Copa Libertadores final, Riquelme left Boca Juniors, only to return six months later following Bianchi's return as manager. He retired in 2015 at Argentinos Juniors, his former youth club, after helping them return to the Primera División in the 2014 season.
With the Argentina national team, Riquelme achieved success at youth level, winning the 1997 South American U-20 Championship and the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia. He would earn his first call-up to the senior team in 1997, and went on to appear 57 times between 1997 and 2008, scoring 17 goals and representing Argentina at the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Riquelme also represented his nation in the Olympics, captaining the side to gold at the 2008 Summer Olympics alongside Lionel Messi.
Riquelme was distinguished as Argentina's footballer of the year four times and named South American Footballer of the Year in 2001, and was also included in the South American Team of the Year six times. He was among the nominees for the FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2006 and 2007, and the Ballon d'Or in 2005 and 2007.
Riquelme was born as the eldest of eleven children in a poor family, one day before Argentina won the 1978 World Cup. He began playing football in the localities of San Fernando, playing for different local clubs, before gaining the opportunity to trial with the junior teams of Argentinos Juniors. After trialling, he was signed by the club where he began playing as a central midfielder. Boca Juniors and River Plate spotted him when he was a youth player for Argentinos Juniors. In 1996, however, Riquelme was transferred from Argentinos Juniors U-20 to Boca Juniors U-20 for a fee of US$800,000, during an operation insisted by trainer Carlos Salvador Bilardo which led to the then president of Boca Juniors, Mauricio Macri, establishing various purchases of Argentinos Juniors youth players.
On 10 November 1996, aged 18, Riquelme made his Primera División debut in a 2–0 win against Unión de Santa Fe. Two weeks later, he scored his first senior goal in a 6–0 triumph over Huracán. After making his debut, Riquelme began a long journey to break a streak of no championships for the team since winning the Apertura 1992. In the 1996–97 season, Bilardo would be fired and replaced by Héctor "Bambino" Veira, but Boca continued with mediocre results, finishing mid table in both Apertura and Clausura tournaments, with Riquelme himself scoring 4 goals and making 22 appearances in the campaign. After almost obtaining the championship in the 1997–98 season, by July 1998 Veira would be replaced by coach Carlos Bianchi, who would fully trust Riquelme to command the team.
Forming a successful trio in attack with winger Guillermo Barros Schelotto and center forward Martín Palermo, Boca would once again win a title after six years, by becoming the 1998 Apertura champions undefeated. This would also earn the team a qualification for the 2000 edition of the Copa Libertadores, where Boca would make its return after six years. The season would be highly successful, with the team winning the 1999 Clausura and reaching a historic 40-game undefeated mark. Riquelme ended the 1998-99 campaign with 47 games played and 10 goals scored, also entering the South American Team of the Year for the first time.
In the 1999–2000 season, Boca won the Copa Libertadores, Riquelme's first international title with the club. Riquelme had an excellent performance during the competition; in the round of 16 second leg against El Nacional, he scored and had three assists as Boca won 5–3. Another stellar performance he had was in the quarterfinals second leg against rivals River Plate, where he scored a goal, assisted in another, and made a historic play where he nutmegged River defender Mario Yepes as Boca won 3–0. Boca's successes would continue in the 2000–01 season, winning the Apertura 2000. However, the highest point would be the final of the Intercontinental Cup against Real Madrid, who at that time was in the process of forming Los Galácticos, with the signing of the Ballon d'Or winner Luis Figo. Against all odds, Boca ended up winning the match, and Riquelme would be one of the stars assisting for Martín Palermo's second goal with a 30-meter ball. During 2001, Boca would not obtain any local title, but would win again in the Copa Libertadores, defeating Mexican Cruz Azul in the finals again through penalties. This time Román would have an outstanding performance against Palmeiras in the semifinal series, where the Argentine midfielder managed to give an assist in the first leg and score a goal in the second leg. Riquelme would be chosen the MVP of the tournament, and would also win the South American Footballer of the Year award for the first time in his career. As the champions of Copa Libertadores his side faced 2001 UEFA Champions League winners Bayern Munich in the Intercontinental Cup final which ended in a 0–1 defeat for his club.
The closing of the 2001–02 season, Riquelme's last in Boca, would not be as successful as the previous ones, the main cause being the departure of Carlos Bianchi in the summer of 2001, due to his differences with the president of the club Mauricio Macri. Riquelme would also have his differences with him due to the poor pay of his contract, to which Riquelme would demonstrate in a match against River Plate for the 2001 Clausura where he celebrated in front of the president's box, putting his hands to his ear in protest.
In July 2002, after seven successful seasons with Boca Juniors which brought him and the club six major titles, including the Intercontinental Cup and the Copa Libertadores in 2000, Riquelme transferred to Barcelona in Spain for a reported €11 million transfer fee. Shortly before his departure, his brother, Cristian, was kidnapped; Riquelme negotiated for his brother's release and eventually paid the ransom, later stating this was one of the reasons why he chose to leave Boca.
Barça manager Louis van Gaal described Riquelme as a "political signing" and treated him with indifference. When the Dutchman did play him, he did so rarely, deploying him as a winger. Thus, the player was unable to find his form during a period of largely substitute appearances, losing his place in the first team. He played mainly – as a starter – in the Copa del Rey, and netted the game's only goal in a rare UEFA Champions League starting opportunity, at Club Brugge in the group stage. Barcelona's season would be critical in every way, with Van Gaal being fired mid-season. This did not change the situation for the better, and Riquelme would continue to appear mainly as a substitute.