Buenos Aires: Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme announced his international retirement on Wednesday at the age of 28.
"I've taken the decision to not take part in the national team from now on," he said in a live television interview. Riquelme, an elegant midfielder who won 37 caps, cited family reasons for his decision.
He was a key player for Argentina at the World Cup in Germany, when they reached the quarter-finals before losing on penalties to hosts Germany.
A traditional South American playmaker and one of a dying breed, in an age when speed and physical strength are becoming ever-more important, Riquelme stands out as an elegant, unhurried exception.
The 28-year-old, who will continue to grace the field at Spain's Villareal, embodies a game based on South American ball skills, luring opponents out of position and then hitting them on the break.
Although he looks slow, his speed of thought and close control make him very difficult to force off the ball and he can prise open the toughest of defences with his incisive passing. Riquelme, who won 37 caps and scored eight goals, is also deadly from free kicks and when shooting from the edge of the penalty area.
He saved one of his best international goals for old rivals Brazil, scoring with a searing left-foot drive as Argentina beat their neighbours 3-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires last year.
However, his tendency to drift out of matches has divided Argentine critics down the middle while coaches tend either to build their team around him or ditch him altogether.
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Missed Out
In 2002, Marcelo Bielsa, who preferred a European style, did the former and left Riquelme out of his World Cup squad. Four years later in Germany, Bielsa's successor Jose Pekerman built his team around Riquelme.
"Roman is a key player because he interprets on the pitch what we want," said Pekerman. "It's a declaration of intent."
Riquelme's club career suffered similar ups and downs. He began at Boca Juniors, where he was the key figure in the memorable team built by Carlos Bianchi, winning two Libertadores Cup titles.
But he had a difficult start in Europe when he arrived at Barcelona in 2002, where Dutch coach Louis van Gaal could not fit Riquelme into his tactics. After moving to smaller Villareal, where he is surrounded by South Americans and plays under Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini, Riquelme has again been given freedom and central role he relishes.
He helped the previously unfashionable club reach the semi-finals of last year's Champions League, where they fell to Arsenal. However, he also provided more fuel to detractors who say he falters at the big moments when he missed an 89th-minute penalty which would have taken the two-leg tie to extra time.
It was a similar story for Argentina at the World Cup. Riquelme pulled all the strings in the memorable 6-0 win over Serbia & Montenegro in the first round, when he was voted man of the match. But he ran out of inspiration in the crunch quarter-final against Germany when Argentina needed him most.
After a below-par display, Riquelme was substituted in the second half and Argentina were knocked out on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
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