Email
Print
Digg This
By Brian Homewood
BUENOS AIRES, Oct 8 (Reuters) - Boca Juniors president Pedro Pompilio said it was a privilege to have Juan Roman Riquelme at the club after the enigmatic Argentina international was publicly criticised by a team mate.
"Riquelme is an extraordinary player to have," Pompilio told reporters on Wednesday.
"It's a privilege to have him... I would not think twice about signing him again."
On Tuesday, Boca defender Julio Cesar Caceres said Riquelme appeared to have more motivation when he played for his country and seemed to be mentally saturated.
"In some matches, he is apparently running and in others he is passive," the Paraguay international told a radio station in his homeland.
Riquelme, whose performances for both Boca and Argentina have been criticised this year, hit back almost immediately.
"These things should be kept in the dressing-room, he's broken all the codes of football," said the usually introverted player in a television interview.
"He doesn't know what I feel for the club," added Riquelme, who is in his third stint at Boca.
Although Riquelme can slow the pace of the game down and unlock defences with superbly angled passes, many see his elegant, unhurried style as out of place in the modern game.
Critics also say that when he has an off day, he drags the rest of his team down with him.
Riquelme left previous club Villarreal under a cloud, having been shunted into the reserves after the Spanish side said they were tired of his privileges and lack of commitment.
Pompilio added that he had asked Caceres to ring Riquelme and apologise.
The episode has come at a bad time for Boca, who have lost three of their last four domestic games including two in a row at the usually impregnable Bombonera.
On Sunday, off-form goalkeeper Mauricio Caranta asked not to play against Estudiantes and his replacement Javier Garcia was twice beaten by shots from outside the penalty area in the 2-1 home defeat.
After meeting with Pompilio, Caranta later blamed his request on a personal problem.
