New Delhi: It has been a long time coming for the talented Argentine midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme.
The 28-year-old playmaker had shown amazing skills in his youth and in 1997, along with Pablo Aimar and Esteban Cambiasso.
They won the Conmebol South American U-20 tournament and the FIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia.
His exceptional talent and great form in both tournaments and for his then club side, Boca Juniors, prompted Passarella to take him into the senior squad.
Riquelme made his debut in a 1-1 draw with Colombia in what was Argentina’s final qualifier for the 1998 FIFA World Cup.
But he had to wait until 2004 to really make a mark on the big stage.
Riquelme is considered widely as the best playmaker of Argentina and after being overlooked by former coaches Passarella and Marcelo Bielsa it was the present coach Jose Pekerman who gave him his rightful place in the national squad.
In just over a year Riquelme has become the pivot around whom the hopes of a third World Cup victory for Argentina revolves.
He took little known Spanish club Villarreal from nowhere to the top cream of Spanish football in the 2005-2006 season.
The yellow submarines went all the way to the Champions league semi-finals due to Riquelme's superb performances in the midfield.
Between 1997 and 2002 he scored 38 goals for Boca Juniors and from 2004 to 2006 he scored 34 goals for Villarreal.
Riquelme has scored eight goals in 30 matches for Argentina.
But it's not his goal scoring that makes the difference. He is a man who can single handedly change the course of any game, taking complete command of the midfield.
Riquelme is the inspirational star, scoring freely and creating chances aplenty for his appreciative team-mates.
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