Why players like Riquelme don’t exist anymore

[@vitorpavani7125]

Here's something funny: in Argentina the number 10 is called the "Enganche" because, as you said, he is the hook between midfield and attack. And, in many cases, that's literally it. The prominent 3-4-1-2 and 4-4-2 Diamond formations of the 1980s and 1990s were so common in Argentina that the player in that role was literally a "hook". Ahead of him, two strikers. Behind him two central midfielders. On the other hand in Brazil we used to call this player the "ponta-de-lança" (tip of the spear) because in the 1960s/1970s lots of teams played in a 4-2-4. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, most teams were playing on a 4-2-4 that would sometimes ressemble a lopsided 4-3-3 when one of the strikers would drop deep to create in front of the other two midfielders thereform creating the shape of a spearhead. The number 5 (6 in Europe, first man in front of the defence) was a "médio volante", the number 8 was a "meia armador" and the number 10 was the "ponta-de-lança". It all changed during the 1980s and 1990s with the proeminence of the iconic 4-2-2-2 formations. With a square on the midfield, the name of the roles changed completely. The number 5 (6 in Europe) became the "primerio volante" (first volante), the number 8 became the "segundo volante" (second volante) and the two playmakers were called "meia atacantes" (half forwards). And it's so confusing to so many people that they still refer to Pelé as a center forward to this day.

[@nailujh]

I am agree with 100%, it all about the rol or the function that the player can do and the numartion it is not really important. In Aregentina we also used to use the "El enlace"(the link) position wich is pretty much the same that "Enganche " but the only diference was that the player that ocupated the "enlace" rol didin´t have ofensive skills, wich is very arbitrary.

[@thepurist_]

This history of football terminology is fascinating in its own right. Thanks for the comment :)

[@comicbookguy2326]

here in portugal a ponta de lança is a striker

[@dawill5217]

so pele was the "ponta-de-lança" of those teams?

[@vitorpavani7125]

yes, he was a "ponta-de-lança", a Classic Number 10@@dawill5217

[@ericbortolato7627]

Riquelme is one of my favorite players of all time, and this coming from a Brazilian person should tell you something about how great that man was. Don't tell anyone I said this.

[@cango5679]

agree. from Uruguay here.

[@luiz8523]

Giovanni (Santos) e Djalminha eram mais espetaculares que ele.

[@__peanuts__]

@@luiz8523 Djalminha was even more troublesome than Riquelme and his career suffered accordingly. The man was one of the most skilled players I have ever seen - on par with Ronaldinho -, but never spent enough time in a great club so as to leave his stamp there, the way Riquelme did with Boca Juniors. It's a pity. He didn't even get to play in a World Cup, as he was written off the Brazilian 2002 squad after he punched his coach in the face, back in Spain.

[@jamesbubbastewartjr]

Your secret is safe with us

[@luiz8523]

@@__peanuts__ I agree. 👍

[@manuelramospetruchena4620]

When I was 8. I remember Tuesday as my "father's night". My parents were divorced and on Tuesdays, It was a father/son moment (on Saturdays, my little sister would come along). As a Boca Juniors fan (of course inherited by my father), I remember the time where we acquired a great player, Lapaglia. In that same transfer, Boca purchased Riquelme. And it was watching boca when we could, to watch the newest listings. And Riquelme was the one that would always leave you with an awe expression. The man had the field in his mind. I saw him become a legend in my club. Thank you for this video. My father passed away a year ago. You reminded me of those "father's nights"

[@sg84eva]

❤

[@ayodeleawodeji822]

❤❤❤❤❤RIP to your dad! 🙏🏾

[@TomatonFaina]

un grande tu viejo, abrazo bostero amigo

[@bethelfrancis]

Praying for you 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿❤️❤️❤️

[@dharma6525]

❤❤

[@hugoiwata]

You can really measure his importance by counting the number of young brazilian players called Riquelme, Rykelmy or Riquelmo

[@blackadder5711]

Was he not Argentinian?

[@vinnyteodoroc]

​@@blackadder5711yes, and Brazilians hate Argentinians (usually). And people still name their kids after him. That's the point.

[@poeticempress3]

But the point is to show that even the rival nation to his nation famed his name. So much so that children in Brazil got named after him.

[@TachoSJ]

Are there any Brazilian footballers with that name?

[@hugoiwata]

@@TachoSJ From the top of my head, I remember a Riquelme that is Vasco da Gama's left back, a Riquelmy that is Sport Recife's center forward and a Rykelmo that played for Flamengo and was a Ninho do Urubu's victim. But is important noticing they are/were all very young. Every year at Copa São Paulo we get a new one.

[@mateusbez2669]

As other Brazilians have commented - the brilliance of Riquelme can be measured by the mix of fear, hate and admiration that exists for him here in Brazil. He destroyed Brazilian teams in the copa libertadores for a decade. We were always both pissed off and in awe. Of that generation, if you ask here in Brazil - and not Argentina - you’ll find that the only no 10 that are considered in the same league as Riquelme are Zidane and Rivaldo, and opinions about who is the best are varied. Also, on that, is that in Brazil, a classic playmaker, a no10, is by far the most admired player.

[@gustavoezequiel5047]

Alex?

[@GuINES-mG]

Recently, I was arguing for a couple of days with one guy, he was claiming how Riquelme was on Iniesta and Zidane level. My argument was that they were man of the match of World Cup finals, Champions League winners, Euro Cup winners, and on his side, he was talking how Riquelme won some Toyota Corolla cup or something. Of course I was laughing. I thought that guy is biased because he is from Argentina. Only after hours of arguing, he told me that he is from Brazil. I could not believe how much a person from Brazil respects Riquelme

[@gabrielmaffei7623]

@@GuINES-mG wtf are you talking about. he won 3 copa libertadores and 1 club world cup against real madrid. you cant measure football by statics anyway

[@GuINES-mG]

@@gabrielmaffei7623 Yes, I know he won that, but you can't compare that to World Cup wins. Iniesta and Zidane led their countries to World Cup win, Riquelme didn't. Iniesta nad Zidane became legends in big clubs, Riquelme didn't make it in big clubs. Riquelme was a greate player, but if he was that great as people say, he would play for best European clubs. You can't compare defensive quality of copa libertadores and defensive quality in europe.

[@agustinimv92]

@@GuINES-mG Boca Juniors is the greatest team of all the american continent, you don't know what you're talking about.

[@SlyCarey]

Along with Kaka and Ronaldinho, Riquelme was one of the players that made me start loving football. At first I just loved Chelsea as a kid but these guys made me love football

[@YosepRA]

Based football fan you are. I'm the same. When people are shouting Ronaldo vs Messi, I'm here just chilling with my fascination to players like Kaka, Ronaldinho, and Riquelme.

[@carltonlambert7608]

Standard. I used to call Ronaldinho the last true Brazilian.

[@carltonlambert7608]

​@@YosepRASpot on. Creme de la creme.

[@carltonlambert7608]

@OfficialYouYube 😂Oh lord have mercy.

[@hipishizik_metafizik]

To those 3 i would only add Thierry Henry.

[@atomsk1972]

Riquelme was a beautiful footballer, it is a shame that so many talented players get their careers ruined by coaches who lack vision and flexibility

[@audie-cashstack-uk4881]

Seen him take a free kick at boca in deep midfield he whispered to a team mate just before what happened after was to thos day the most genius thing I ever saw on a pitch outside of Maradona he cut the team to bits one pass then went forward to reserve the ball again passing to the gaol his brain was something else he destroyed the whole team In a single moment

[@vlad3858]

Bro thinks van Gaal lacks vision 💀

[@terrencetncube264]

No doubt

[@primosdesegundograu1204]

@@vlad3858 Van Gaal is an extremely overrated coach, and a terrible person manager to boot. He had relationship problems on basically every club he was signed to, and always favored his dutch compatriots.

[@vlad3858]

@@primosdesegundograu1204 he had relationship problems and yet he kept getting hired on big jobs, i wonder why. Overrated or not it's ridiculous to say he "doesn't have vision"

[@ajit9718]

If Riquelme had the Scaloni treatment in 06 where he was the main part of the team and everyone worked for him, as well as belief in Messi... I think they had a very decent chance of winning the World Cup.

[@ravecrab]

They should have won the 2006 World Cup anyway. There was nothing wrong with their system: the team was absolutely purring. They played the best football of the tournament but the coach's game management when they were beating Germany was very poor, and in single leg knockout football that can be enough to send you home.

[@ricaard6959]

It's just a case of great players, average manager. Look at the difference in quotes between Van Gaal and Cruyff in the video, one acknowledges that at the end of the day, it's the players who are on the pitch and the other is a drill instructor. The problem with taking the militaristic approach to tactics in football is that it's football, your opponents could literally have a prime CR7 or Ronaldinho or even Neymar (if he decides he wants to win that particular match), my guy, even if you're Pep and have this current billion dollar Man City side, there's still a massive chance you're going to lose, there's no such thing as total control in football, it's far better to design a system that's regimented( you can't do things willy nilly), but is also based on the players you have.

[@nahuelcutrera]

actually riquelme got the scaloni treatment. Pekerman the coach is scaloni's football father, he invented the scaloni treatment haha. Scaloni and riquelme were both children of pekerman a mighty argentinian coach that won many youth world cup's and inspired a whole generation of players, but you don't always win and they didn't got to win in 2006 sadly. Sometimes you lose the penalties even though you deserve to win, accepting that is the biggest way of maturing that football will give you. It's not wonder scaloni learn the lesson because he was part of that team.

[@georgeball6997]

​@@ravecrabyeah but that world cup there was at least 5 teams with world class starting 11s but they should of beat the Germans who weren't that great of a team at the time.

[@dxfifa]

@@ravecrab Germany had a better team than Argentina lmao

[@henriquematzenbacher9651]

Riquelme absolutely destroyed my team in the finals of Libertadores 2007. What an amazing player he was! The most impressive thing to me was how he would walk around the field with the ball glued to his feet, and defenders would pile up on his back but couldn't steal the ball from him or even foul him - he would never fall to the ground!

[@gabrielmaffei7623]

watching riquelme play was like watching my grandma cook. filled my heart with love

[@digitalprofile1320]

I'm Argentine born and raised and i never heard the expression "La Nuestra" to refer to any kind of football philosophy or similar. Sounds like some generic latin name for a town in a Hollywood movie. If you want to talk about football playstyles you can say "Lírico" or "Rustico" (lyrical or rustic) or go by football schools which would be Bilardismo (doing everything it takes to win, inside or outside the rules) or Menottismo (playing a well proper football, no matter the outcome). Having said that, you did a great analysis. This is the most complete video in english about Riquelme i've seen.

[@fabriciorosso9807]

La expresión "La Nuestra" se usaba antes de los años 70. No lo inventó este vídeo. Pasa que cayó en desuso hace rato.

[@digitalprofile1320]

@@fabriciorosso9807 te juro que busco "la nuestra" y me salen revistas y paginas de futbol feminista barrial jajaj

[@guillermog.5160]

se usaba un montón. cuando estaba la discusión menotti vs. bilardo se vivía discutiendo qué carajo era "la nuestra". el viejo pagani a veces la usa, pero se puso "de moda" de nuevo porque lo dijo un par de veces scaloni

[@Taurean_SAMA]

Young stars aren't encouraged to express their freedom and build their game, European tactics have completely taken over. Personally I'd prefer if Brazil, Argentina, and other footballing countries stick to their roots, but time will tell I guess, the role requires a truly gifted footballer.

[@mtk3755]

Relationism will bring this freedom creativity back.

[@ryanfinnerty6239]

@@mtk3755there’s nothing inherently unfree about positional play, but if it lacks fluidity it definitely falls to the ego of the coach.

[@machidankert]

well, la nuestra won the world cup, so it's a triumph of the south american style over europeans

[@Taurean_SAMA]

@@machidankert Agreed 💯.

[@louismichael6843]

Argentina won the World Cup by sticking to their roots and it was marvelous to see..it showed to the European control freaks that there is not only one way to dominate football. If you allow freedom to your most creative players to thrive he will unlock the game for you in a way that no tactic could and a lot of this modern managers seem to forget that. If Messi was in his Prime this Argentina team were going to tear every team they faced to pieces similar to what Pep did in Barca.

[@seanmaguire380]

You should have covered his career at Villereal. The yellow submarine. Took them to top four in La Liga and semi finals of Champions League. He ran every game in his 10 role drifting out to the left.

[@Alamar3]

Exactly it was so incredible, i was not possible to take ball from him, in CLeague for example.

[@tatuco8]

Riquelme was worldclass, a true artist. He produced some of the best individual performances id ever seen in the Champions league. Amazing player

[@Mad_Intellect]

Such a shame he missed that penalty against Arsenal, was a good save from Lehman I guess.

[@pablindio1]

Against inter, i remember that❤

[@biglyafrican5524]

Vs inter . It's still etched in my mind . That's what I call football heaven . I remember goal gave him a 10/10 .

[@phillipfry9765]

Van Gaal and Bielsa are two of the most hard-headed coaches I have seen in the last 20 years. They rather lose with their system than to win by breaking out of it. No wonder they haven't had success in 20 years.

[@bythecliff]

Thomas Muller remains one of the rare gems in football. Nobody really understands what he is good at but somehow he always ends up being at the right place at the right time. You cannot measure such a quality with numbers. This extra bit of quality is what separates Leo Messi from other players. You just cannot quantify it.

[@WiseOtherWhys]

Exactly this. You're a true football fan!

[@oolacilesbotnet6564]

Müller is nothing like Riquelme

[@ISREHL]

@@oolacilesbotnet6564my thought exactly

[@dragndorf9]

i feel similarly about firmino.

[@itsover-sm5dt]

​@aryaman179 Yes but not really. It's hard to pinpoint what exactly Firmino is good at but his position is quite clear, he is a False 9. A better example might be Gakpo, he can play as a left winger, left midfielder, left central midfielder, and also as a False Nine. I don't know what position Gakpo plays at this point, and I'm a Liverpool fan.

[@ravecrab]

My favourite player of all time. The way he conducted that Argentina team in the 2005-7 period was incredible. There have been objectively "better" players who've won more or who've scored more goals, but nobody has given me more pleasure to watch than Juan Roman Riquelme.

[@ELxGRIS]

No puedo estar mas de acuerdo, me pasa exactamente lo mismo

[@sskmanentsa5326]

Probably the best player in the World from 99-01. For me, it has always amazed me that Cryuff's students never fully actualized his vision for the game, which is that the players need to be comfortable and the system should always bring out the best in all of them individually. Even in Total Football, the main player who shifted positions was Cryuff because the main priority was to give Cryuff the ball as that was their best chance of scoring. Perhaps an even more perfect description of a total footballer was Di Stefano who fully embodied Riquelme's way of football. He did not need to be coached and he read the game his own way. His coach literally said that having him was like having 2 players in all positions because the way he read the game, he always understood and did what the team needed in order to dominate the game. Someone like a Riquelme will never be allowed in the top level since the next crop of great managers will copy Guardiola.

[@ryanergo754]

I think the main reason for that was that none of Cruyff's students wanted to copy paste his idea. For Pep, he has a rigid structure and more often than not thats the best way his system works. But obviously even he gives freedom to players. Messi, Muller and KDB can move around a lot more compared to their teammates in Pep's system. And the Barca midfield could basically do whatever they wanted as long as they could maintain space.

[@sskmanentsa5326]

@@ryanergo754 It's not the structure that is the problem but the obsession with control even though they are not on the pitch. Even Messi's actions were within the system and his decision were ready made for him, Xavi was more of a centerpiece and allowed to move more. I see KDB as more adaptable/versatile as Pep can use him in more positions than any City player but he is within the system as well.

[@bajolunapod]

Still Guardiola only made one exception to his system-centered approach to tactics... and that was to allow Messi to do whatever he wanted.

[@sskmanentsa5326]

@@bajolunapod he never did, Xavi was the free player in that system. Messi loved being in the middle as a 9, which where he thrives. The false 9 role was within the system as Messi does not like to play out wide.

[@mxn5132]

Xavi is the only Cruyff student not copying Guardiola and is actually trying to get the individual to truly excel while in a system

[@nino1974]

As an Argentinian football fan, I would say "La Nuestra" is a halfway between the asthetic and flashy brazilian "Jogo Bonito" and the guts, courage and effectiveness of Uruguay's "Garra Charrua". Despite not being a BJ fan, Riquelme is one of the top 5 best nº10 of argie football history.

[@dr_ubo]

Uno de los mejores 10 de la historia, el último 10

[@pepelozo]

uno de los 3 mejores diría yo

[@sashafalcon5143]

Brother, eso no existe, ¿qué cosa es "la nuestra"? Nunca lo escuché nombrar. Con decir "potrero" es más que suficiente.

[@nino1974]

@@sashafalcon5143 y arranca diciendo brother...

[@sashafalcon5143]

@@nino1974 qué tenía que ver.

[@fishyfish6510]

I think Lionel Messi under Scaloni is like an enganche. He was roaming everywhere with zero defensive duties and he was the man who made everything work between midfield and attack. Probably the last time we will see the enganche in modern football.

[@AuthenticCelestial]

that seems short-sighted. it's not a case of either/or with individualism vs. collectivism; in the case of team sport, even the most rigid structures need extemporisation. take American football, for example; the best QBs and RBs have to deal with the breakdown of whatever plays have been called. I think football is a lot less risk-averse than it used to be (in line with the influence of capitalism on everything else), but however trends change, individual brilliance will always be a necessity (tl;dr)

[@architchaudhary1285]

Not quite. Messi is certainly a 10 but an inside winger type. Riquelme's enganche didn't just create attacks, they controlled the whole game. Riquelme would literally be Xavi and Zidane in the same game in a true enganche role.

[@andreysantos6660]

Riquelme is very respected here in Brazil because his classical playmaker style is the most admired among brazilians. Its the playstyle everyone wants to have and tries to mimic.

[@janisschmid3880]

I like looking at tactics and even rewatch games just to try to note some tactical details. Thats why I came across your channel. But the perspective you offered in recent videos is such a good change. I am a coach of a U11 side and many coaches in our league already try to implement a real structure but I dont want to do that. So this idea of giving players the chance to have their own interpretations really speaks to me.

[@terretetetito]

Pablo Aimar: "I don't like to hear coaches talking about the lack of creative players after they put kids through automatized training drills. They tell a 15 yr old boy to stop dribbling because he lost the ball a couple of times. At that age he will lose possession two, five, even ten times. I understand positional play and attacking the spaces, but I think we as youth coaches must take responsability for that perceived lack of creativity in players. We have to let our players make mistakes. If at that age we're all about tactics, then we can't expect to form creative players."

[@carltonlambert7608]

​​@@terretetetitoMake for a dull sporting experience. They need to look after the game as well as make money. If they are not careful they could end up boring the worlds fans. I used to put on the "boys from Brazil" history of Brazil world cups every time we had a boring world cup as a child to even now. Just to see some skill.

[@hitthurdeaux]

@@terretetetitoThis. Football has become so automatized now. Little to no creativity and risk taking. Almost all plays are the same routines.

[@NachoBearYeah]

It's hard to understand or imagine today, but that early 2000s Boca Juniors side, with Riquelme, Palermo, etc., and managed by Bianchi, was the best team in the world. Seriously, in the time of the "Galácticos", and the prime of AC Milan, Boca was better than them, Boca beat them. They are, still, the last team to have beaten Real Madrid in a final in regular time. And back in the day the Intercontinental Cup was a very coveted trophy, a final in of itself, European teams wanted it because, historically, South American teams dominated. That Boca team was probably the last big South American team that could claim to be better than the Europeans, the last example of the South American world dominance in club football.

[@guillervz]

Totalmente de acuerdo.

[@architchaudhary1285]

Somewhat agree but they weren't quite The Galacticos at the time. Figo was just signed and all the other big signings were still in the future. They were, however, European champions.

[@Macrojzr]

I wouldn't say the best in the world since, whether you like it or not, in those years it was Madrid and Milan, since they had won the Champions League, what a blow they won because it doesn't automatically make them the best team in the world, besides the fact that they beat them Milan on penalties, I mean it cost Boca's team, in addition to the fact that during those periods of the 2000s, the South American teams beat the European ones, but to say that Boca was the best team in the world... is a disingenuous in my opinion

[@NachoBearYeah]

@Deica_Echeverria912 The last team that beat Real Madrid in a final in regular time was Boca. You mention two teams and Boca beat both. Yeah, I think I can say they were the best in the world at the time.

[@Macrojzr]

@@NachoBearYeah As far as I know, Madrid has lost several cup finals in regulation time, if you don't ask Barca. So I don't think that Boca is the last team, in addition to the fact that in the following ones Boca almost always had a difficult time against a team, River Plate, yes, Boca was the best....but on its continent, in the world, it is already a little crazy, if you are referring to the best team of the 2000s century then I no longer share there, there are actually better ones.

[@emmanuelosei-boakye8193]

One of my all-time favourites. His style of play was out of this world.

[@samuelsilva8364]

As a brazilian kid in 90s-00s there was NOTHING scarier than see our teams playing against his Boca Juniors.

[@OOOOOO-dx7zu]

eden hazard mentioned riquelme as one of his idols. And in retrospect Hazard was very much in his mold. At chelsea, the entire game flowed through him. He was the lynchpin that drove the attack forward when the midfield and backline were not pentrative with their passing save for fabregas. The whole team had him as the focal point despite him not scoring or assisting as much as his quality suggested. But he was one of the best when it came to metrics like key passes, ball progression, and chance created. But of course, what actually made him so captivating was his genius on the ball.

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

He is the idol of Dybala too.

[@hnaku8748]

Eden honestly was/is a misunderstood 10. Zidane being his idol further proves the point. I always thought he was closer to an Iniesta than a traditional winger or a modern goal scoring winger. The carefree manner in which he went about his business also screams of a classic 10, unlike the modern 'military' approach.

[@atroxozaur]

I love hearing about older players and they styles, and i was always fascinated by brazilian/argentinian way of play and their position metaphors. Will you also make similar videos on other "positions" like Regista, Mezalla etc? Absolutely love you analysis as they are informative, and easy to assimilate

[@thepurist_]

Glad you enjoyed - I’d honestly love to make more videos like this. If it’s what people want to see, I will!

[@FilipGjorgiev]

@@thepurist_on God

[@FilipGjorgiev]

⁠@@thepurist_that is the essence of the game, basically. Same/similar football forms interpreted differently throughout the cultural lense of that region of the world

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

Regista and mezzala are Italian descriptives for football roles, not South American.

[@atroxozaur]

@@oldskoolmusicnostalgia I never said they are SA, that's why there's a break between one and the other, to distinguish the topic

[@martijn_yt]

It's interesting how the system of van Gaal for the Dutch team in the 2014 world cup was fully dependent on the individual performance of Robben :)

[@matutenss]

Van Gaal seems to be more willing to change his mind about things when its european players instead of latinamerican ones. He did some nasty shit to Di Maria as well and Di maria is nothing like Riquelme when it comes to following coahces game plans.

[@adedejijubril8048]

​​@@matutenssI agree with your take. Rafael commented on how van Gaal detests Latin American players. He treated Chicharito badly as well

[@hitthurdeaux]

I think the difference is that Riquelme and the classic 10 especially in South America was given free license to roam wherever and do whatever. Robben was the best player and thus shouldered most of the burden to deliver, but his role was pretty well defined. Also, the other key difference is that Robben was expected to contribute defensively. The classic 10 wasn’t.

[@rana1561]

@@hitthurdeaux that's what people are missing with a lot of criticism of so called militaristic coaches, it is not about creative freedom on attack, most coaches would allow that, but unfortunately many enganche like players don't provide discipline on defensive side, and work rate when defending, i think that has been the evolution of the classic no 10, but it requires extremely high work rate player like a Bruno Fernandes or Odegaard as a modern no 10, who are forward thinking no 10, but also work defensively.

[@architchaudhary1285]

Robben was a different player. His specific physical and technical attributes made him a certified match winner. It was Robben papering over the cracks more than anything else. I also think he was better than Sneijder at 2010 WC.

[@neildurbin]

Messi doing Riquelme's celebration while staring down Van Gaal at the World Cup was epic.

[@mrfarax4944]

That was epic

[@チャーリーブラウン-w8l]

And at the end of the day, Van Gaal wasn't wrong about Riquelme Came up short with Villareal, and at Villareal he could do whatever he wanted

[@ademosthenes4911]

The fact you think Riquelme played for Sevilla just tell me how ignorant you are, he played for Villareal, and he is the best player in their history, He took a team that few people knew to some of their best finishes in their history. @@チャーリーブラウン-w8l

[@KK-fi6ms]

Yeah, and so many ignorant football "fans", including so-called "pundits", thought he was making some obscene gesture.

[@KK-fi6ms]

@@チャーリーブラウン-w8l Sorry what is that about? Riquelme never played for Sevilla.

[@gabrielweber2093]

Please look for the story of Luan, that could be a great video. His is a player that won the Olympics with Brazil in 2016 and the Libertadores (the Champions League of South America) with Grêmio in 2017, tourneament in which he was awarded as the best player of the competition. Later in 2020 he was buyed by Corinthians, another brazilian club, in a 4 season contract. There he wasn't able to perform as he once did. Last month he was caught by Corinthians fans in a motel and was severely beaten. This week he was signed again by Grêmio and is looking for returning to his good form, mostly because of the good heart of Grêmio's coach, who have publicly appealed for his signing.

[@aza4645]

A similar video could be done about Luan, for sure. Besides fighting Maradona, everything you described in this video, Luan did between 2016 and 2018. There is even a rumor that after watching Luan play in the Olympics and seeing how much of a protagonist Luan was to the Gold Medal, the Barcelona winger Neymar changed his whole style. And the rumor makes sense because since the 2018 Olympics Neymar went from a winger/inverted winger to a playmaker.

[@Shades-of-76]

I’ve been lucky to see virtually all the modern greats since around the early/mid nineties at least once live at the stadium but the best individual performance I’ve witnessed in a match was Riquelme when Villarreal visited Celtic Park to play. Absolute genius. Closely followed by Prosinecki.

[@aukalender]

banger video again from boca to munich, just kudos. without the human element the sport is just numbers and cash.

[@jamiemccue761]

This has been on my mind a lot lately (especially after Brugts' two goals for the Netherlands Women's team at the World Cup. You just don't see that type of shot taken on anymore). Coaching at youth level, I worry for the kid's development when they don't have the likes of Riquelme, Baggio, Zidane etc to draw inspiration from or get excited about. The focus is purely results driven and we talk about scorelines over anything we have seen within the game.

[@moze2234]

Riquelme was such a beautiful talented footballer and sometimes i see highlights of him and wonder if we’ll ever see a player even remotely similar to him

[@vincenzovieri3743]

This guy was amazing! I wasn’t surprised when rijkaard discarded him from Barca. He said he didn’t fit in the system but I think it was more so his history with flat giving with with coaches and staff. It’s happened to him in every team. Either way I haven’t seen a player like him since just like another ronaldinho, baggio, Ronaldo el fenomeno ect… they will come it’s football but these athletes are extraordinary

[@FilipGjorgiev]

Please never stop making these videos. This is just PURE football

[@santiagomorales9129]

I've never heard of "La nuestra" despite it sounding pretty much nuestro, but I did hear "la pelota (siempre) al 10" ... and also Basile saying that Riquelme had eyes on his butt. I also remember that the only time we studied something "strategical" instead of just playing handball/football/dodgeball in school in ¿physical education? was about football "MW" system, or was it the other way around, so it itched me so hard when I saw you calling the 5 a 6, xD 8:57 nice

[@zizou00_]

That's a major issue with the "number = position" system of naming roles. In Argentina, you've got the 5, in Europe you've got the 6, in England we've got the 4. All of them are traditionally the same thing. A holding player, usually a destroyer who plays simple passes to retain possession. The history of numbers is different in most regions, and we will always unconsciously apply different interpretations even when disscussing what is supposed to be hard definitions. It's kind of the beauty of the sport, that there will always be ideas that cycle in and out, styles that dominate and individuals who break the mould and force changes in opinion. In my football training in the UK, we were very structured. We were trained to keep our relative position, move the ball, not the man. The only players with the freedom to interpret the game was the wingers, who would often be expected to have the one-on-one duels. Of course all of that went out of the window on the playground or down the park, but football at youth level was very much about the structure. Only the very best players were given more license to do as they wanted.

[@izzyshootsiphone]

You can link the death of the “genius player” to Ricardo Lavolpe when he was in charge of the Mexico National team in the mid 2000’s. His philosophy was to have full ball control/possession starting from the keeper and working its way up to the striker which meant that ALL 11 players had to work in unison (kinda like a machine that needs all of its parts for it to work properly). Lavolpe himself has said that players like Riquelme, Zidane, etc wouldn’t fit into his style of play which is why he left Cuahtemoc Blanco out of the national team who was Mexico’s version of Riquelme. This revolutionized the sport as we know it at the 2005 Confederation Cup because prior to this, there were plenty of number 10’s all over the world. After the tournament, many teams implemented Lavolpes philosophy but it was Guardiola who perfected the style. Guardiola himself has credited Lavolpe for the foundation of his vision and has even talked about him and the 2005 Mexico national team at a TED talk. Having said all of this, Riquelme was one of my favorite players of all time lol Fun fact: Mexico was knocked out of the 2005 Confederations Cup in penalties by Argentina who had no other than Riquelme himself on that squad and scored the first penalty for Argentina Sources: (in Spanish) Lavolpe speaking on why Riquelme wouldn’t fit in his style of play (starts at 6:06 mark) kzbin.info/www/bejne/bWXWl5-pp8eIq8U Guardiola talking about Lavolpe (I couldn’t find the video but here is an article about it) tonimatasbarcelo.com/pep-guardiola-sobre-el-entrenador-argentino-ricardo-lavolpe-articulo-el-pais/

[@mariadanielalavia8877]

mexico also got knocked out in the 2006 world cup by argentina by just a brilliant goal out of nowhere from Maxi Rodriguez, best clear cut volley goal I've ever seen along with Pavard's vs Argentina.

[@raf7305]

Riquelme is one of the most underrated footballers of all time. One of my favourite players ever and this guy never gets a mention. A true great

[@Gallos630]

Everyone is underrated at this point 😂

[@hj2963]

I forgot about him

[@joaomaciel2544]

Great video man. As a brazilian, I grew up watching this dude's completely dominate Libertadores, destroying our teams. Everyone loved his playstyle, even though we hated the outcome of it 😂

[@guillervz]

He didn't need a system at all. He literally was the system. I remember Boca in 2001 won everything with only him as the star of the team (some of the other players were injured, if I'm not mistaken). He could start the play literally anywhere. He would get the ball as a wing, as a forward, as center forward, as a central midfielder and would make sure that the ball is safe and the whole team in a better position after his pass. Depending on the moment of the game, he could dribble forward, play fast, play slow, hold the ball longer, shoot if the defense was too tight, make a 60 meter pass, whatever it takes... I think the difference with Thomas Müller is that Riquelme needed the ball all the time.

[@mattrichardson4809]

great video! i love Riquelme, and i think he's a great example of the point you're making. should do another video though highlighting his magic at Villarreal, too! it's interesting to me that Pep is used as this example of total control over players and system > individuals. Pep is system-oriented, he has a rigid, position-oriented conception of space, BUT, he's much more Cryuff than Van Gaal. at every stop, in every season, he's accommodated his tactics to fit his players. he fit his system to Messi at Barça, he found a role for Müeller at Bayern, he's come up with wild new schemes at Man City. to be honest, for folks who want more 10s, they should watch MLS. the parity is such that you can't win without that special, differential talent who can make magic and change a game with one touch. you have creative passing 10s, ankle-breaking dribbling 10s, goalscoring 10s...

[@thepurist_]

I agree with the points on Pep. His systems are rigid, but he’ll adapt those systems until they best accommodate his players.

[@CxsualtyGaming]

@@thepurist_ Pep is just a better version of LVG. Accomplished more while implementing a similar system - trying to replicate or create an evolution of total football. LVG always saw total football as a way to create a collective that played the game "perfectly" or "machine-like". I'd say Cruyff's original vision of total football was a collective that shined through its "imperfections with impredictability" and that was based off the brilliance of its players. It wasn't a system that could be applied to all teams - because certain quality is needed for that style of football to function.

[@jonnypastrana3777]

Riquelme’s pause of the game and vision would slow down the chaos and find the perfect pass across lines that lead to a goal .. this pause would be much appreciated in football now due to the speed football is n

[@guidogiamba]

You went full Lacanian in the understanding of words. Just another brilliant video

[@guicharguichar]

I just want to thank you again for a spectacular video. You articulate things that have been in my mind, but kind of blurry and undefined, and you put simple words and explanations on those feelings. You link different things together to make the complexity of football comprehensible, without oversimplifying. You explain in a very straight forward way all the poetry that exists in football. Thank you for that.

[@thepurist_]

That’s very kind feedback, thank you and glad you enjoyed :)

[@randyschwaggins]

Maradona, Messi, Riquelme, Ortega, Aimar...my top 5 Argentinian playmakers

[@cruditosava3829]

Ortega was not a playmaker, bochini could do the trick there

[@randyschwaggins]

@cruditosava3829 sure he played centre back of course

[@NeilAlvin]

This is the comment, perfection.

[@Shades-of-76]

I’m not Argentinian but I love their players and football. D10S is my footballing idol since a kid in 86. I’ve also been fortunate to see the other 4 you mention live in a match several times. My 2nd favourite is Redondo a different kind of playmaker, from deep. My 3rd by definition isn’t a playmaker but I loved Zanetti

[@JohnDoe-iq9bz]

I couldn't agree more. Oretega was special but so was Aimar and obviously Messi is probably the greatest Argentinean player of all time.

[@jorgearg8701]

Thanks for bring this enganche topic. Here in Argentina some referents are starting to express their opinions and trying to bring the discuss to the table, because it is a fact that this southamerican style of playing, using individual skills as a part of the football creation instead of pure tactics and systems, is almost vanished. I can mention as part of this referents Ricardo Gareca, Pablo Aimar, and the proper Riquelme, now with his new dedication as manager (sort of) on Boca Juniors. With different levels of agreealness they mention as the root casues a combination of: - european influences, specially Riquelme talks about this whenever he can, when journalists brings the topic "speed and intensity in the football" arguing that football is not running, that you need to think for yourself on the field, and that for him in one hand requires a better developed player, but on the other, brings not just better results but better spectacle. One of his famous quotes are "correr corre cualquiera, jugar a la pelota es mas complicado / everybody can run, playing football is more complicated than that (one can directly say that this european influence its transform as an abandonment of our traditions, we can argue). - the actual socio-politics situation. I've seen Aimar talking about the imposibility of doing today in the streets the things that we were doing when we were kids, bringing a combination of basically 2 things: the insecurity levels on the streets in the actual times, and a change of the way parents raise their childs, particulary when it comes to injuries. - lack of criteria of the children's football coachs. I've seen Gareca talking about how he stress himself when people bring to him videos of 6-12 y/o kids training and he sees that they are doing tactics instead of developing his abilities. I've also seen Gareca talking to his players about the importance of taking the time to think when he was the Selección de Peru trainer, teaching them that he required they to touch the ball at least 2 times before passing, to develope a sense of football. The good thing is, all of them have proposals, Gareca advices the coachs to leave tactics to "it's time" (when players are more grown) and allow the kids to develope his skills, Riquelme has changed the direction of the minor leagues in Boca, they now train and play with a formation that allows the develope of the enganche, and Aimar encourages the children football structure to try bring some of the things that makes what you refers as "la nuestra" (i never heared about it, we talk always about EL POTRERO), he knows that all the things that we did in the streets can't be transfered to the structures, but some can. I think is a discuss that we owe to ourselves not only as football lovers, but as southamericans.

[@dylanjackson29]

Hey can you make a video on the most effective dribblers (highest % dribble success rate) either for last season or of all time, and analyze their technique, speed, and timing as to why they’re so efficient. The likes of Mitoma, Dembele, Ben Arfa, Robben, Messi, etc. That would make a great video imo

[@walberneto4646]

Worth noticing clusters of players forming around Riquelme at vídeos from his time at Boca. He was not just a seam from defense to attacking players but also hooked positional players to a relational type of tactic.

[@klauss4007]

As a Riquelme fan I would change de term "La Nuestra" to "Jugar a la pelota". It defines better the concept because that way is te way the kids say when they want to play football anywhere. Amazing video tho, I love your content

[@federicoarmando8359]

My favorite player ever. I’m happy to find some english coverage on this genius. I feel like most of Europe and the English speaking world don’t really know much about him. But in South America and Spain he is legendary. He doesn’t get enough credit: - The legendary “La 12” chanted his name after his incredible debut game (coming in for Maradona) - He was MotM with just 20 years in the club world cup final, in which Boca beat Real Madrid 2-1 in 2000. - After his unsuccessful time in Barcelona, he joined Villareal and guided the club into their most successful period in history, becoming their biggest icon. - He returned to Boca in 2007 and had one of the most legendary performances ever being crucial to win the Libertadores(last one Boca won), scoring or assisting in every phase and scoring an incredible goal in the final. Here in Argentina we say he won that Copa Libertadores “by himself”. -After disputes with Boca’s president, he went to second division Argentinos Junior and guided them to promotion, and the just peaced off as a legend of three clubs (Boca, Villareal, Argentinos Jrs) - Also he did have some incredible performances for Argentina, mainly in Copa America games or WC Qualifiers.

[@TiagoSabor]

I'm brazilian and a Riquelme fan. When I was young I always tried to copy his playstyle and elegance playing with friends. Riquelme was a legend, at least for me!

[@mally9886]

This channel is what Tifo football wishes it was. About time a great analyst of tactics came about on KZbin

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

I've given up on Tifo too. Very disappointing content, almost always with a heavy Anglo-Centric bias in its presentation of things and a tendency towards superficial entertainment rather than well detailed analytical stuff.

[@oolacilesbotnet6564]

​@@oldskoolmusicnostalgiawouldn't even surprise me if the spiky haired guy they have doesn't even know who Riquelme is tbh

[@teteskone41]

Very well-balanced video: no complaining whatsoever, just simple explanations and expectations about the next way of interpreting Riquelme's way of playing. Juxtaposing him and Mueller is a touch of class. Keep up the good work, you've earned a new subscriber.

[@demetrimouratis154]

I think you missed an opportunity to tie Riquelme into the 2022 World Cup match between Argentina and Netherlands. Van Gaal got his comeuppance and Messi made sure to pour it on thick.

[@TheDutchyNL]

You mean the disgraceful act of Messi and his gang? He pulled the entire Dutch team into his personal drama with van Gaal over Riquelme and mistranslated quotes from van Gaal's interview before the WC

[@CxsualtyGaming]

@@TheDutchyNL Oh yeah not the dutch players talking shit before the game? Or the dutch players committing more fouls than the Argentines yet getting less yellows? I'll let your own bias guide you, but you got gifted the ability to get back into the game you got dominated in. To come back, Van Gaal had to give up his system and start playing long balls to pray for a goal. Its as simple as that. Messi just exposed him for his mistreatment of players and proving that Van Gaal doesnt even believe his own bullshit.

[@DA-qj5ih]

@@TheDutchyNL El topo Gigio papa

[@TheDutchyNL]

@@DA-qj5ih wa zedde gij

[@benjaminbronnimann3966]

@@TheDutchyNL someone's salty 😂😂

[@bushmonster1702]

Great video. My beef with modern football is how robotic it is. That's why players like Messi bring so much joy.

[@ggh_-ts6pn]

What confused me is all this talk about no.10 imaginative players are extinct and players like Riquelme, Pastore, Totti etc are the "last" of its kind while we literally just watched Messi playing exactly like them these last few years. His assist vs Netherlands last WC is exactly the prototypical Riquelme pass. Its just because Messi score lots of goals so he is not true no. 10 or what? These statement that imaginative players are extinct is weird to me, because Messi, the most popular footballer on earth alongside Ronaldo basically play like that and still pretty much active.

[@peakinearly_2788]

Fun fact. Van Gaal was the one who brought Thomas in the first team and basically started his career.

[@D_B_Cooper]

Managers have egos. Managers want to claim credit rather than say "we won that game because of player X"

[@fjorden]

I knew that pedri tweet was there for a reason lol

[@thepurist_]

👀

[@SpiceBoy7UK23]

A lot of it applies to James Rodriguez & Isco (but not hazard) not succeeding @ Real Madrid but Gareth Bale cementing his place in the Hall of Fame with 2 legendary goals in 2 finals. His goal in the Copa Del rey and second winner in the CL are worth Puskas Awards. They were both decisive. Bale was well-loved by more military like José or more counter-attacking like Ancelotti. It's crazy to think Zidane's position doesn't exist anymore and even has a coach, hasn't really tried to bring it back. This is what James thought he'd get when he landed in Madrid.

[@cristianbaron2541]

I'm from Argentina and never heard about la Nuestra, the name for that kind of football is Potrero. A potrero is a football field in a very poor condition, because there is where you develop the technique and skills that you can not learn in an academy. Nobody could take the ball from Roman, unstoppable

[@MrRockleyend]

Antes se decia La Nuestra, en los 70-80 . Se usaba para criticar el fútbol de Bilardo, que tomaba mucho del Catenaccio. En contraparte, se decía que la buestra era el estilo de juego menotista...donde el espectador se llenaba los ojos por el espectaculo de nuestros jugadores. Cayo en desuso, pero volvio a resurgir porque Scaloni hablo un par de veces de nuestro furbol usando ese término.

[@manuelb3525]

I'm amazed by your content. I genuinely believe this is one of the best football channels on KZbin

[@thepurist_]

I appreciate you saying so :)

[@DiegoLopez-xw5lb]

Players like Riquelme, Ronaldhino, and zidane brought magic to the sport. That magic has been lost. Now Every-time I see a game all I see is tap in goals.

[@opiumroz-955]

or goalkeeper blunders

[@ga782]

Super! Loved the pace, the tone, the edits. Great info. Thank you!

[@SouradeepSBK]

If you love football, you can't not be a Riquelmista.

[@carlosmedrano6868]

Nah

[@slovakxeneize10]

@@carlosmedrano6868 gayina

[@mknees1467]

yeah

[@チャーリーブラウン-w8l]

Yes you can lol relax

[@ryanlafferty5815]

riquelme was what I would always want to see from an attacking midfielder, see's things others don't and has the skill n composure to make things around him happen, never seen a player quite like him

[@freireag]

It’s interesting of van Gaal to allow Muller his freedom, the same coach that had notorious feuds with Riquelme and Rivaldo about that same freedom on the field. I keep thinking if that’s van Gaal evolving his way of seeing the game or if it’s the presumption that Muller has tactical understanding whereas the other two are “just instinctual”. There’s a third alternative that meddles with the other two: just plain racism against south americans.

[@matutenss]

Throw in what he did to Di Maria, a player that sticks to the coaches plan but is south american, and the third alternative gains more traction.

[@mariadanielalavia8877]

@@matutenss He also made Falcao who's a great number 9 play in uncomfortable forward role in his bollocks 352 shape he uses. I remember watching several games and Falcao was everywhere but on the last quarter, forced to link up play on his side and press like a winger. Even Luca Toni in an interview a decade ago said Van Gaal hates south american players.

[@ShaktiChaturvedi]

Thanks for this, absolutely loved him as a player.

[@j757G]

El Enganche, el 10 Clásico, is only dead in european Football. Diniz plays Ganso there, Bielsa in Chile and Argentina always played a classic 10.

[@CatGPT_]

This is such a great watch man. Nice work

[@sebastiandalbuquerque783]

Here in argentina we use to said "la pelota siempre al 10" that translates as "the ball always pass it to the 10". Meaning that if you doubt, pass it to the 10. Van Gaal is so rigid, and i believe so mistaken, that he said messi won't play in his team. He won't use the best player in the history. What a ridiculous coach. He is not militaristic, he is so lazy as a couch that he can't think of a system adapted to the quality of the players in his team.

[@ximono]

I've often thought to myself "I miss Riquelme". That's the highest praise I can give to any footballer.

[@guicharguichar]

I always thoight Riquelme should have started in that 2010 Argentina squad. Playing 2010 Messi as the enganche was very tempting because of all the talent that they had in attack (Milito, Aguero, Higuain, Tevez) but was a mistake he was unbeatable from the wing at that time. Riquelme feeding Messi would have been so beautiful. And effective!

[@জানিনা-ভ৫ঞ]

i am a real madrid, and portugal fan and i rarely see you covering them, but still you are my favourite analyst, and i love learning more about argentina and barcelona from your videos.

[@hiranom20]

European footy is covered enough.

[@domination8991]

I hope to see another generational player in my life time

[@luizfernandopereirajeremia6405]

Saw him playing for Boca against my team at the Copa Libertadores final in 2007. He was everywhere, dictating the rhythm, holding the ball and creating spaces. We were helpless. We knew he was a legend even before retiring

[@choloti6918]

Love this video love riquelme he’s a beautiful player he’s a legend he could have do more in Europe but don’t get it twisted he’s arguably a bigger legend in South American football than maradona

[@yusufbest4475]

Maradona? Really?

[@choloti6918]

@@yusufbest4475 yes in South American (Argentina) football it’s not crazy if you say that

[@sskmanentsa5326]

Calm down now. Riquelme is big but not Maradona big. Even after retirement; Maradona was selling out stadiums.

[@mamelucoderribado]

Peak channel. Great pronuntiation, massive knowledge. 10/10

[@espumatt]

I wonder where do concepts like la nuestra and jogo bonito come from, because that's certainly not how Argentines and Brazilians call their respective football styles.

[@Sasquatch10]

I enjoyed watching football as a young boy but i was never really drawn to any player or team. That was until i tuned in to watch Arsenal vs Villareal in the UCL semi-finals back in 2006, when ITV would get to show one game each week. I can't explain why, but for whatever reason 10 year old me was drawn to Riquelme. So much so that on the weekends when i would stay at my mothers house, i began to watch la liga just in the hopes that i would get to see more Riquelme. I didn't get to see too much of him because he left the following season, but my eyes were opened to so much more. Ronaldinho soon became my favourite player and to this day is the reason i became a Barcelona supporter.

[@embaubaatelier]

My favorite player of all times 💙

[@MikeL-7]

Only saw him play on tv but even then, it was an absolute privilege.

[@gabrielalohan728]

You see for me as a tactics enthusiast, it's a bit hard centralizing myself to the polarizing sides of football; It's just hard, boxing myself to one side. I guess it's because deep down I identify as a Constructivist & Adaptivist. I think coaches who're dogmatic out of function (can't blame em, they've achieved that way) will unalign with players & vice versa. I see the benefits of a system, but I'm of the firm opinion that when you've some really special talent you build around them; less of Einstein, more Picasso. Essentially, specializations come out of specialities and specialities out of special people or circumstances. Life sometimes imbalances things, what if you've a special child eg Jesus/Mohammed, a special lover, etc. Your home changes eventually, same as your relationship worldview. The key concept for both parties is Compromise; not the one that devalues but the one were both parties lose something (intrinsically). I think Pep UNCONSCIOUSLY has done this across his 2/3 clubs UCL Team philosophy; At Barca it was Messi At City it's Halaand Between Bayern-City(pre Halaand) it was all sort of systemic evolutions that emphasized the role of the wingers but Lewandowski banged in more goals and at City it was different players filling in the gap. Defunct roles will keep making it's way back as longs as there're coaches & fans that understands these players.

[@liamsh6978]

Zidane's last game with real madrid was vs villareal and zidane waited for him to exchange jerseys...that's respect

[@finding_aether]

The problem with Riquelmie is that he plays in such a specialist position he will fail unless he meets a coaches that want to deploy that role. Maybe if he landed with someone like Ancelotti he would have suceeded at a bigger club.

[@oldskoolmusicnostalgia]

Agreed. We saw the same problem with James Rodriguez over the past decade, and currently with Joao Felix. They have very specific skills for a very specific role... which isn't wanted by most coaches.

[@IbrahimKotaesh]

My favourite KZbin channel ❤❤❤

[@leonardodepisa]

Excellent video! Riquelme is one of my favorite players ever. He was able to nugmet anything with two legs.

[@ACrebel05]

Great vid The Purist Football, I very much enjoy your content

[@thepurist_]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@dahnyul]

I love this philosophy and understanding of these different players! Thank you very

[@BlueLotusLover]

Excellent summary once again. Love your word choices, interpretation, and philosophical bent.

[@iahdon]

Greatest player I have ever seen in his role. Simply incredible

[@2_in_wann]

Brooooo !!! This is the best youtube channel rn!! /. 🔥

[@Titantr0n]

Dude! Your channel has grown a lot in the past months. Very glad to see that, you do an amazing job. That being said pleeease talk about LAMINE YAMAL I'm still shaking from that Gamper game omg.

[@ililil8601]

The Van Gaal quote reminds me of how Ganso was deemed an 'egoist' player when he went to Europe.

[@Nr4747]

Riquelme was the best Argentinian player of the 2006 World Cup, not Messi. As a German fan, he was the only player I was really scared of in our quarter final match-up. He had such great vision for passing and a butter-smooth touch on the ball, very similar to Bernd Schneider in a way, but very different in execution. While Schneider was focusing a lot on crossing the ball in the perfect moment with just the right speed and angle, Riquelme had great anticipation on how to pass between the lines. Their "duel" in that game (2006 WC quarter final) was spectacular.

[@adrienfranzbarrientosberth7822]

Mesut Özil was also an enganche; Zinedine Zidane was an Enganche number 10 for France... Neymar jr was the Enganche in some Brazil games. The classic Number 10 role would never die but needs to be really effective to be considered in many teams because it is a wild card... Will never die, it will just evolve to be used as a tactic in some instances of the games, and not for whole the duration of the match.

[@jesselioce]

Classic nr 10s still exist but they are now playing in a deeper role. By that I mean midfielders with the characteristics of the classic 10. Turning Pirlo from a trequartista to a regista or deep lying playmaker was the beginning. Modric followed, Kroos,... The last classic nr 10 is the brasilian Ganso. He was destined to be the next great nr 10 but injuries made the slow player even slower and noone experimented by setting him in front of defence. He had it all to be a deep lying playmaker. And it's a type of midfielder Brazil simply does not have. They had jorginho but Italy picked him up.

[@vventurez]

Thanks for the video, good somebody remembers good ole Riquelme, I very much liked his style how the orchestrated the game at Barça and Villareal.

[@kagishomokoena2120]

One of my favorite all time players ! A legend.... Reminds me of the 2006 Argentina vs Germany game where he amazing and coach took him off (Then all changed )

[@davidlean1060]

Pay attention to Riquelme's part in that famous Argentina goal in the 2006 World Cup. The Argies aren't really getting anywhere, but two or 3 quick touches by him in tight areas is the thing that slowly pulls the opposition shape apart and allows that move be finished off with a goal. What Riquelme does is momentary, blink and you'll miss it stuff, but take it out and there's no goal at the end of it.