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Sergen Yalçın

Ali Rıza Sergen Yalçın (born 5 November 1972), known as Sergen Yalçın, is a Turkish football commentator, coach and former international midfielder who's the head coach of Süper Lig club Antalyaspor.

Yalçın is one of nine players to play for each of the Big Three clubs of Istanbul, and one of only two players who have played for these three clubs as well as Trabzonspor along with Burak Yılmaz.

Childhood and early years
Ali Rıza Sergen Yalçın opened his eyes to the world as the first child of Günsel-Özer Yalçın couple in Kilyos town of Istanbul on November 5, 1972. Two more brothers, first Gürsoy and then Volkan, were born after him. He met football before he went to school on the beaches of Kilyos. Like Sergen, father Özer Yalçın was a footballer and he soon realized his son's interest in football and his special talent at the age of children. Taking to Beşiktaş for the auditions, Özer Yalçın entrusts the little Sergen to the palms of Serpil Hamdi Tuzun. However, Özer Yalçın, who was working at the hotel at that time, took Sergen to training. Later, little Sergen, who started secondary school, starts to go and come on his own.

Club career
Sergen began at Beşiktaş JK in 1991, and quickly became renowned for his skill and creativity. His first spell at the club saw him score 46 goals in 158 games – no mean feat for a midfielder. However, it was known that Sergen lacked professionalism. After a 4–1 defeat to Samsunspor, he was publicly criticised by the Beşiktaş deputy president due to his careless lifestyle. Sergen responded to the club official by insulting him. Subsequently, Beşiktaş imposed a club-record fine of over £150,000. He was later forgiven after apologising but the fine stayed. Sergen then demanded a new and improved contract which was denied by the board.
 * If he doesn't leave the board, from tomorrow I will not turn out for training or for matches. Let him wear the No 10 shirt and play in the Beşiktaş midfield.

As expected, Sergen departed from the club and became Turkey's record signing when he moved to İstanbulspor for £5.5m in 1997. Thereafter, Sergen now desired a move to the European fields and began contract negotiations with Internazionale and AC Milan. Terms could not be met with the Italian giants. After struggling with his weight due to months of inaction, İstanbulspor failed to offload him, so Jet-Pa (a sports company) bought his contract and arranged a loan deal with Fenerbahçe, which involved him wearing a personalised shirt promoting the company.

Under the coaching firstly from Joachim Löw and Rıdvan Dilmen, he seemed to have buckled down to the task. But when Zdenek Zeman took over, Sergen was consistently engaged in trench warfare. Sergen publicly criticised Zeman for trying to play him on the wing, which he believed was not his best position, and was accused of faking injury to avoid training sessions. Along with many other incidents, the final straw came with the home game against Bursaspor. When he eventually came on as a substitute, Sergen missed a simple scoring chance, which many of the fans believe to have been a deliberate miss as an act of protest or just pure spite. In the late stages of the game, with the score locked at 2–2, he further infuriated the supporters by strolling across to take a corner as though he had all the time in the world. Midway through the 1999–2000 season, Sergen had his contract terminated by Fenerbahçe. Due to his terrific individual showings for the national team, Sergen attracted attention from several foreign clubs. There were speculations about a move to FC Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund.

Despite heavy speculation, he finished the season at arch-rivals Galatasaray SK and displayed impressive showings to help Galatasaray do the domestic double. Sergen signed for the club too late in the season to be eligible for the UEFA Cup campaign, and as Galatasaray made the trip to Leeds for the second tie of the semi-final, Sergen was instructed to report to training in Istanbul. But instead of continuing his training in Istanbul, he took a little trip of his own to Northern Cyprus. While casinos were banned on the Turkish mainland, they remained open in Northern Cyprus which attracted quite a lot of gambling trade from Turkey. It attracted Sergen for precisely that reason and he spent much of his brief stay there in a casino. When he returned to Istanbul, he told manager Fatih Terim he was tired from the journey and asked if he could skip a training session. Terim is a fearsome disciplinarian and the reaction was predictably explosive. Sergen skipped title celebrations after the Galatasaray board made it clear they would not have him back next season.

After Euro 2000, Sergen was on the verge of a transfer to Newcastle United, manager Bobby Robson being a long-time admirer. The deal fell through and he instead moved to Trabzonspor and became the first player to have represented the big four clubs in Turkey. Sergen had never yet played for a club outside Istanbul and it was believed that removing him from the distractions of the big city would do good for his appalling disciplinary record. Ironically, it was the most unsuccessful season of his career. At the season's end, Trabzonspor did not wish to extend his loan deal.

Fatih Terim gave up on him at Galatasaray. Zdenek Zeman could not work with him at Fenerbahçe. He publicly criticised former national coach Mustafa Denizli after Euro 2000. British coach Gordon Milne worked with him at Beşiktaş and he too despaired of trying to get Sergen – and his magical left foot to the training ground on time. It was thought to be the end of Sergen Yalcin, the great enfant terrible of Turkish football.

Ahead of the 2001–2002 season, Galatasaray manager Mircea Lucescu took a gamble and signed Sergen on loan (still from Siirt-Jet). He cast Sergen as the natural successor to Gheorghe Hagi.
 * This is his last chance and he is well aware of this. I wanted Sergen and I know he will truly show me who Sergen Yalçın is. His talent is obvious and now he will finally be seen on the international stage. He will be born again. The move was rewarded as Sergen repaid his manager's faith by starring in the UEFA Champions League with 2 goals and 2 assists as Galatasaray progressed to the second group stage. Unfortunately, Sergen tore his knee ligaments and would miss the rest of the season. He was told to lose weight or never play football again. After elimination from the UEFA Champions League, Lucescu remained insistent that if Sergen had remained fit, Galatasaray would have gone on to win the tournament. Galatasaray did still go on to win the league title.

In the 2002–2003 season, after years of wandering, Sergen returned home to Beşiktaş. Sergen was signed on a permanent deal by Lucescu, who had also moved to Beşiktaş. Under the tutelage of Lucescu, some whispered that, perhaps, the talent had been tamed. Sergen was finally maturing to fulfill some of his long-lost potential. Beşiktaş won the league, with Sergen the key instigator. The 2003–2004 season would see Beşiktaş' re-entry to the Champions League where Sergen was to feature in arguably the most memorable match of his career. Roman Abramovich became the owner of the English club, Chelsea FC, spending £112m on quality transfers. Chelsea's 'invincibles' were undefeated under the Abramovich-era ahead of the match with Beşiktaş, which was played at Stamford Bridge. With the odds stacked against them, Beşiktaş shocked the footballing world by winning 0–2, both goals courtesy of Sergen. Beşiktaş were eliminated in the group stage, but Sergen once again proved his class by scoring 2 goals and providing 3 assists in the six matches. He continued playing in Beşiktaş for another two years, becoming a fan-favourite of the club.

Before the 2006–2007 season, manager Jean Tigana did not see Sergen as part of his future plans and therefore, Beşiktaş terminated his contract with immediate effect. This enraged the fans, as Sergen was their greatest symbolic icon. Upon his departure, he stated that he would always be a Beşiktaş fan. He spent that season at lowly Etimesgut Şekerspor in the TFF Second League, before moving to Eskişehirspor of the TFF First League, retiring at the end of 2007–08 as his team achieved promotion to the top flight.

When Sergen was asked why he never moved to Europe, he simply replied, "If I was 20 again, I would leave Turkey within 3 days."

Beşiktaş J.K.
Coming through the Beşiktaş Youth Infrastructure which he entered at the age of 10, he broke into the first team for which he played for 15 years. He said that Serpil Hamdi Tüzün, who watched Sergen for 15 seconds and brought him to Beşiktaş, drew 10 goal positions every day in line with his directive and applied them. He took part in the squad which was the "Undefeated Champion" in the 1991–92 1.Lig. In 1997, he transferred to Istanbulspor with a record transfer fee. Wearing the uniform of the four largest in Turkey is the first of the two players. In 2000, The Guardian newspaper said, "He has an invaluable left foot, he can even put the ball in an ashtray 60 meters away." He also stated that Newcastle United coach Bobby Robson was a fan of Sergen Yalçın. In his album "On the Bosphorus" by jazz musician Önder Focan, he was inspired by producing "Negres" (reverse Sergen).

Returned to Beşiktaş in 2002. Beşiktaş's top goal scorer of the squad which, became the champion in its 100th year. In the match played between Beşiktaş and Galatasaray in the 33rd week of the season, he scored the goal that brought the 100th year championship, and he realized the classic saying of Ercan Taner; "Sergen scored, championship came". He was selected as one of the best footballers of 100 years in 2003 as a result of the votes cast by the directors, media representatives and fans who were members of the Board of Directors, and the Board of Directors at Beşiktaş JK. In 2003 Player of the Year in Turkey has been selected. October 1, 2003 Chelsea-Besiktas in the Champions League group game Sergen Yalcin's 2 goals was one of the most important events in the history of Beşiktaş. In the 2003-04 season, with the Beşiktaş shirt, he got close to the penalty bow against Çaykur Rizespor with the ball he won from the back of the middle field and completed with a scoring goal with İlhan Mansız, he won the "Goal of the Year" award. He came to Besiktas in 2002 and left in 2006. He became one of the rare midfielder players, who exceeded 100 goals in the league. From the British press, in September 2017 These Football Times published an article entitled "Sergen Yalçın: The man who could have been the world's best." On December 9, 2021, Beşiktaş announced that Sergen Yalçın had left the team. He became the first name to become a champion in the Süper Lig as a football player and coach in Beşiktaş.

International career
Sergen played on the Turkey national under-23 football team at the 1993 Mediterranean Games, which they won by defeating France U21s in the semifinal and Algeria U23s in the final.

Sergen made his senior debut in a friendly game against F.Y.R. Macedonia in 1994. He would represent his nation in Euro 1996 and 2000, but injury prevented him from featuring at the FIFA World Cup in 2002. Sergen scored a total of 5 goals in 37 matches for the Turkey national team.

Euro 1996
Euro 1996 was Turkey's first tournament appearance since 1954. Sergen played a key role in qualification, scoring two goals. Sergen featured in two matches at the finals where they fell at the first hurdle, pointless and goalless. After the tournament, Sergen received several offers from the European shores, including the likes of West Ham United. Sergen's refusal to move was made by the fact the clubs in pursuit were not bigger than Beşiktaş.

FIFA World Cup 1998
Sergen was fairly inactive in the national team during this period. In the opening round of World Cup qualification, Sergen came on as a second-half substitute against Belgium. Sergen went from hero to villain in the space of five minutes by contriving to get himself sent off after initially scoring a splendid half-volley on the edge of the box. Turkey went on to lose the match 2–1 at Brussels. Manager Mustafa Denizli saw Sergen as a liability and did not select him for the next 13 months. Sergen's only other match during qualification was the 5–0 victory at San Marino, and Sergen was hugely disappointing. Turkey failed to make the finals.

Euro 2000
To his detractors, Sergen was a luxury item in a team which could ill afford luxuries. Those who had a fondness for decrying Sergen's abilities have suggested that, when playing at the highest level, he glitters rather than shines. So when Sergen was given a second chance, many lashed out at Denizli's decision to select him. Having finally accepted that he was the linchpin of his national side, Sergen dedicated himself to banish bitter memories of his past.

The opening match saw Sergen give a man of the match performance in a 3–0 victory over Northern Ireland, followed by a 1–0 victory against European champions Germany, but then shamefully defeated 1–3 to Finland. The next match against Moldova, Sergen was the maestro for the Turkish side, with his spectacular dribbling runs, shots at goal and his clairvoyant passes creating scoring chances for his teammates. It was from his corner kick that Turkey opened the scoring, and four minutes into injury time when Sergen took the stage, displacing the lead-footed Moldovan defenders one by one before slotting in a cracker from the edge of the area to give Turkey a 2–0 victory. Sergen also made history because his goal was the 400th scored in the history of the Turkey national team. Prior to the next match, Turkey had never defeated Finland in any official match since 1924. Outpaced and outplayed for 15 minutes, Turkey trailed 2–0 before Sergen intervened. The man of the match was involved in three goals as Turkey turned around a two-goal deficit to defeat Finland 2–4. Turkey gained five points from their final three matches to finish group runners-up. The final game with Germany ended 0–0, but is seen as one of the greatest individual displays in the history of the Turkey national team, as Sergen "pulled all the strings", according to the German manager Erich Ribbeck. As group runners-up, Turkey faced the Republic of Ireland in a play-off tie to qualify for Euro 2000. The Irish entered the match as favorites mainly due to their influential skipper, Roy Keane. In the first leg, Ireland could only do with a 1–1 draw in Dublin. Eamonn Sweeney of the Irish Examiner wrote the match report.

 * Sergen Yalcin may play Fenerbahçe, but his midfield display was an unscheduled replacement for the top of the bill showing we’d been expecting from the Manchester United man. At times, Keane looked like someone who arrived at the podium to pick up an MTV award only to see someone else making off with it. Yalcin, without ever moving faster than a jogger, was always one step ahead, showing the ball to Keane like a matador brandishing a cape and then whisking it away as his dangerous foe arrived. The Turkish midfielder's technical brilliance, was merely one of the intriguing factors about his team's oddly diverse performance. Paradoxically, you could see how they defeated Germany, but also how Finland had upset them at home. The second leg ended 0–0, which was enough for Turkey to qualify through the away-goals rule. In the first 20 minutes of the second half alone, Sergen set up four clear scoring chances as he produced another man of the match performance.

Turkey opened their Euro 2000 campaign with a controversial 2–1 defeat to Italy. The Guardian writer Ian Ross recalled the game.

 * The bizarre interpretation of the shoulder-charge ruling by the Scottish referee Hugh Dallas may have presented Italy with the penalty that pushed Turkey to defeat in their opening Group B fixture, but Sergen's contribution was immense, an intoxicating cocktail of neatly threaded through-balls and passes so visionary they might have been delivered by Mystic Meg. It was his assist from a nicely flighted free-kick from which Turkey scored. Surprisingly, Sergen then came on as a substitute in their 0–0 draw with Sweden, and he didn't feature at all during the 2–0 victory over Belgium. In the quarter-finals, Sergen came on in the final few minutes as Turkey were defeated by Portugal. Sergen heavily criticised Denizli for not starting him in all of the matches, "He's got problems, he's not all there in the head. Don't ask me why I didn't play, ask him."

FIFA World Cup 2002
Sergen missed most of 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification due to his dismal performances at club level. His transfer to Galatasaray and performances in the UEFA Champions League allowed him back into the team and he featured in the 5–0 thrashing of Austria to qualify for the World Cup. Tragically though Sergen had injured himself prior to the tournament and did not feature.

Euro 2004
Sergen again wasn't involved in most of the Euro 2004 qualification campaign, but due to his memorable performance against Chelsea, he was selected for the crucial final qualifying match against England. It was his final match for Turkey, which ended 0–0. Due to injury, he did not feature in the play-off ties against Latvia as Turkey were defeated.

Managerial career
He has signed a contract with Gaziantepspor for one and a half year after former manager. In 2021 Sergen returned to Besiktas as manager. He secured the Turkish Premier League title for Besiktas,completing his career first wins at the club.

International

 * Scores and results list Turkey's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Yalçın goal.

Player
Beşiktaş
 * 1.Lig/Süper Lig: 1991–92, 1994–95, 2002–03
 * Turkish Cup: 1993–94, 2005–06
 * Turkish Super Cup: 1992, 1994
 * Prime Minister's Cup: 1997
 * TSYD Cup: 1993, 1996

Galatasaray
 * 1.Lig/Süper Lig: 1999–2000, 2001–02
 * Turkish Cup: 1999–2000

Turkey U-21
 * Mediterranean Games: 1993

Manager

 * Beşiktaş
 * Süper Lig: 2020–21
 * Turkish Cup: 2020–21

Individual

 * Player
 * Süper Lig top assist provider: 2000 (14 assist)
 * Beşiktaş silver 11 of the century: 2003
 * Milliyet Sports Awards Player of the Year in Turkey: 2003
 * Eminönü Belediyesi Century Footballer award: 2003

 * Manager
 * Coach of the team that scored 5 goals in the first half of a match in the Süper Lig in Beşiktaş history.
 * He became the first name to become a champion in the Süper Lig as a football player and coach in Beşiktaş.
 * Coach of the team that scored the most goals in the Süper Lig in the history of Beşiktaş. (89 goal)

title: Sergen Yalçın


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Monkey Business (1931 film)

Monkey Business is a 1931 American pre-Code comedy film. It is the third of the Marx Brothers' released movies (Groucho, Harpo, Chico and Zeppo), and the first with an original screenplay rather than an adaptation of one of their Broadway shows. The film also features Thelma Todd, Harry Woods and Ruth Hall. It is directed by Norman Z. McLeod with screenplay by S. J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone. Much of the story takes place on an ocean liner crossing the Atlantic Ocean.

Plot
On board an ocean liner, four stowaways hide in barrels in the ship's cargo hold. After singing "Sweet Adeline", they are discovered. The naval officers spend the rest of the voyage chasing and attempting to arrest the stowaways. Chico and Harpo disrupt a chess game and confiscate the board, taking it into the stateroom of racketeer Big Joe Helton and his daughter Mary, during a confrontation with rival gangster Alky Briggs. After they scare off Briggs, Big Joe hires Chico and Harpo to be his bodyguards. Groucho dances and romances with Briggs' wife, Lucille, until he is caught and threatened by Briggs. Groucho's audacity convinces Briggs to hire him and Zeppo. Briggs gives them loaded guns, which they immediately ditch in a bucket of water. Groucho offers his services to Big Joe, who says he will think it over.

As the ocean liner is about to dock in the United States, the stowaways realize that to get off the boat, they must steal passports and fool customs officials. Zeppo steals the passport of movie star Maurice Chevalier, and demonstrates his ability to mimic Chevalier's singing. The four butt in line at customs and Zeppo impersonates Chevalier. He is unsuccessful, however, and passes the passport to Chico, Groucho and Harpo, who each attempt unconvincing portrayals of Chevalier singing the same song, with Harpo resorting to a phonograph strapped on his back with an actual record of Chevalier singing. The four escape the authorities after hiding under a covered load of baggage.

Big Joe and his daughter, whom Zeppo met and romanced on board, host a party at which Groucho makes announcements, Chico plays piano and Harpo plays harp. Briggs' men kidnap Big Joe's daughter and take her to an old barn. The former stowaways follow and a fight ensues. The daughter is rescued, and Groucho attempts to find a needle in a haystack.

Except in the credits and in the screenplay, the Marx Brothers' characters have no names in this film. They are referred to simply as "the stowaways".

Cast

 * Groucho Marx as Groucho
 * Harpo Marx as Harpo
 * Chico Marx as Chico
 * Zeppo Marx as Zeppo
 * Rockliffe Fellowes as J.J. "Big Joe" Helton
 * Harry Woods as "Alky" Briggs
 * Thelma Todd as Lucille Briggs
 * Ruth Hall as Mary Helton
 * Tom Kennedy as First Mate Gibson
 * Cecil Cunningham as Madame Swempski, opera singer giving interview on ship
 * Charlotte Mineau as Emily, woman on veranda of mansion having an illicit affair
 * Maxine Castle as Mrs Schmalhausen, opera singer performing "O Sole Mio"
 * Rolfe Sedan as the ship's barber
 * Evelyn Pierce as Manicurist
 * Billy Bletcher as Man buried in deck chair
 * Bess Flowers as wife of man dressed as Indian at party
 * Cyril Ring as Party guest
 * Ben Taggart as Captain Corcoran
 * Davison Clark as passport official

Production
Writers S. J. Perelman and Will B. Johnstone were excited to be working with the Marx Brothers. However, producer Herman J. Mankiewicz advised them to lower their expectations. He called the brothers "mercurial, devious, and ungrateful ... I hate to depress you, but you'll rue the day you ever took the assignment. This is an ordeal by fire, make sure you wear asbestos pants." Of the original script delivered by Perelman and Johnstone, Groucho said, "It stinks." He considered Perelman too intellectual to write for the Marx Brothers manic comic style. The final script was the result of five months of work by the brothers, gag writers, director Norman Z. MacLeod and Mankiewicz. MacLeod later said that up to 12 writers worked on the film, and that Eddie Cantor contributed when he visited the set during shooting.

Typical for many Marx Brothers films, production censors demanded changes in some lines with sexual innuendo. Monkey Business was banned in Ireland because censors feared it would encourage anarchic tendencies. In Ireland, the film was passed on January 8, 1932, with '16 unspecified cuts to script', including characters falling over each other in a dance scene.

This is the first Marx Brothers film not to feature Margaret Dumont: this time their female foil is comedian Thelma Todd, who would also star in the Marx Brothers' next film, Horse Feathers. In December 1935, Todd was found dead in her car, inside her garage apparently from accidental carbon monoxide poisoning. A line of dialogue in Monkey Business seems to foreshadow Todd's death. Alone with Todd in her cabin, Groucho quips: "You're a woman who's been getting nothing but dirty breaks. Well, we can clean and tighten your brakes, but you'll have to stay in the garage all night."

Early on in Monkey Business, the Brothers—playing stowaways concealed in barrels—harmonize unseen while performing the popular song "Sweet Adeline". It is a matter of debate whether Harpo joins in with the singing. (One of the ship's crew asserts to the captain that he knows there are four stowaways because he can hear them singing "Sweet Adeline".) If so, it would be one of only a few times Harpo used speech on screen, as opposed to other vocalizations such as whistling or sneezing. At least one other possible on-screen utterance occurs in the film A Day at the Races (1937), in which Groucho, Chico, and Harpo are heard singing "Down by the Old Mill Stream" in three-part harmony.

This was the first Marx film to be written specifically for film, and the first shot in Hollywood. Their first two films were filmed at Paramount Pictures' Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City.

The Marx Brothers' real life father (Sam "Frenchie" Marx) is briefly seen in a cameo appearance, sitting on top of luggage behind the Brothers on the pier as they wave to the First Mate upon alighting. Sam Marx was 72 at the time, and the appearance was his film debut. He was paid $12.50 each day for two days' work.

Monkey Business was Norman MacLeod's solo directorial debut.

Songs
One of the sequences in this film involves the four brothers attempting to get off the ship using a passport stolen from famous singer (and fellow Paramount star) Maurice Chevalier. Each brother impersonates Chevalier (complete with straw hat) and sings "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me" ("If the nightingales could sing like you ...") in turn. This poses a problem for the mute Harpo, who mimes to a hidden phonograph tied to his back which plays the Chevalier recording. When the turntable slows down and he has to rewind it, the ruse is uncovered. Earlier, when Zeppo first meets gangster Joe Helton's daughter Mary on the promenade of the ocean liner, "Just One More Chance" by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow can be heard playing in the background. Chico performs two pieces on the piano, the "Pizzicato" from Sylvia by Léo Delibes, which then morphs into the song "When I Take My Sugar to Tea", written by Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, and Pierre Norman. Harpo performs "I'm Daffy over You" by Sol Violinsky and Chico. The dance band at Mary's debut party is playing the song "Ho Hum!" when the Marx Brothers arrive.

Musical numbers

 * "Sweet Adeline", music by Harry Armstrong, lyrics by Richard Gerard
 * "Just One More Chance", by Arthur Johnston and Sam Coslow
 * "You Brought a New Kind of Love to Me", music and lyrics by Irving Kahal, Pierre Norman and Sammy Fain
 * "Pizzicato" from Sylvia by Léo Delibes, played on the piano by Chico
 * "When I Take My Sugar to Tea" by Sammy Fain, Irving Kahal, and Pierre Norman
 * "O Sole Mio" sung by opera singer Maxine Castle with harp accompaniment by Harpo; music by Eduardo di Capua, lyrics by Giovanni Capurro
 * "I'm Daffy Over You" by Chico Marx and Sol Violinsky (Solly Ginsberg)

Reception and impact

Monkey Business was a critical and box office success, and is considered one of the Marx Brothers' best and funniest films.

Contemporary reviews were positive. Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times wrote, "Whether it is really as funny as 'Animal Crackers' is a matter of opinion. Suffice it to say that few persons will be able to go to the Rivoli and keep a straight face." Variety's review began, "The usual Marx madhouse and plenty of laughs sprouting from a plot structure resembling one of those California bungalows which sprout up overnight." Film Daily agreed that the plot was "flimsy", but also found the film "crammed all the way with laughs and there's never a dead spot." John Mosher of The New Yorker thought the film was "the best this family has given us." The film was evidently based on two routines the Marx Brothers did during their early days in vaudeville (Home Again and Mr. Green's Reception), along with a story idea from one of Groucho's friends, Bert Granet, called The Seas Are Wet. The passport scene is a reworking of a stage sketch in which the brothers burst into a theatrical agent's office auditioning an impersonation of a current big star. It appeared in their stage shows On the Mezzanine Floor and I'll Say She Is (1924). This skit was also done by the Marxes in the Paramount promotional film The House That Shadows Built (1931).

The concept of the Marx Brothers being stowaways on a ship would be repeated in an episode of their radio series Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel (1933) in the episode "The False Roderick", and would also be recycled in their MGM film A Night at the Opera (1935). The essence of Groucho's joke, "Sure, I'm a doctor—where's the horse?" would serve as an integral plot element for their film A Day at the Races (1937). Also repeated in that later film would be the uproarious medical examination that Harpo and Chico give opera singer Madame Swempski (Cecil Cunningham).

Awards and honors

 * 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #73

Sequel
According to Turner Classic Movies' Robert Osborne, a sequel was planned for this film that would continue the gangster theme. During the development of that film, aviator Charles Lindbergh's son was kidnapped and killed by what were believed to be gangsters. The writers quickly shifted gears and instead based the next film, Horse Feathers, very loosely on the Marx Brothers' earlier stage show Fun in Hi Skule.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Monkey Business (1931 film)


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User talk:Vanky

Hello, and welcome to Wikipedia. Thank you for your contributions. I hope you like the place and decide to stay. Here are a few good links for newcomers: I hope you enjoy editing here and being a Wikipedian! BTW, you can sign your name using three tildes, like this:. Four tildes ( ~ ) produces your name and the current date. If you have any questions, see the help pages, add a question to the village pump or ask me on my Talk page. Here are some things you can do to get started:
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If you'd like to get even more involved in Wikipedia, such as voting on featured articles or collaboration of the week and much more, you can always visit the community portal. Again, welcome! Johnleemk | Talk 13:55, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Making of the English Working Class
I've left you a note on 'Making of English Working Class' (see that discussion page) - the class/classes distinction is important I think. Bob aka Linuxlad

York Students
Hello, is that Adam? Would you be so good as to add yourself to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Wikipedians_by_alma_mater#University_of_York ? Thanks Matthew Platts 20:49, 15 Mar 2005 (UTC)

NaSTA
No problem. See Help:Table if you want the gory details of the wiki table syntax. You can also use HTML tables, but they don't look as clean in the edit window. after the opening " {- " gives you the pale grey look which is fairly standard for Wikipedia tables. --rbrwr± 19:46, 19 November 2005 (UTC)

Cheltenham Music Festival
Hi mate (don't know your name, sorry - I'm Steve). I've added an npov tag to the above article, for the reason I disclose on the Talk page. If you're planning to work further on it feel free to remove the tag once the article has been neutralised. See you. --kingboyk 17:49, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

CARTOONS OF MOHAMMED
Showing the figures of Mohammed is disturbing muslims. And it is a insult to Islam. In Islam making and also looking the figures of Mohammed is forbidden.That is raping the holy things of Islam.And it is not about "freedom".PLEASE get back your sıgnature.Thanks.--Erdemsenol 01:02, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

It is about freedom of speech. If there was something that I found offensive, but it was encyclopaedic, I would have no cause to complain about its inclusion in wikipedia. Vanky 01:08, 3 February 2006 (UTC)

Morocco and the AU
===>I'm posting this at Talk:Morocco and User talk:Vanky Morocco left the Organisation for African Unity/African Union because in 1976, they took over Western Sahara, in spite of international condemnation and calls for self-determination for the Sahrawis of the region. They currently live in refugee camps in Tindouf Province, Algeria. The AU, as well as dozens of states recognize the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic as the rightful government of Western Sahara. If you have any more questions, please let me know. -Justin (koavf), talk 00:56, 20 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Or rather less partisanly - Morocco suspended its participation in the OAU. Some Sahraouine are in camps in Algeria, most are not. A small handful of states recognise Polisario, most countries take a neutral stance.(Collounsbury 06:34, 20 February 2006 (UTC)).

Images
Hi. I'm working on KLF discography. To aid with formatting, I created two templates. The image thumbnails I am using get passed as arguments to the templates. I've noticed that, presumably as a result of the use of a template, the Image page doesn't know that the image is being used in an article (see e.g. Image:The KLF- Burn The Bastards.jpg). I'm worried that some bot will come along and say "right, they're not being used", and list them for deletion.

If you can suggest a way round this or what might be causing it please leave a message on my talk page (as I've asked several people). Cheers. --kingboyk 18:25, 28 February 2006 (UTC)
 * Forget it mate, seems to be a quirky self resolving caching thing (and you can quote me on that). --kingboyk 21:05, 28 February 2006 (UTC)

RFA Thanks
P.S. If you are interested in The Beatles, User:Lar has asked me to tag on a little note advertising the creation of a new Beatles WikiProject that we are currently setting up. Please sign up and help.

St. Edwards School
Hi mate. Would you have a look at that article please? Is Rupert Curtis a famous fella I've never heard of, or is it a schoolboy prank? Cheers. --kingboyk 22:37, 27 March 2006 (UTC)

Greetings

I convey my Birth Day Greetings to you - happy Birth day !!! --Bhadani 15:15, 29 March 2006 (UTC)

I wish you a happy birthday too from a fellow Esperanzian! Have lots of fun! Thethinr e dline 07:50, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

 Happy Birthday ! --Misza 13 T C 10:32, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Um, yeah, me too! Not that I knew :) --kingboyk 12:23, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Happy birthday from a fellow Esperanzian, may everything you do today go well --«Θ» z  ee  rus  13:14, 30 March 2006 (UTC) Happy Birthday !! :) L e idiot 13:17, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Happy Birthday, hope you have a great day today. :) --Ter e nce Ong 13:39, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Have a great day of birth! -- light darkness (talk) 15:16, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Have a wonderful birthday! :-) Gflor e sTalk 22:39, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Happy birthday! —   nath a(?) nrdotcom (T • C • W) 02:17, 31 March 2006 (UTC)

Gloucestershire
Hi Vanky. I had another rummage through the Gloucestershire category tree yesterday and created a category for Tewksbury as I'd already done for Cheltenham. I also found quite a few Bristol suburbs in the Glos. towns/villages categories. I removed them as an exercise in being bold but, as I pretty much expected, I've had an objection. So, I just wondered what you think? Should South Glos be in it's own category (which can be a subcat of Glos) or is it the same place? Do you think of Bristol as being in the same county as Cheltenham, or a big city an hour away down the motorway as I do? Taken to Category talk:South Gloucestershire if you'd like to chip in, and by the way I'm not expecting you to agree with me! I might be totally wrong on this. --kingboyk 12:23, 30 March 2006 (UTC)

Wikipedia_talk:Censorship
A watered-down version of the proposed policy against censorship is now open for voting. Will you kindly review the policy and make your opinions known? Thank you very much. Loom91 12:57, 5 April 2006 (UTC)

Old Skool Esperanzial note
Since this isn't the result of an AC meeting, I have decided to go Old Skool. This note is to remind you that the elections are taking place now and will end at 23:50 UTC on 2006-04-29. Please vote here. Thanks. --Cel es tianpower háblame 20:42, 23 April 2006 (UTC)

Greetings from WikiProject The Beatles!
Want to help on next month's newsletter? Don't want to receive these in future? Don't want it subst'd next time? - It's all here

A short Esperanzial update
As you may have gathered, discussions have been raging for about a week on the Esperanza talk page as to the future direction of Esperanza. Some of these are still ongoing and warrant more input (such as the idea to scrap the members list altogether). However, some decisions have been made and the charter has hence been amended. See what happened. Basically, the whole leadership has had a reshuffle, so please review the new, improved charter.

As a result, we are electing 4 people this month. They will replace JoanneB and Pschemp and form a new tranche A, serving until December. Elections will begin on 2006-07-02 and last until 2006-07-09. If you wish to run for a Council position, add your name to the list before 2006-07-02. For more details, see Esperanza/June 2006 elections.

Thanks and kind, Esperanzial regards, —Cel es tianpower háblame 16:00, 23 June 2006 (UTC)

Help?
Will you consider commenting on some AfD nominations and merge-delete propositions that I believe are an attempt to drive off a good editor? (OK, she's my wife. But she's exhausted by this fight; her articles are written in good faith and this editor is making a mockery of WP.)
 * Table of books of Judeo-Christian Scripture
 * Lost books of the Old Testament
 * Lost Book of the Covenant
 * Lost Book of Jasher
 * Lost Book of Enoch

Thank you! --JuanFiguroa 03:03, 2 July 2006 (UTC)

WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter, Issue 3, July 2006

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WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter, Issue 4, August 2006

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WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter, Issue 5, September 2006

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WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter, Issue 6, October 2006

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WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter, Issue 7, November 2006

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Edit Day
Congratulations Vanky! It's your first edit day! Wooohooo! You deserve some credit for all your hard work. Great job mate! Keep up the Good work! Dfrg.m s c 1. 2 . 3 10:56, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter Issue 8, December 2006

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WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter, Issue 9, January 2007
Hi. You are not receiving The Beatles project newsletter because we believe you are inactive. Click the link in the title, above, to see it. If you want to move yourself back to active, and get copies again, please remove your name from WikiProject The Beatles/Outreach/Newsletter/Inactive and add yourself to WikiProject The Beatles/Outreach/Newsletter/Active Thanks for your interest in the project. This is probably the last notice you will receive. ++Larbot - run by User:Lar - t/c 19:52, 14 January 2007 (UTC)

WikiProject The Beatles Newsletter, Issue 11, March 2007

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delivered by ++Larbot - run by User:Lar - t/c 23:44, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

:D
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News Time

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BetacommandBot 23:58, 26 April 2007 (UTC)

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WikiProject The Beatles
Your user name is on the “Inactive, or have just popped out for a cup of tea...” list on the Wikipedia:WikiProject The Beatles page. You can move it back to the “Participants” list if you feel this is not the case. :) -- WikiProject The Beatles 15:13, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

First Edit
--  ThinkBlue  (Hit BLUE) 00:10, 1 December 2007 (UTC)
 * FROM YOUR FRIEND:

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What happened to vanky?
Vanky! Where are you? You edited a bunch of good ones and you even created a bunch of good ones! We need you here at the wiki. It don't look like you made a "contrib" for ages! I hope you is OK along with your beautiful cats and your wife! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.206.143.173 (talk) 00:37, 3 May 2013 (UTC)

ArbCom elections are now open!
MediaWiki message delivery (talk) 12:54, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

title: User talk:Vanky


text:
Linda Colley

Dame Linda Jane Colley, (born 13 September 1949 in Chester, England) is an expert on British, imperial and global history from 1700. She is Shelby M. C. Davis 1958 Professor of History at Princeton University and a long-term fellow in history at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in Uppsala. She previously held chairs at Yale University and at the London School of Economics. Her work frequently approaches the past from inter-disciplinary perspectives.

Personal life
Colley is married to fellow historian Sir David Cannadine. They have one child.

Early life and education
Linda Colley took her first degree in history at Bristol University before completing a doctorate on the Tory Party in the eighteenth century at the University of Cambridge, supervised by John H. Plumb. She subsequently held a Research Fellowship at Girton College, a joint lectureship in history at Newnham and King's Colleges, and in 1979 was appointed the first woman Fellow at Christ's College, where she is now an Honorary Fellow.

Career
Colley's first book, In Defiance of Oligarchy: The Tory Party 1714-1760 (1982), challenged the then dominant view by arguing that the Tory Party remained active and influential during its years out of power, exploring the consequences of this for the evolution of ideas, popular politics and political action in eighteenth century England and Wales. Britons: Forging the Nation 1707–1837 (1992), which won the Wolfson History Prize and has passed through five editions, investigated how – and how far – inhabitants of England, Scotland, and Wales came to see themselves as British over the course of the 18th and early 19th centuries.

In March 1993, Colley gave a half-hour Opinions lecture televised on Channel 4 and subsequently published in The Times as "Britain must move with the times to be great again".

In 1998, Colley accepted a Senior Leverhulme Research Professorship in History at the London School of Economics. She spent the next five years researching the experiences of thousands of Britons taken captive in North America, South Asia, and the Mediterranean and North Africa between 1600 and 1850. Captives: Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850 (2002), the result of this work, used captivity narratives of different kinds to investigate the under-belly and sporadic vulnerability of this empire and its makers.

She authored Namier (1988), a reappraisal of the Polish-born and Zionist historian Lewis Namier, and The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History. This was named as one of the best books of 2007 by the New York Times, and was a pioneer of the technique of using the life experiences of an individual to explore trans-national and trans-continental histories. In 2008-99, Colley guest-curated an exhibition at the British Library, London, Taking Liberties, on the meanings of constitutional texts in the British past, and published an interpretative essay in connection with this: Taking Stock of Taking Liberties: A Personal View (2008).

In 2014, and in advance of the referendum on Scottish independence, she was invited to deliver fifteen talks on BBC Radio 4 on the formation and fractures of the United Kingdom. These were published as Acts of Union and Disunion (2014). Her next book The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World, a global history that explores the relationship between warfare, crises and the spread of written constitution, appeared in 2021. Her work has been translated into fifteen languages.

In 1999, Colley was invited to deliver the Prime Minister's Millennium Lecture at 10 Downing Street in London. Among other scholarly and public lectures, she has delivered the Trevelyan Lectures at Cambridge University, the Wiles Lectures at Queen's University Belfast, Ford and Bateman Lectures at Oxford University, the Nehru Memorial Lecture at the London School of Economics, the Lewis Walpole Memorial Lecture at Yale University, the Carnochan Lecture at Stanford University, the President's Lecture at Princeton University in 2007, the Sir Douglas Robb Lectures at the University of Auckland in New Zealand in 2015, the Prothero Lecture for the Royal Historical Society in 2020, and the Wittrock Lecture at the Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study in 2022.

In 1999, Colley was elected a Fellow of the British Academy. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, the Royal Historical Society, and the Academia Europaea. In 2009, she was awarded a CBE for services to history and, in 2022, Colley was made a DBE. She holds seven honorary degrees.

Colley has served on the board of the British Library (1999–2003), the council of Tate Gallery of British Art (1999-2003), the board and trustees of Princeton University Press (2007–2012), the research committee of the British Museum (2012–2020).

She writes occasionally for the London Guardian, the New York Review of Books and the London Review of Books.

Books

 * In Defiance of Oligarchy: The Tory Party 1714-1760 (1982)
 * Britons: Forging of a Nation 1707-1837 (1992)
 * Captives: Britain, Empire and the World 1600-1850 (2002)
 * The Ordeal of Elizabeth Marsh: A Woman in World History (2007)
 * Taking Stock of Taking Liberties: A Personal View (2008)
 * Acts of Union and Disunion (2014)
 * The Gun, the Ship, and the Pen: Warfare, Constitutions, and the Making of the Modern World (2021)

Honours
Colley was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2009 and Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours for services to history.

 * Honorary degree, University of Oxford (2021)
 * Honorary degree DLit, Queen's University Belfast (2019)
 * John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship (2017)
 * Senior Fellowship, Collegium of Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden (2017)
 * Birkelund Fellowship, Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers, New York (2013)
 * Honorary degree, University of Hull (2012)
 * Fletcher Jones Distinguished Fellowship, Huntington Library, CA (2010)
 * Fellow of Academia Europaea (2010)
 * Honorary degree, University of Bristol (2006)
 * Honorary degree, University of East Anglia (2005)
 * Honorary Fellowship, Christ's College, Cambridge (2005)
 * Visiting Fellowship, Humanities Research Centre, ANU, Canberra (2005)
 * Glaxo-Smith-Kline Senior Fellowship, National Humanities Center, North Carolina (2005)
 * Honorary degree, University of Essex (2004)
 * Elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature (1999)
 * Hooker Distinguished Visiting Professorship, McMaster University (1999)
 * Elected Fellow of the British Academy (1999)
 * Leverhulme Senior Personal Research Professorship (1998)
 * Honorary degree, London Southbank University (1998)
 * Wolfson Prize (1993)
 * Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (1988)
 * Morse Fellowship, Yale University (1983)
 * Eugenie Strong Research Fellowship, Girton College, Cambridge (1975)

title: Linda Colley


text:
Juan Román Riquelme

Juan Román Riquelme (born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career. He is considered by various journalists, players and coaches as one of the greatest playmakers of all time.

Riquelme played as a midfielder in the classic "enganche" role from 1996 until 2015, beginning his career with Boca Juniors, where he won eleven titles, including, five Primera División titles, three Copa Libertadores and one Intercontinental Cup. In 2002 he was transferred to FC Barcelona of Spain, but his time at the club was short-lived due to his unsteady relationship with then-head coach, Louis van Gaal. Riquelme was subsequently loaned to and later bought by 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 semifinals of the Champions League for the first time in the club's history in the following campaign.

Riquelme returned to Boca Juniors in 2007, initially on loan, where he would once again win the Copa Libertadores, finishing as top scorer and MVP of the competition. His transfer was made permanent soon after, and he would go on to win two more league titles and a Copa Argentina during his final spell with the club. Riquelme announced he would quit Boca in 2012 after losing the final of the Copa Libertadores; after spending most of 2012 and 2013 away from football, he returned to playing under Carlos Bianchi in February 2013, before officially leaving in 2014 after the club president decided not to renew his contract. He would briefly sign with Argentinos Juniors in July 2014 to help achieve the promotion back to first division, before announcing his retirement from the professional game in January 2015.

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.

Early years
Riquelme was born as the eldest of 11 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.

Boca Juniors (1996–01)
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 after Diego Maradona's second return to Boca, Román would be relegated from the first team. 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 eight 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 his 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 entered the South American Team of the Year for the first time, totaling 47 games played and 10 goals scored.

In the 1999–00 season, Boca became champion of America once again after beating Palmeiras in a penalty-shootout. Riquelme had an excellent performance during the competition, highlighting his match against rivals River Plate for the second leg of the quarterfinals, where he scored a goal, assisted in another, and made a historic play where he nutmegged from his behind to the River defender Mario Yepes. 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, and controlling the pace of play in the last minutes, to which Madrid's defenders Claude Makélélé and Geremi couldn't hold back. 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.

Barcelona (2002–03)
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 was 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.

Villarreal (2003–06)
When Barcelona signed Ronaldinho, the club exceeded the maximum foreign players that Spanish teams were allowed, prompting Riquelme's two-year loan move to Villarreal. There, he played alongside three compatriots: Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Gonzalo Rodríguez and Juan Pablo Sorín.

At the end of the 2004–05 season, Spanish sports newspaper Marca awarded Riquelme with the title of Most Artistic Player, also earning himself a nomination for the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year award after scoring a career-best 15 goals in 35 games. The Valencian club finished the season in its best-ever position in third place, and in an effort to keep hold of him, bought up 75% of his rights from Barcelona for up to €8 million, depending on Villarreal performance in the next two seasons. Villarreal also gave Riquelme a four-year contract extension, with the caveat that 25% of any subsequent transfer fee would be provided to Barça should Villarreal sell him.

A peculiar contract situation arose when, on 7 December 2005, Villarreal beat French club Lille 1–0 to win its Champions League group, knocking out English giants Manchester United and advancing to the knockout stages in the club's debut season in the main continental competition. Because of a clause in the transfer contract with Barcelona, Villarreal had to pay €1 million to the Catalan club. Additionally, the contract included two other "€1 million clauses": One if Villarreal finished in one of the top four league positions in 2005–06, and an identical clause for the following season.

On 25 April 2006, as Villarreal reached the last-four in the Champions League, in the second leg against Arsenal, Jens Lehmann saved a Riquelme penalty that would have taken the match to extra time. The game ended 0–0 at El Madrigal.

Riquelme scored his first goal of the 2006–07 season in a 3–2 home victory against Real Zaragoza on 24 September 2006. He scored a penalty in the 79th minute to give Villarreal their third goal of the match. Riquelme went on to make just 13 league appearances during the first half of the 2006–07 La Liga and played no part in the 2006–07 Copa del Rey.

2007 loan
Following a tense situation between players, the Villarreal board of directors and manager Manuel Pellegrini, Riquelme accepted a five-month loan back to Boca Juniors from February 2007 until 30 June 2007. He joined Boca for the 2007 Torneo Clausura of the 2007–08 Argentine Primera División season, debuting during the 2007 Torneo Clausura in a 1–1 home draw against Rosario Central on 17 February 2007. He scored his first goal for Boca – in his newest stint – in a 1–1 home draw against Independiente on 9 March 2007. He scored in the 54th minute to level the scores. His first goal of the 2007 Copa Libertadores came in Boca's third group-stage match against Mexico's Toluca on 22 March 2007. Riquelme scored in the 23rd minute, Boca's second goal of the match in an eventual 3–0 home victory. Boca finished in second position of their respective group with ten points, advancing to the knockout stages of the competition.

During the knockout stages of the competition, Boca faced Vélez Sarsfield in the round of 16 fixtures. During the first leg on 2 May 2007, Riquelme scored in the first minute as Boca claimed a 3–0 home victory. Having progressed to the quarter-finals, Boca Juniors faced Paraguayan side Club Libertad. During the second-leg of the quarter-finals, played on 24 May 2007, Riquelme scored Boca's first goal in the 61st minute of the match as they claimed a 2–0 away victory and a 3–1 aggregate result, ensuring progression to the semi-finals. During Boca's second-leg semi-final fixture against Colombia's Cúcuta Deportivo on 7 June 2007, Riquelme scored a 44th-minute free kick, scoring Boca's first goal of their 3–0 home victory. After winning 4–3 on aggregate, Boca advanced to the 2007 Copa Libertadores Final, where they would face Brazilian side Grêmio in June 2007.

During the first leg on 13 June, Riquelme, via a free-kick, played striker Martín Palermo who passed the ball across the face of goal for Rodrigo Palacio to score in the 18th minute. During the second half, Riquelme scored the 2–0 goal in 73rd-minute through a free-kick, with Boca eventually winning 3–0 at home. In the second leg, played away on 20 June, Riquelme scored a second-half double to give Boca Juniors a 2–0 victory and their sixth Copa Libertadores title. Boca Juniors therefore qualified for the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup, and Riquelme was awarded as the competition's Most Valuable Player.

2007–08 season
In August 2007, it was reported that Boca had given up hope of re-signing Riquelme. A few days later, however, the situation changed, with Boca director Juan Carlos Crespi expressing confidence in the player's return "within 10 days". The negotiations stalled when Villarreal's counteroffered to sell Riquelme only in exchange for €4 million, Rodrigo Palacio and half the rights to either Mauro Boselli or Jonathan Maidana, terms which were rejected by Boca. On 30 August 2007, however, it was announced Riquelme had been signed by Atlético Madrid for a fee of €8 million, though the deal fell through at the last minute, leaving Riquelme a Villarreal player. He was given the number 16 shirt for the 2007–08 season. Then, on 26 November 2007, Riquelme reached an agreement with Villarreal to allow his re-joining Boca Juniors when the next transfer window re-opened, in January 2008.

Boca opted to pay Villarreal US$15 million to purchase Riquelme, while Villarreal would pay Riquelme's salary on behalf of Boca Juniors for remainder of the 2007–08 playing season, which was approximately €3 million. The deal was the most expensive fee paid to an Argentine for its respective player in history. Riquelme subsequently signed a contract lasting from the end of 2007 to 2010. He was unable to participate in the 2007 FIFA Club World Cup as he was not registered by FIFA in time to be able to compete at the tournament.

During the entire 2007–08 Argentine Primera División season, Riquelme would only go on to make ten league appearances and score one league goal. His first match of 2007–08 came in a 1–1 draw against Rosario Central during the 2008 Torneo Clausura. On 4 May 2008, he assisted Sebastián Battaglia in scoring Boca's only goal in their 1–0 home victory in the Superclásico with River Plate. Riquelme had taken a corner which was played to Battaglia, who headed the ball into the net in the 14th minute. During Boca's last 2008 Copa Libertadores group-stage fixture against Maracaibo on 22 April 2008, Riquelme assisted defender Gabriel Paletta in scoring Boca's first goal when his free-kick was played towards Paletta, who headed the ball into the net in the tenth minute. Riquelme then scored Boca's third goal in the 74th minute with a close-ranged chip as Boca claimed a 3–0 home victory and finished in second position of their respective group, qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition.

During the first-leg of the round of 16 stage on 30 April 2008, Riquelme side footed the ball into the net in the sixth minute after receiving a pass from Álvaro González. Boca went on to win the match 2–1 and eventually claimed a 4–2 aggregate win. The club then faced Fluminense in the semi-final stages. In the first leg on 28 May 2008, Riquelme scored in the 12th minute of the match to give Boca a 1–0 lead after receiving a pass from Rodrigo Palacio, who played the ball across goal for Riquelme to convert. In the 65th minute, Riquelme scored from a free-kick which gave Boca a 2–1 lead before Fluminense again equalized. The second leg saw Fluminense defeat Boca Juniors 3–1, eliminating the Argentine side 5–3 on aggregate. Riquelme had scored four goals in the competition.

2008–09 season
In October 2008, Boca Juniors centre-back Julio César Cáceres had a very public conflict with his teammate Riquelme, when during an interview on a Paraguayan radio station in Asunción, during his training with his national team, Cáceres questioned Riquelme's motivation. He claimed: "In some matches, he is apparently running and in others he is passive. He seems to be mentally saturated. He seems to have more motivation when he plays for his country." Riquelme responded by saying, in a telephone interview on the Fox Sports cable channel: "He doesn't know what I feel for the club. I take part in pre-match concentration just like the other players and I didn't have a holiday because I chose to play in the Olympics. When we won the gold, I ran to the airport so I could play in the (Recopa Sudamericana 2008) final." He added: "These things should be kept in the dressing-room, he's broken all the codes of football." After Boca won the Superclásico derby match over Buenos Aires rivals River Plate on 21 October 2008, Cáceres said that the conflict "has been left behind", adding that the relationship between the two players had improved.

During the second leg of the 2008 Recopa Sudamericana, Riquelme scored a 91st minute free-kick to equalize the scores for Boca Juniors at 2–2 against Arsenal de Sarandí on 27 August 2008. Boca Juniors won the tie 5–3 on aggregate.

2009–10 season
On 12 April 2010, Riquelme scored Boca's third goal in the 47th minute of their 4–0 home victory against Arsenal de Sarandí.

2011–12 season
Riquelme's first appearance in the 2011–12 Argentine Primera División season came during the 2011 Torneo Apertura in a 1–1 home draw against Banfield on 12 June 2011. He scored his first goal of the 2011 Torneo Apertura in a 4–0 home victory against Unión de Santa Fé on 15 August; his was Boca's third goal, coming in the 83rd minute. Boca finished in first place of the 2011 Torneo Clausura with 43 points, going undefeated in 19 league games. They had claimed the title for the first time in four years, securing qualification to the 2012 Copa Libertadores.

Riquelme's first appearances in the 2011–12 Copa Argentina came in a 1–1 draw against Deportivo Santamarina on 2 February 2012. He assisted Facundo Roncaglia in scoring Boca's equalizing goal of the match when he lobbed a free kick to Roncaglia, who headed the ball into the net in the 63rd minute. The match was decided via penalty shoot-out which Boca won 4–3. Riquelme's first appearance of the 2012 Torneo Clausura came in a 2–0 home victory against Olimpo de Bahía Blanca on 10 February 2012, when he was substituted off of the field in the 79th minute for Cristian Chávez. Four days later, he debuted in the 2012 Copa Libertadores in a 0–0 away draw against Venezuelan side Zamora on 14 February. Riquelme scored his first goal of the 2012 Torneo Clausura in a 2–0 home victory against Newell's Old Boys on 26 February; it was Boca's second goal, coming in the 80th minute.

Two weeks later, Riquelme scored Boca's second goal in their 5–4 home defeat against Independiente on 11 March. Another two weeks later, Riquelme scored Boca's second goal in their 2–2 home draw against Lanús on 25 March. He scored in the 41st minute of the match to give Boca a 2–0 lead before the latter scored two second half goals to equalize. In Boca's last Copa Libertadores group-stage match, against Zamora on 18 April, Riquelme scored Boca's second goal in the 75th minute of their 2–0 home victory. The win earned them a second-place finish in their respective group with 13 points, advancing the side to the knockout stages of the competition.

Here, Boca were drawn against Chilean club Unión Española at the round of 16 stage. During the first leg on 2 May, Riquelme scored Boca's first goal of the match in the 25th minute, which gave them a 1–0 lead. In the 90th minute of the match, Riquelme assisted Boca in scoring their second goal of the match when he passed the ball towards the left hand side of the goal into the path of Pablo Mouche, who crossed the ball across the face of goal for Santiago Silva to head home the winner in the eventual 2–1 home victory. During the second leg, on 9 May, Riquelme assisted Boca in scoring their first goal of the match when he played a free-kick to Juan Insaurralde, who scored in the 26th minute. During the second half, Riquelme dribbled past the Unión Española defenders and played the ball to Pablo Mouchem who scored Boca's second goal in the 50th minute. Riquelme then scored Boca's third goal in the 68th minute as Boca won the away match, 3–2.

During the quarter-final stages of the Copa Libertadores, Boca were drawn against Fluminense. During the first leg in Buenos Aires on 17 May, Riquelme assisted Boca in scoring the only goal of the match when he played a ball through to Darío Cvitanich, who set up Pablo Mouche to score in the 51st minute of the 1–0 victory. Boca drew 1–1 in the second leg on 23 May, earning a 2–1 aggregate score and a spot in the semi-finals. On 3 June 2012, Boca faced Primera B Nacional second division club Deportivo Merlo in the semi-finals of the Copa Argentina. In the 57th minute of the match, Riquelme, initially taking a free-kick in front of goal, played a quick one-two with a teammate and curled the ball into the left side of the net, giving them a 1–0. Boca held on to the 1–0 lead until the 89th minute when Deportivo Merlo equalized. The match was eventually decided via penalty shoot-out which Boca won 5–4.

After Boca Juniors had eliminated Chilean club Universidad de Chile in the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores, Boca faced Corinthians in the two-legged final. Riquelme participated in both matches of the 3–1 aggregate defeat, immediately announcing his retirement from the club after the 2–0 second-leg away defeat in São Paulo on 4 July. Riquelme, who at the time was 34 years old, stated that he would be leaving the club as a result of not have enough energy left to continue. Riquelme admitted he would quit Boca as he had nothing more left to give because he was exhausted, and also signalled that he needed a break from football. Without the presence of Riquelme, Boca went on to win the 2011–12 Copa Argentina when they defeated Racing Club in a 2–1 victory on 8 August.

2012–13 transfer speculation
On 18 October 2012, it was reported that Riquelme's agent, Daniel Bolotnicoff, had denied reports that any Australian A-League club had contacted him to show an interest in signing Riquelme, as he had been linked with Melbourne Heart and Western Sydney Wanderers. On 5 January 2013, it was reported that Riquelme nearly joined Major League Soccer (MLS) side Chivas USA when he was to follow former coach Carlos Bianchi in a trip to the United States, as the latter was going to be head coach of the MLS club. Bianchi was then announced as Boca's first-team coach ten days later, which led to Riquelme's reiteration that he would not re-join Boca Juniors as a player.

In January 2013, after much speculation that Riquelme was headed to join Palmeiras, it was announced by newly appointed club president Paulo Nobre that Palmeiras had to refrain from signing Riquelme due to financial terms and Riquelme's asking salary.

On 26 January 2013, Riquelme confessed that he did not miss playing football and that his last options would be to play for Argentinos Juniors or Tigre. On 30 January 2013, it was officially reported that Argentinos Juniors president Luis Seguira had announced that the club would make an offer for Riquelme. On 31 January 2013, it was then reported that Riquelme had visited Tigre's intendent, Sergio Massa, in order to discuss the possibility of his arrival at the club. On 3 February 2013, it was reported that, after various negotiations, Riquelme had accepted the offer to play for Tigre, and that the discussion and confirmation of his contract was the only thing which remained to be done until his official signing with the club.

On 4 February 2013, it was reported that Riquelme had stated that he was prepared to return to Boca Juniors, and that he had contacted Boca coach Carlos Bianchi that he would be available to return.

2013–14 season
It was confirmed on 8 February 2013 that Riquelme would return to Boca Juniors. He was extremely decisive at the second match against Corinthians at the Copa Libertadores, scoring a goal from the midfield and knocking off the reigning FIFA Club World Cup champions.

On 30 March 2014, Riquelme scored a free kick in the Superclásico, but could not stop his team from losing 2–1 against River Plate.

Argentinos Juniors (2014)
On 17 July 2014, it was confirmed that Riquelme would sign with Argentinos Juniors. He scored his first goal with his new club on his first game against Boca Unidos.

Retirement
On 23 January 2015, it was reported that Riquelme would travel to Asunción on Saturday 24 January to close the contract offer from Primera División Paraguaya club Cerro Porteño, which would be worth US$110,000 per month, a salary which Riquelme had asked to receive. It was later confirmed that Riquelme's salary would make his contract the most expensive in the country. On 25 January 2015, however, Riquelme officially announced his retirement from football via ESPN and ultimately gave thanks to Cerro Porteño. Riquelme's farewell took place eight years later, on June 25 in Buenos Aires, as Boca Juniors faced the Argentina national team at the Bombonera stadium. Lionel Messi captained the Argentina XI, joined by Angel Di Maria, Leandro Paredes and Lionel Scaloni in this memorable event. While Messi managed to score, the outcome favored Boca with a score of 5–3.

International career
In 1997, after a successful stint with Argentina's under-20 team, Riquelme was called up to the Argentina national team by coach Daniel Passarella for their last qualifying match for the 1998 World Cup on 16 November 1997. The match was played at the stadium of Boca Juniors, La Bombonera, where a 19-year-old Riquelme debuted for Argentina when he entered the field in the last minutes of the 1–1 draw against Colombia. His first major tournament for Argentina was at the 1999 Copa América.

In 2000, Riquelme participated at the 2000 CONMEBOL Men Pre-Olympic Tournament, which saw Argentina fail to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics. He appeared three times and scored one goal during the competition. Riquelme scored his first international goal in a 3–1 away victory during a friendly against Libya in Tripoli on 30 April 2003. On 17 November 2004, Riquelme scored his second international goal for Argentina during a 3–2 home victory in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Venezuela. Before departing for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, Riquelme scored in Argentina's 3–1 home victory against Brazil on 8 June, during their 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires. On 9 October 2005, Riquelme scored his seventh international goal in a 2–0 home victory against Peru during a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification match. Riquelme scored a penalty in the 81st minute. Riquelme's eighth international goal came in a 1–0 victory over Qatar in a friendly match in Doha on 16 November 2005.

In 2006, Riquelme was named captain of the Argentina national football team by new coach Alfio Basile. After a 3–0 defeat again in Brazil, Riquelme had received a lot of criticism and responsibility for the defeat. Riquelme's mother had been hospitalized twice in two months after the 2006 World Cup, and this led to Riquelme publicly announcing his international retirement from the Argentina national team on 13 September 2006. At that point, Riquelme had made 37 international appearances and had scored eight goals. On 13 October 2007, Riquelme emerged from three months of inactivity at Villarreal to score two free-kicks in a 2–0 win against Chile to get Argentina off to a winning start in the 2010 World Cup qualifiers. On 17 November, Riquelme again netted twice in Argentina's 3–0 home victory against Bolivia, again during a 2010 World Cup qualifier match. This brought him to a total of 17 international goals. In March 2009, Riquelme decided to retire from the national team after a disagreement with coach Diego Maradona. Former manager Sergio Batista stated he would have liked for Riquelme to return to international play, hinting at the possibility of the player appearing in a friendly with Spain in August 2010, which eventually did not happen.

In 2011, Riquelme was called up to the Argentina national team by coach Alejandro Sabella for the Superclásico de las Américas, however he eventually withdrew his position from the squad due to injuries from club matches which would leave him unable to complete two games in a matter of days.

1997 South American Youth Championship
Under coach José Pekerman, Riquelme was called up to the Argentina national under-20 football team for the 1997 South American Youth Championship held in Chile. He played in all 9 matches of the tournament and scored three goals. Argentina went on to win the tournament, gaining their second South American Youth Championship in thirty years. Riquelme, alongside Walter Samuel and Pablo Aimar, were selected in the team of the tournament, by a group of journalists who were registered at the tournament. Argentina's win secured their qualification for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship in Malaysia.

1997 FIFA World Youth Championship
Riquleme was selected as captain of Argentina for the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship and played in all three group stage matches. He scored Argentina's third goal in the 50th minute of their 3–0 victory against Hungary on 18 June 1997. He then scored a 55th-minute winner in Argentina's 2–1 win against Canada on 20 June 1997. In Argentina's final group stage match, against Australia, Riquelme scored an 88th-minute penalty to level the scores at 3–3 before Australia scored a 90th-minute penalty to win the game. Argentina had gained six points and finished in second in their group, advancing to the stage of the tournament. On 26 June 1997, Argentina faced England in the round of 16, where Riquelme scored a tenth-minute penalty as Argentina claimed a 2–1 victory. Argentina went on to defeat Brazil 2–0 in the quarter-final, the Republic of Ireland 1–0 in the semi-final, and came from behind to beat Uruguay 2–1 in the final, claiming their third FIFA World Youth Championship. Riquelme had scored four goals for the tournament and Argentina were awarded with the FIFA Fair Play Award.

1998 Toulon Tournament
In May 1998, José Pékerman again included Riquelme in Argentina's under-20 squad for the 1998 Toulon Tournament, held in France. Argentina triumphed 2–0 against France in the final as Riquelme played all five matches of the tournament and was named as Player of the Tournament.

1999 Copa América
Riquelme was included in Argentina's 22-man squad for the 1999 Copa América in Paraguay, wearing the number 22 shirt. He was one of six Boca Juniors players selected in the squad. He played in Argentina's opening group stage match, a 3–1 victory against Ecuador on 1 July 1999. He was replaced in the 90th minute for Diego Cagna. in Argentina's second group stage fixture, on 4 July 1999, Riquelme played the full 90 minutes in a 3–0 loss against Colombia. On 7 July 1999, he again played the full 90 minutes in Argentina's third group stage match, a 2–0 victory over Uruguay. Argentina finished in second place of their respective group with six points, facing Brazil in the quarter-finals on 11 July 1999. Riquelme played in the entire match of Argentina's 2–1 defeat, having been in front 1–0 until the 32nd minute of the match.

2005 FIFA Confederations Cup
Under former national youth team coach José Pékerman, Riquelme was selected for the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in June, where he wore the number 8 shirt. He played in Argentina's opening group stage match against Tunisia on 15 June, opening the scoring for Argentina by converting a penalty in the 33rd minute as Argentina eventually claimed a 2–1 victory. On 18 June, Argentina faced Australia in the second group stage match. Already winning 1–0, Riquelme scored a 31st-minute penalty to give Argentina a 2–0 lead as they went on to win 4–2. In Argentina's third group stage match, against hosts Germany on 21 June, Riquelme scored a 33rd-minute equaliser for Argentina just four minutes after Germany had taken the lead. The match finished at 2–2 as Argentina had claimed seven points, along with Germany, and progressed to the next round of the tournament.

On 26 June, Argentina faced Mexico in the semi-final. After extra time, the match was tied at 1–1 and led to a penalty shoot-out. Riquelme converted Argentina's first spot kick as they won 6–5 on penalties, with Argentina successfully converting each penalty. On 29 June, Argentina faced Brazil in the final. Riquelme played the full 90 minutes as Argentina were defeated 4–1 at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt. Riquelme was awarded as the Silver Ball Winner, being the second best player at the tournament.

2006 FIFA World Cup
Again under coach José Pékerman, Riquelme was included in the Argentina 23-man squad for the 2006 World Cup, where he was given the number 10 shirt for the first time in history. Argentina were drawn against Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro and the Ivory Coast in what was regarded as the tournament's "group of death". On 10 June, he started in Argentina's opening group stage match against the Ivory Coast. Argentina had been leading 1–0 before Riquelme assisted Javier Saviola in scoring Argentina's second goal in their 2–1 victory. Riquelme was then substituted off of the field for Pablo Aimar in the 93rd minute. On 16 June, Argentina faced Serbia and Montenegro in Gelsenkirchen, where Riquelme played the full 90 minutes of an eventual 6–0 victory for Argentina. Riquelme was the key in a sequence of 24 passes made by the Argentine team, setting up their second goal scored by Esteban Cambiasso when he fed Saviola, who slipped a pass inside for Cambiasso; Cambiasso then knocked the ball to Hernán Crespo, who back-heeled a return pass back to Cambiasso, who then netted from 12 yards. Crespo described the movement as "the most beautiful goal". Riquelme also assisted Argentina in scoring their fourth goal, quickly taking a free-kick which was played to Lionel Messi, who crossed the ball in for Crespo to score at the far post. Riquelme was awarded as the Man of the Match.

On 21 June, Argentina drew 0–0 with the Netherlands in Frankfurt in the last group-stage fixture. Riquelme was substituted off in the 80th minute for Pablo Aimar as Argentina finished in first place of their group, along with the Netherlands, with seven points. On 24 June, Riquelme celebrated his 28th birthday as Argentina faced Mexico in the round of 16. After Mexico had taken a sixth-minute lead through Rafael Márquez, Riquelme had taken a corner-kick in the tenth minute which saw Hernán Crespo flick the ball into the net. The match stayed level until extra time when Maxi Rodríguez scored in the 98th minute to send Argentina through to the quarter-finals. Argentina faced hosts Germany in the quarter-finals on 30 June. In the 49th minute, Riquelme delivered in a corner pin-pointing Roberto Ayala, who headered the ball into the net, giving Argentina a 1–0 lead. Riquelme was then replaced in the 72nd minute by substitute Esteban Cambiasso. Moments later, Germany had equalized in the 80th minute through Miroslav Klose. The match was decided via a penalty shoot-out, which Germany won 4–2.

2007 Copa América
On 26 June 2007, Riquelme was recalled to the national team by coach Alfio Basile as part of Argentina's 23-man squad for 2007 Copa América. During the early morning after Boca Juniors had claimed the 2007 Copa Libertadores, Riquelme hurriedly returned to Buenos Aires and departed with the Argentina national team to Venezuela for the tournament. On 28 June, Riquelme featured in Argentina's opening group stage match, a 4–1 victory against the United States. On 2 July, Argentina faced Colombia in their second group stage match. Riquelme netted twice, with a header in the 34th minute and then with a free-kick in the 45th minute, as Argentina won the match, 4–2.

Argentina went on to win their final group stage match against Paraguay on 5 July, finishing in first place in their group with nine points. On 8 July, Argentina faced Peru in the quarter-finals, where Riquelme scored another two goals, one with each foot in the 47th and 85th minute, and also assisted Messi in scoring in the 61st minute of the match. In the semi-final on 11 July, Argentina defeated Mexico, 3–0, as Riquelme assisted Gabriel Heinze in scoring Argentina's first goal of the match in the 45th minute, and also scored his fifth goal of the tournament – Argentina's third of the match – when he converted a penalty in the 65th minute. On 15 July, Argentina faced Brazil in the final. Riquelme played the full 90 minutes of the match as Argentina were defeated, 3–0. Riquelme had scored five goals and was awarded as the tournament's second-leading goalscorer.

2008 Summer Olympics
In August 2008, Riquelme was included as an overage player, and also named captain, by Sergio Batista for Argentina's 19-man squad for the 2008 Summer Olympics football tournament in Beijing. He had joined Javier Mascherano and Nicolás Pareja as the three over-aged players in the squad. Argentina were drawn in Group A against the Ivory Coast, Australia and Serbia. On 7 August, Riquelme played the full 90 minutes of Argentina's opening group stage fixture as they defeated Ivory Coast 2–1. Three days later, Riquelme also played another 90 minutes in Argentina's 1–0 victory against Australia on 10 August. Riquelme then rested on the bench in Argentina's third group-stage fixture, giving the captain's armband to Javier Mascherano, where they defeated Serbia 2–0 on 13 August to claim maximum points in the group and to finish in first place.

On 16 August, Riquelme featured in Argentina's 2–1 quarter-final victory against the Netherlands, advancing to the semi-finals. On 19 August, Argentina faced Brazil in the semi-finals, when after two Sergio Agüero goals, Riquelme scored a 76th-minute penalty to give Argentina a 3–0 victory. On 23 August, Argentina faced Nigeria in the final in front of 89,102 spectators at the Beijing National Stadium, where Argentina defeated Nigeria 1–0 to claim its second consecutive gold medal at the Summer Olympics.

Style of play
Considered one of the best playmakers in the world in his prime, as well as one of the most talented Argentine players of his generation, Riquelme was a "classic number ten", who was best known for his grace, flair, and elegance on the pitch, as well as his creative and intelligent passing. A tall and slender offensive midfield playmaker, he combined outstanding passing range, vision, anticipation, technique, close control, and dribbling skills with prolific goalscoring ability from midfield. A selfless team player, he usually played in a free central role, operating as an attacking midfielder behind the strikers (known as the "enganche" in Argentina), but was also capable of playing in a more withdrawn position as a deep-lying playmaker, due to his ability to dictate the tempo of his team's play in midfield, orchestrate attacking moves, and create space and chances for teammates. He has been recognised as one of the "last true number 10s" due to his playmaking abilities and unique playing style. During his time under Van Gaal at Barcelona, Riquelme was also occasionally deployed out of position as s right winger. His skill and creative style of play drew comparisons with Diego Maradona, in his youth, even though, unlike Maradona, Riquelme was neither quick nor a particularly energetic dribbler. A tactically astute player, he also possessed good decision-making, and a good understanding of the game. Moreover, he was an excellent free kick taker. Despite his talent, however, Riquelme was notorious for his lack of pace, for being inconsistent, and for having an introverted yet difficult character, as well as for his poor work-rate, both on the pitch and in training, which led him to have disagreements with several of his managers.

Second Vice-President
On 8 December 2019, the formula headed by Jorge Amor Ameal, Mario Pergolini and Juan Román Riquelme was chosen with 52.84% of the votes, achieving the historical record in Argentine football of 20,045 votes in total. They took office on 13 December 2019.

On Saturday, 7 March 2020 (85 days after taking office), he obtained his first title as Second Vice-President. Boca Juniors wins the 2019–20 Superliga beating the River Plate led by Marcelo Gallardo in the final stretch.

In 2023, Riquelme and Ameal ran on a ticket against incumbent Andrés Ibarra for the overall club presidency. Riquelme's slate won with just under 65% of the vote, in an election which saw more than 43,000 members — roughly 46% of Boca's enrolled membership — cast a ballot.

Personal life
Riquelme's brother, Sebastián, is a current professional footballer.

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year International goals
 * Argentina score listed first, score column indicates score after each Riquelme goal. Sign ‡ indicates goals scored from a penalty kick.

Player
Boca Juniors
 * Argentine Primera División: 1998 Apertura, 1999 Clausura, 2000 Apertura, 2008 Apertura, 2011 Apertura
 * Copa Argentina: 2012
 * Copa Libertadores: 2000, 2001, 2007
 * Recopa Sudamericana: 2008
 * Intercontinental Cup: 2000

Villarreal
 * UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2004

Argentina U-20
 * FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1997
 * South American Youth Championship: 1997

Argentina U-21
 * Toulon Tournament: 1998

Argentina
 * Olympic Gold Medal: 2008
 * Copa América Runner-up: 2007
 * FIFA Confederations Cup Runner-up: 2005

Vice President
Boca Juniors
 * Argentine Primera División: 2020, 2022
 * Copa Argentina: 2020
 * Copa de la Liga Profesional: 2020, 2022
 * Supercopa Argentina: 2022

Individual

 * Toulon Tournament Best Player: 1998
 * South American Team of the Year: 1999, 2000, 2001, 2008, 2011
 * Argentine Footballer of the Year: 2000, 2001, 2008, 2011
 * Copa Libertadores Most Valuable Player: 2001, 2007
 * South American Footballer of the Year: 2001
 * La Liga Don Balón Award (Foreign Player of the Year): 2004–05
 * Most Artistic Player by Marca: 2005
 * FIFA Confederations Cup Silver Ball: 2005
 * FIFA World Cup top assist provider: 2006
 * Copa Libertadores Player of the Week: May 8–10 / 2012
 * The Best Argentine midfielder by Olé: 2012
 * The Best local Argentine player by Olé: 2012
 * The Historical Team for Copa Libertadores of all time
 * FIFPro World XI Nominee: 2006, 2007
 * Ballon d'Or Nominee: 2005, 2007 (14th)

title: Juan Román Riquelme


text:
Matt Reis

Matt Reis (born March 28, 1975) is an American former soccer player and coach who played as a goalkeeper. A long-time Major League Soccer mainstay, he has served as goalkeeper coach for LA Galaxy and the United States.

Youth and college
Reid was born in Atlanta and raised in Southern California. He played college soccer at UCLA. He finished his college career with an NCAA Championship in 1997, and was named 1997 NCAA College Cup Defensive MVP after recording 20 saves - including a school-record 11 in the semifinals - and posting 221 shutout minutes on the way to the title.

Professional
Reis was selected by the Los Angeles Galaxy in the third round of the 1998 MLS College Draft. However, with Kevin Hartman firmly entrenched in the nets, Reis did not see much playing time during his five seasons in LA; the most games he played in a season was 16 in 2001 when Hartman was out with injuries. In 2000, the Galaxy sent him on loan to the Orange County Waves for seven games.

Reis was traded to New England Revolution in January 2003 in exchange for Alex Pineda Chacón and a second-round pick in the 2003 MLS SuperDraft. With the Revs, Reis started out as a backup to Adin Brown, but won the starting job midway through the 2004 season. He became the first goalie in MLS history to stop two penalty kicks in one playoff game, doing as the Revs upset the much-favored Columbus Crew. He also saved two out of four penalties in the penalty kick shootout against the Fire in the first round of the 2006 Playoffs. Reis was a finalist for the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Award in both 2005 and 2006. He won the SuperLiga in 2008 and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup in 2007 with the Revs. Reis was also named the 2008 Midnight Riders Man of the Year.

Reis retired following the 2013 season, joining the Los Angeles Galaxy as goalkeeper coach.

International
Reis got his first cap for the United States on January 22, 2006, a 0–0 shutout against Canada.

Personal
Reis was considered to be a bit of a jokester among his teammates and in the soccer community. As an April Fools' Day prank in 2004, the Revs' front office announced their newest foreign acquisition, Luis "El Lobo" Fangoso, who eventually turned out to be Matt Reis wearing a shaggy wig and headband. Although the initial joke died down fairly quickly, Reis' antics helped him win over many Revolution fans (to this day, Revs fans occasionally make joking references to Fangoso when discussing possible player transactions). On April 1, 2007, the Revolution announced that they had resigned Fangoso to a 2-year deal.

Reis, who is bald, also convinced Mexican international José Manuel Abundis, who had just signed with the team, to shave his head for the 2006 MLS Playoffs. This has enabled Reis to achieve cult status among Revs fans who know him as the "Skin headed, short sleeved shot stopper".

Reis is married to Nicole Reis (née Odom), who was an All American Softball player at UCLA. They have three boys. He is the son of J.T. and Kathy Reis of Mission Viejo, California, and he has one older brother, Mike.

On 15 April 2013, Reis was present at the Boston Marathon bombing where he saved the life of his father-in-law (John Odom), whose legs had been pierced by shrapnel, causing two severed arteries.

Individual

 * MLS Humanitarian of the Year: 2013

Team

 * United States
 * CONCACAF Gold Cup Champions (1): 2005

 * Los Angeles Galaxy
 * CONCACAF Champions Cup (1): 2000
 * MLS Cup (1): 2002
 * Supporters' Shield (2): 1998, 2002
 * U.S. Open Cup (1): 2001

 * New England Revolution
 * U.S. Open Cup (1): 2007
 * North American SuperLiga (1): 2008

title: Matt Reis