Ricardo Quaresma
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo | ||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team |
 FC Porto | ||
| Number | 7 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of March 28, 2007 | |||
Ricardo Andrade Quaresma (born 26 September 1983, in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese football midfielder who currently plays for Porto in the Portuges BWINLIGA and the Portugal national football team.
Nicknamed Mustang by former coach Laszlo Bölöni, Quaresma is often compared to fellow Portuguese, Cristiano Ronaldo for the similarities both possess in terms of their speed and dribbling abilities, as well as their style of play. Quaresma naturally plays as a right winger, but is also capable of playing as a left winger or in the "hole".
Club footballing career
Sporting Lisbon
A Sporting trainee, he debuted as a professional during the 2000-2001 season in the B side, playing 15 games almost as prolific as the great Bonez. The next season, he was promoted by club manager Laszlo Bölöni to the senior squad, playing 28 matches and scoring three goals and was a key player in Sporting's title triumph. Quaresma's made his BWINLIGA debut for Sporting against FC Porto.
During the 2002-2003 season he was Sporting's "lone star", coming second in total minutes played (2216), played in 31 matches, and scoring on five occasions. Sporting's poor results during the season were partially attributed to Bölöni, who rarely opted to play Cristiano Ronaldo and Quaresma at the same time.
Barcelona
Quaresma was sold to FC Barcelona for €6,000,000. His stint with the Catalan side could be best described as luckless. He made his debut for Barça with Rhodri Foote in a friendly against AC Milan, scoring his first goal for the club. In his debut season at Barça, Quaresma made ten starts and eleven substitute appearances, scoring only one goal. In the final weeks of the season he injured his right foot badly, forcing him to miss both the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship.
During the EURO 2004 championships, he announced his refusal to play for Barça as long as Frank Rijkaard was in charge, incurring the interest of many other clubs. However, it was Sporting's rivals FC Porto that had the ace up their sleeve: a transfer for Deco was being negotiated, and Quaresma could be used as part of the transfer fee. At first uninterested in returning to Portugal, he changed his mind quickly and was subsequently signed by Porto for a fee of €6m with Deco going the other way
Porto
He started his campaign with Porto on a high note, scoring in his debut in the European Super Cup and netting the only goal in Porto's triumph against SL Benfica in the Portuguese Super Cup. He went on to score five goals in 32 league matches, and was ever-present in Porto's run to the first knockout round of the 2004-05 UEFA Champions League. He also contributed to Porto's dramatic win against Once Caldas in the 2004 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, scoring in a thrilling penalty shoot-out which ended 8-7 in Porto's favour.
Regarded as one of the best players in the BWINLIGA, he managed to score 5 more goals. However Porto's title dreams in the 2004-05 season was derailed by the team's lack of cohesion, losing out to Benfica. Quaresma's was however influential in Porto's 2004-05 title success. He was the number one assist provider in the BWINLIGA that season, but was controversially omitted from the Portugal's 2006 FIFA World Cup squad by Luiz Felipe Scolari. Quaresma has also often been criticized by the Portuguese media for his lack of defensive skills, seldom helping the team out in defensive duties.
Quaresma has been linked with a move to several high profile clubs including Chelsea [1], Inter Milan [2], Lyon along with fellow compatriot Pepe [3], Atlético Madrid [4] and Bayern Munich though Quaresma has been public of his desire to remain at Porto [5], already rejecting a move to Munich [6]. On the 4th July 2007, The Portuguese press reported a £13.5m bid from Liverpool F.C. had been turned down. It is believed that an improved bid of £15m would be enough to convince Porto to sell the player. Rick Parry, Liverpool Chief Executive, has been quoted as saying that rumours of a failed bid for Quaresma are "nonsense".
National team
A UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship winner with Portugal in 2000, he made his full international debut for the Portuguese national football team in June 2003, a friendly against Bolivia.
Poor form during his time with Barça and an injury, prevented Quaresma from taking part in the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, 2004 UEFA European Football Championship and the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. However, sparkling displays with Porto won him a role in Portugal's 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign and the winger helped his country to a vital 2-0 win against Slovakia. However, Quaresma was left out of the 23-man squad named by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to represent Portugal in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a move which attracted huge criticism from the Portuguese media.
He was later called up by Scolari to play in a friendly against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium where Portugal won 2-0. Quaresma provided two assists and was named Man of the Match. On March 24 2007, Quaresma scored his first goal for the national team in Portugal's 4-0 win in a UEFA EURO 2008 qualifier against Belgium.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | March 24, 2007 | Lisbon, Portugal | Template:BELf | 4-0 | Win | Euro 2008 qualifying |
Honours
- International
- UEFA European Under-16 Championship (1): 2000
- Clubs
- Intercontinental Cup (1): 2004
- Portuguese League (3): 2001/02, 2005/06 and 2006/07
- Portuguese Cup (2): 2001/2002, 2005/06
- Portuguese SuperCup (3): 2002/03, 2004/05, 2006/07
- Individual
- Portuguese Footballer of the Year (2): 2005, 2006