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Player profile: Ricardo Quaresma

Full name: Ricardo Bernardo Andrade Quaresma

Position: Midfielder

Date of Birth: 25 September 1983

Birthplace: Lisbon, Portugal

Ricardo Quaresma burst on to the football scene at an early age when, still a trainee at Sporting, he was thrown into the Lisbon club’s first team in 2001/02 by coach Laszlo Boloni.

His flamboyant wing play earned him instant acclaim, and he proved a key player in Sporting’s championship winning team, making 28 appearances and scoring three goals in a highly encouraging debut season.

Outshining Ronaldo

Quaresma continued to show his full array of trickery in the 2002/03 season playing 31 matches, and scoring five goals, in so doing becoming Sporting’s star player, even outshining another prodigiously talented team-mate, Cristiano Ronaldo.

At the time both players were hailed as future stars of the Portuguese game, although most pundits predicted that out of the two it would be Quaresma who could aspire to equal or even better Luis Figo’s brilliant career.

The player nicknamed both “Ciganito” (little gypsy), because of his gypsy descent, and “Harry Potter”, because of his never-ending range of magical tricks, was snapped up by Spanish giants Barcelona. However, Quaresma failed to repeat his form for the Catalan side and after falling out with manager Frank Rijkaard, he returned to Portugal and signed for Porto.

After another mediocre year, the winger burst back to top form under the guidance of Dutch coach Co Adriaanse, producing the best football of his career, adding consistency to his endless well of natural talent. In an excellent Porto side it was Quaresma, simply unplayable as times, who shone brightest as Porto completed the league and cup double in 2005/06.

Trademark trick

Among his bewitching skills, Quaresma’s trademark is his astonishing crossing and shooting ability with the outside of his right foot, combining pinpoint accuracy, power and swerve.

It has enabled him to hit several spectacular goals, such as the 20-metre angled shot against Rio Ave that was nominated European goal of the year by Eurosport TV in 2005/06, not to mention endless assists.

International career

Portugal’s under-21 team captain for several years, Quaresma’s superb 2005/06 season at Porto had seemingly made him a certainty for Portugal’s World Cup squad, and his exclusion by Luiz Filipe Scolari caused an outcry in the Portuguese press.

Quaresma’s subsequent poor showing at the European under-21 championship somewhat vindicated Scolari’s decision, but most of Portugal’s football-adoring public cannot wait to see Quaresma and Ronaldo speeding down each wing for the national team. And they will surely not have long to wait.

by Tom Kundert (10/02/2007)

CLUB APPEARANCES* GOALS Sporting 59 8 Barcelona 22 1 Porto** 75 16       PORTUGAL*** 7 0

* League only
** Up to November 2006
*** Up to 7 February 2007