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.

Quaresma continued to establish himself as one of the Portuguese league's best players over the following seasons, and it was inevitable that the winger would get another crack at a move abroad. That chance arrived in the summer of 2008, with Internazionale manager Jose Mourinho making his compatriot one of his first signings when taking over at the Italian champions.

However, Quaresma struggled to impress Mourinho during the first few months of his career at the San Siro, and was quickly shipped out to Chelsea in England on a short-term loan deal in January 2009.

After again struggling to find his best form, the 25-year-old headed back to Italy and Inter at the season's end, but little further progress at the San Siro resulted in Quaresma opting to head to Besiktas in the summer of 2010, looking to finally realise his potential outside Portugal with the Istanbul club.

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 2006 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.

Indeed, while most of Portugal’s football-adoring public pine for the day they can see Quaresma and Ronaldo speeding down each wing for the national team, Quaresma’s stuttering club career also saw him miss out on the 2010 World Cup. Lovers of the spectacular will be hoping his move to Turkey can reignite his ability to make an impact on the international stage.

by Tom Kundert (last updated: 26/07/2010)

* League only
** Up to July 2010