*Ricardo Quaresma*

Elya

Posted on 19/6/2008, 16:15

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Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo (born 26 September 1983, in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese football midfielder who currently plays for FC Porto in the Portuguese BWINLIGA and the Portugal national football team. He is also a winner of trick of the season on numerous occasions.

Initially nicknamed Mustang by former Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Laszlo Bölöni, Quaresma is now often referred to as simply Ricky Q. He's regularly compared to fellow Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo for the similarities both possess in terms of their speed and dribbling abilities, as well as their style of play. Despite naturally being a right winger, Quaresma also plays as a left winger, in Porto's 4-3-3 formation.

Sporting
While a trainee at Sporting's famed academy, he made his professional debut during the 2000-2001 season playing 15 games for the B Team. The next season, he was promoted to the senior squad by then club manager Laszlo Bölöni, playing 28 matches and scoring three goals and was a key player in Sporting's league and cup double triumph. Quaresma's made his league 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 million euros. His stint with the Catalan side could be best described as luckless. He made his debut for Barça 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 the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship.

During the Euro 2004, 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 €6 million, with Deco going the other way.

Porto
He started his campaign with Porto on a high note, scoring in his debut in the 2004 UEFA 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 Portuguese League, he managed to score five 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 was however influential in Porto's 2005-06 title success. He was the number one assist provider in that season, but was controversially omitted from 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.

Many of Europe's top clubs (including Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, Liverpool) have expressed interest in Quaresma over the years, but Porto president Pinto da Costa has been reluctant to let him go. In a recent interview, Quaresma openly admitted that "it was time to move on" from the club, yet Porto have repeatedly stated they will not listen to offers less than €40 million. Quaresma's contract with Porto runs until 2011.
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