Ricardo Quaresma

Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo (born 26 September 1983 in Lisbon) is a Portuguese footballer, partly of Romani heritage,^[1][2] who currently plays as a winger for Turkish Süper Lig side Beşiktaş and the Portuguese national team. Quaresma began his career at Sporting CP, and has also played for Barcelona, Porto, Internazionale and Chelsea.

Club career

Quaresma's style of play can be defined as one with speed, grace, toughness, and often plays a free role on the pitch. Initially nicknamed "The Mustang" by former Sporting Clube de Portugal coach Laszlo Bölöni, his nickname in Portuguese is "Cigano", which literally translates from Portuguese into "Gypsy".

Quaresma is 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. He also specialized the "Trivela" shooting technique, which is his ability to swerve and bend the ball perfectly with the outside of his boot when executing crosses, free kicks, and long shots.

At a young age, Quaresma was ranked higher in the pecking order than Cristiano Ronaldo. Portuguese national manager Carlos Queiroz once stated that Manchester United had the opportunity to sign Quaresma but opted for Ronaldo.

Sporting CP

While a trainee at Sporting's famed academy, he made his professional debut during the 2000–01 season playing 15 games for the B Team. In the next season, he was promoted to the senior squad by then club manager László Bölöni, playing 28 matches and scoring three goals and was a key player in Sporting's league and cup double triumph.

2002–03 was a poor season for Sporting, finishing third in the league, which prompted speculation about Quaresma's future at the club.

Barcelona

Quaresma was then sold to Barcelona for a reported €6M and loan of Fábio Rochemback.^[3] His stint with the Catalan side could be best described as unlucky. In his debut season, he made 10 starts and 11 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 UEFA 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.

Porto

Quaresma signed for Porto in the summer of 2004 when they sold Deco for a fee of €15 million cash, plus Quaresma's playing rights which were evaluated at the time at €6 million.^[4]

Quaresma started his campaign with Porto on a high note, scoring in his debut game in the 2004 UEFA Super Cup and netting the only goal in Porto's triumph against Benfica in the Portuguese SuperCup. 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.

Quaresma was heavily criticised during his first year with Porto for being selfish and frequently trying to dribble past defenders rather than making a simple pass. However, he gradually began to incorporate his teammates into the game, and by his third year with Porto, he had become a fan favorite and a key component of the squad. His sublime performances in both the Portuguese Liga and the UEFA Champions League drew interest from various clubs, and despite having a contract with Porto running until 2011, he soon found himself being transferred to a major club for the second time in his career.

Internazionale

Quaresma playing for Inter

On 1 September 2008, Quaresma signed for Italian champions Internazionale on a cash/player exchange fee of €18.6 million with young Portuguese midfielder Pelé joining Porto.^[5][6] He played his first game for the club in a friendly against Locarno, playing on the left wing. The game ended 2–2, and Quaresma was voted Man of the match following an impressive performance.

He was decisive in his first Serie A match against Catania, with one of his trademark Trivelas resulting in a Giuseppe Mascara own goal. The game finished 2–1 for Inter.^[7]

However, Quaresma has since found opportunities in the Inter XI limited as Inter boss José Mourinho stated:

"He is a great talent, but the joy I have at seeing the way Ibra works for and with the team I do not yet have with Quaresma. He will have to learn, otherwise he won’t play, and I am sure he'll change and become more tactically disciplined. He likes kicking the ball with the outside of his foot, but if you ask me about him in a few months' time, we'll be talking about a different Quaresma."^[8][9]

Chelsea

Quaresma's omission from Inter's squad for the knockout stage of the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League led to speculation of him leaving the club. On 2 February 2009, transfer deadline day, he signed on loan for Premiership club Chelsea, José Mourinho's former club until the end of the season.^[10] He was given the number 18 shirt. On 7 February, he made his debut for Chelsea against Hull City. Quaresma was mostly used as a substitute, making noticeable contributions, including providing the cross for Alex to score against Coventry City. After a disappointing start to life at the San Siro, Quaresma claimed his move to Chelsea had restored his confidence after he struggled to impress José Mourinho at Inter. The 25-year-old Portuguese international told The Star on 29 March 2009: "When I was at Inter, I wasn't feeling very confident. I wasn't playing well and wasn't happy, I already feel more confident here at Chelsea. It has brought the joy back for me, which I didn't have at Inter." Subsequently, with Guus Hiddink's temporary position as Chelsea manager, Quaresma found it hard to find space in the Chelsea line-up and returned to Inter at the end of his loan.

Return to Internazionale

Quaresma at an Inter training session

Quaresma returned to Inter after his loan at Chelsea ended.^[11] Despite desperate attempts made by Inter to offload him,^[11] Quaresma did not manage to attract any interest. With the retirement of Luís Figo, Quaresma inherited the number seven, and José Mourinho said he would give Quaresma another chance for the new season.^[11] Quaresma made his debut for the new season against Bari, coming on as a substitute for Patrick Vieira.

Beşiktaş

On 13 June 2010, Quaresma joined Turkish side Beşiktaş after long and suspended negotiations with Inter.^[12] The Black Eagles paid a reported € 7.3 million for his transfer. He scored his first goal for the club against Viktoria Plzeň on UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round. ^[13]

International career

A UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship winner with Portugal in 2000, he made his full international debut for the Portuguese national football team in June 2003, in a friendly against Bolivia.

Quaresma lining up to take a freekick against Brazil

Poor form during his time with Barcelona and an injury prevented Quaresma from taking part in the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, Euro 2004, and the 2004 Olympics. 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 World Cup.

He was later called up to play in a friendly game against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium, where Portugal won 2–0. Quaresma provided two assists and was named Man of the match. On 24 March 2007, Quaresma scored his first goal for the national team in Portugal's 4–0 win in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier against Belgium. He was also a member of the 23-man squad for Portugal in Euro 2008, but appeared only sparingly for Scolari's Portugal during the tournament, but he did start in the Portugal secondary team in a 3rd group stage match, a 2–0 loss to host nation Switzerland where nine of the 11 regular team starters were rested.

Quaresma was not called up for Portugal's 2010 World Cup campaign.

On 31 August 2010 Quaresma was called to play in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Cyprus and Norway to replace injured Cristiano Ronaldo. On 3 September 2010 Quaresma led Portugal against Cyprus in an entertaining encounter that ended 4-4. He was named Man of the match after two years of absence from the national team .

Career statistics

Last updated 24 April 2009

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	24 March 2007	Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal	Belgium	4–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying
2.	6 February 2008	Letzigrund, Zürich, Switzerland	Italy	1–3	Loss	Friendly
3.	11 June 2008	Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland	Czech Republic	3–1	Win	UEFA Euro 2008

Honours

Club

Sporting

• Portuguese Liga: 2001–02
• Taça de Portugal: 2002
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2002

Porto

• Portuguese Liga: 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08
• Taça de Portugal: 2006
• Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira: 2004, 2006
• Intercontinental Cup: 2004

Chelsea

• FA Cup: 2009

Internazionale

• UEFA Champions League: 2010
• Serie A: 2009–10
• Coppa Italia: 2009–2010

International

• UEFA European Under-17 Championship: 2000

Individual

• Portuguese Footballer of the Year: 2005, 2006
• Portuguese Golden Ball: 2007

References

External links

• Ricardo Quaresma's profile, career timeline and detailed statistics
• Ricardo Quaresma career stats at Soccerbase
• Ricardo QuaresmaTurkish Fan Page

Portugal squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Ricardo • 2 Ferreira • 3 Bruno Alves • 4 Bosingwa • 5 Meira • 6 Meireles • 7 C. Ronaldo • 8 Petit • 9 H. Almeida • 10 J. Moutinho • 11 Simão • 12 Nuno • 13 Miguel • 14 Ribeiro • 15 Pepe • 16 Carvalho • 17 Quaresma • 18 Veloso • 19 Nani • 20 Deco • 21 Nuno Gomes (c) • 22 Patrício • 23 H. Postiga • Coach: Scolari