Keeping on top of things like we do here at the "Stop calling it soccer" blog, I have a terribly sad announcement to make. Juan Roman Riquelme has announced his retirement from the Argentina national team at the ripe old age of 28. He cited his mother's health as the reason for him hanging up the internatty boots. "Riquelme said he feared criticism of his Argentina performances may have worsened his mother's health. 'There's been a lot of bad blood and I don't want to make her suffer,' he said.
'My mother is my mother and I can't compare her with the Argentina shirt or anything else.' " I fully respect his decision and think it is refreshing to see a player put his family first. None of this would have happened if the stupid Argentinian media hadn't of cirticized its best player. Way to chase off one of the best playmakers in the world. The team will suffer a great setback in trying to find his replacement. They are still a very good team, but replacing Riquelme would be like replacing Ronaldinho. Hopefully this is one of those short term retirements and he comes back to play for the Argentines. But if he stays retired, he will be missed. You can read the entire story @
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=379431&cc=5901
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