Riquelme: It felt good to play again

04-Mar-2013 6:50:00 PM

The creative midfielder was pleased with his return to match action, though Boca Juniors head coach Carlos Bianchi stressed that not too much can be expected from the 34-year-old

Juan Roman Riquelme has voiced his satisfaction with his Boca Juniors comeback in the 3-1 loss against Union de Santa Fe at the weekend.

The attacking midfielder recently returned to his boyhood club after previously leaving in controversial fashion, and he's very happy to be back at Boca.

"I was fortunate enough to play the full 90 minutes and it felt good to play again. I felt really tired for a few moments, but I've already recovered," Riquelme was quoted as saying by Ole.

"We could not record the victory we wanted, but there are still many games to go. We wanted to play well, but it didn't work out. Let's hope we put in a good performance on Thursday."

Head coach Carlos Bianchi, meanwhile, was quite pleased with Riquelme's return, but stressed that the 34-year-old cannot turn things around by himself.

"Roman did whatever he could do," he said. "Not a single player in the world can turn things around all by himself. I am satisfied with his performance.

"I did not expect him to last for the full 90 minutes. We'll have to wait and see how he reacts. We should not forget that he hasn't played for eight months."