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Roman Rule: The Quaresma Conundrum
Zac Lee Rigg ignores one revitalization tale in Klaas-Jan Huntelaar's poacher's brace in favor of looking at the refreshed Ricardo Quaresma in this week's Roman Rule. Huntelaar, like against Catania, does make an appearance at the very end as Rigg reviews the week that was in the Italian Serie A.
Nov 30, 2009 2:44:10 PM
By Zac Lee Rigg
Portuguese wingers are divisive.
Over in Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson is unsure what to do with Nani. The temperamental youngster came out with comments criticizing his coach and bemoaning his lack of playing time. Moreover, fans don't know if Nani will ever fulfill his potential or if the team should move him on for morale purposes.
The man Nani was supposed to replace, Cristiano Ronaldo, himself admitted while with the Red Devils that he is polemic. On the one hand, he boasts an elite amount of skill and toned physical ability that few in the history of the game have ever possessed. On the other, he seems gripped by a megalomaniacal disdain for everyone else and has perfected that scourge of the modern game: the art of diving – luring contact from defenders, leaving a trailing limb, and hitting the ground hard. (Also, he has a gaudy fashion sense.)
Before those two emerged from the Sporting Lisbon youth academy, another arrived on the scene bearing the public expectancy to refresh Portugal's Golden Generation of Luis Figo and Manuel Rui Costa.
His name is Ricardo Quaresma.
A move to Barcelona in 2003 probably came before The Mustang had developed sufficiently emotionally. Struggling to break in to the starting lineup prompted Quaresma to publicly refuse to play for coach Frank Rijkaard again.
He didn't. A move back to his native Portugal with Porto revived his career. Given complete license on the wings, the powerful attacker reveled in finding space on the edges of the game and delivering inside-out banana crosses with the outside of his boots before defenders could close down the threat. Some high profile performances in the Champions League knockout stages earned Quaresma another chance. Inter swooped in 2008.
At the time, Jose Mourinho planned to reproduce his fluid 4-3-3 that he had perfected at Chelsea. To that end, he brought mercurial wingers Quaresma and Mancini into the fold. Neither showed more than a few flashes before Mourinho gave up on that formation and switched to a midfield diamond and two-man strike force which best complimented Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Quaresma and Mancini disappeared into the reserves, emerging only occasionally to make substitute appearances or, in the case of Quaresma, an ill-fated loan stint at Chelsea.
However, against Fiorentina this weekend, Mourinho handed Quaresma his first league start of the season. Up until that point, Inter fans had yet to see why the club splashed so much dough on the 26-year-old. They still haven't, not exactly: the Quaresma who showed up against the Viola had transformed from the Porto player. Instead of camping at the edge of the offsides line, Quaresma tucked into the midfield, even putting in a handy defensive shift.
With Wesly Sneijder injured and bombing fullback Maicon suspended, Mourinho needed some creativity. Quaresma obliged. Every move funneled through his right flank, where his tight control and uncanny ability to cleave space between him and two or three defenders before picking out defense-hewing passes cut and tormented an exhausted Fiorentina side. Samuel Eto'o and Sulley Muntari make late runs on the left side to greet the chances he created, each squandering a hatful of simple chances. In fact, except for horrible finishing by the entire squad and a typically brilliant performance from Florence goalkeeper Sebastien Frey, Quaresma could have collected double digit assists from his side's 23 shots.
Sure, signs of the Quaresma which Inter fans had written off appeared. On one occasion, as he attempted to fake out his marker, he faked out his own footing instead, twisting his ankle and hitting the pitch under no contact. When his tricks fail, they fail spectacularly. But when Quaresma gets it right, the result is oh so sweet. More performances like that of this new Quaresma, and Mourinho will have found a viable creative alternative to Wesley Sneijder in his roster.
Julius Cesar
Consul Of The Week
Consider them two thirds of a triumvirate. Veteran Genoa midfielders Omar Milanetto and Marco Rossi provided the power and desire in the middle of the field to overrun Sampdoria. Tidy, industrious, and unrelenting, the duo somehow managed to improve once their side went down to 10 men, covering extra ground and popping up in attack more frequently to compensate for the missing player in the frontline.
In a heavy 3-0 Genovese derby win, the two embodied the grit needed to secure victory. They also scored the first two goals. For the game's opener, Rossi pumped the delivery in the box that led to the penalty which Milanetto dispatched. For the second, Milanetto looped a gorgeous diagonal ball over the defense and into the run of Rossi, who powered through the 'keeper and into the net. Captain Rossi, who has helped lift the club from the third division, even had a hand in the third goal by again delivering the ball that led to a penalty.
Three goals, three red cards, three posts rattled. The game was full of triumvirates. For this week, Milanetto and Rossi reign supreme
Cleopatra
Beautiful Moment Of The Week
Half an hour into the match against Juventus, Cagliari striker Nene unleashed from a laughable 35 yards. "Ha ha," the Juventus backline thought. "We only gave you all that space hoping you'd shoot. After all, guarding our net is The Best Goalkeeper In The World. His nickname is Superman, after all." The only one laughing was the Brazilian striker. A knuckling, swerving bolt of a strike going approximately as quickly as girls running away from RR in bars ducked just inside the top right corner to give Cagliari an unlikely lead. Not even Gianluigi Buffon had a chance.
After his side's 2-0 win, Cagliari coach Massimiliano Allegri told Sportal.it, "We prepared for this match perfectly." If his preparations involved scoring an early goal-of-the-season contender, perhaps his side should approach its remaining games in the same way.
Cicero
Quote Of The Week
In that humdinger of a Genovese derby, easily one of the best games of the season, Sokratis Papastathopoulos lent his name to a delightful pun. After going down under a challenge from Reto Ziegler for a penalty (the second the Swiss fullback gave up on the night), the Greek arose shrugging and looking at the referee.
"Sokratis with the philosophical shrug [that] says, 'What else could have been awarded?'" opined the commentator on Fox Soccer Channel's feed.
Brutus
Backstabber / Club Hindrance Of The Week
Much of the focus of the AC Milan game fell to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Admittedly, RR penciled in his second goal for the Cleopatra award. However, most of the credit for Catania's two goal collapse in injury time goes to goalkeeper Mariano Andujar. For the first goal, he let Huntelaar's strike from just inside the box slip through his fingers, much like Catania saw a well deserved draw slip through its fingers. For the second, the Argentine goalkeeper drifted too far off his line to allow Huntelaar's exquisite lob to catch him woefully out of position.
Results
Atalanta 1-2 Roma, Bari 2-1 Siena, Cagliari 2-0 Juventus, Catania 0-2 AC Milan, Chievo 1-0 Palermo, Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria, Internazionale 1-0 Fiorentina, Lazio 0-0 Bologna, Parma 1-1 Napoli, Udinese 2-0 Livorno
Zac Lee Rigg is an associate editor of Goal.com
Keep up to date with Serie A and Italy news with Goal.com's Italy page
Portuguese wingers are divisive.
Over in Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson is unsure what to do with Nani. The temperamental youngster came out with comments criticizing his coach and bemoaning his lack of playing time. Moreover, fans don't know if Nani will ever fulfill his potential or if the team should move him on for morale purposes.
The man Nani was supposed to replace, Cristiano Ronaldo, himself admitted while with the Red Devils that he is polemic. On the one hand, he boasts an elite amount of skill and toned physical ability that few in the history of the game have ever possessed. On the other, he seems gripped by a megalomaniacal disdain for everyone else and has perfected that scourge of the modern game: the art of diving – luring contact from defenders, leaving a trailing limb, and hitting the ground hard. (Also, he has a gaudy fashion sense.)
Before those two emerged from the Sporting Lisbon youth academy, another arrived on the scene bearing the public expectancy to refresh Portugal's Golden Generation of Luis Figo and Manuel Rui Costa.
His name is Ricardo Quaresma.
A move to Barcelona in 2003 probably came before The Mustang had developed sufficiently emotionally. Struggling to break in to the starting lineup prompted Quaresma to publicly refuse to play for coach Frank Rijkaard again.
He didn't. A move back to his native Portugal with Porto revived his career. Given complete license on the wings, the powerful attacker reveled in finding space on the edges of the game and delivering inside-out banana crosses with the outside of his boots before defenders could close down the threat. Some high profile performances in the Champions League knockout stages earned Quaresma another chance. Inter swooped in 2008.
At the time, Jose Mourinho planned to reproduce his fluid 4-3-3 that he had perfected at Chelsea. To that end, he brought mercurial wingers Quaresma and Mancini into the fold. Neither showed more than a few flashes before Mourinho gave up on that formation and switched to a midfield diamond and two-man strike force which best complimented Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Quaresma and Mancini disappeared into the reserves, emerging only occasionally to make substitute appearances or, in the case of Quaresma, an ill-fated loan stint at Chelsea.
However, against Fiorentina this weekend, Mourinho handed Quaresma his first league start of the season. Up until that point, Inter fans had yet to see why the club splashed so much dough on the 26-year-old. They still haven't, not exactly: the Quaresma who showed up against the Viola had transformed from the Porto player. Instead of camping at the edge of the offsides line, Quaresma tucked into the midfield, even putting in a handy defensive shift.
 |
Sure, signs of the Quaresma which Inter fans had written off appeared. On one occasion, as he attempted to fake out his marker, he faked out his own footing instead, twisting his ankle and hitting the pitch under no contact. When his tricks fail, they fail spectacularly. But when Quaresma gets it right, the result is oh so sweet. More performances like that of this new Quaresma, and Mourinho will have found a viable creative alternative to Wesley Sneijder in his roster.
Julius Cesar
Consul Of The Week
Consider them two thirds of a triumvirate. Veteran Genoa midfielders Omar Milanetto and Marco Rossi provided the power and desire in the middle of the field to overrun Sampdoria. Tidy, industrious, and unrelenting, the duo somehow managed to improve once their side went down to 10 men, covering extra ground and popping up in attack more frequently to compensate for the missing player in the frontline.
In a heavy 3-0 Genovese derby win, the two embodied the grit needed to secure victory. They also scored the first two goals. For the game's opener, Rossi pumped the delivery in the box that led to the penalty which Milanetto dispatched. For the second, Milanetto looped a gorgeous diagonal ball over the defense and into the run of Rossi, who powered through the 'keeper and into the net. Captain Rossi, who has helped lift the club from the third division, even had a hand in the third goal by again delivering the ball that led to a penalty.
Three goals, three red cards, three posts rattled. The game was full of triumvirates. For this week, Milanetto and Rossi reign supreme
Cleopatra
Beautiful Moment Of The Week
Half an hour into the match against Juventus, Cagliari striker Nene unleashed from a laughable 35 yards. "Ha ha," the Juventus backline thought. "We only gave you all that space hoping you'd shoot. After all, guarding our net is The Best Goalkeeper In The World. His nickname is Superman, after all." The only one laughing was the Brazilian striker. A knuckling, swerving bolt of a strike going approximately as quickly as girls running away from RR in bars ducked just inside the top right corner to give Cagliari an unlikely lead. Not even Gianluigi Buffon had a chance.
After his side's 2-0 win, Cagliari coach Massimiliano Allegri told Sportal.it, "We prepared for this match perfectly." If his preparations involved scoring an early goal-of-the-season contender, perhaps his side should approach its remaining games in the same way.
 |
Quote Of The Week
In that humdinger of a Genovese derby, easily one of the best games of the season, Sokratis Papastathopoulos lent his name to a delightful pun. After going down under a challenge from Reto Ziegler for a penalty (the second the Swiss fullback gave up on the night), the Greek arose shrugging and looking at the referee.
"Sokratis with the philosophical shrug [that] says, 'What else could have been awarded?'" opined the commentator on Fox Soccer Channel's feed.
Brutus
Backstabber / Club Hindrance Of The Week
Much of the focus of the AC Milan game fell to Klaas-Jan Huntelaar. Admittedly, RR penciled in his second goal for the Cleopatra award. However, most of the credit for Catania's two goal collapse in injury time goes to goalkeeper Mariano Andujar. For the first goal, he let Huntelaar's strike from just inside the box slip through his fingers, much like Catania saw a well deserved draw slip through its fingers. For the second, the Argentine goalkeeper drifted too far off his line to allow Huntelaar's exquisite lob to catch him woefully out of position.
 |
Results
Atalanta 1-2 Roma, Bari 2-1 Siena, Cagliari 2-0 Juventus, Catania 0-2 AC Milan, Chievo 1-0 Palermo, Genoa 3-0 Sampdoria, Internazionale 1-0 Fiorentina, Lazio 0-0 Bologna, Parma 1-1 Napoli, Udinese 2-0 Livorno
Zac Lee Rigg is an associate editor of Goal.com
Keep up to date with Serie A and Italy news with Goal.com's Italy page
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