By Matthew Day ⋅ June 4, 2008 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Euro 2008

Portugal’s Ricardo Quaresma has been linked to Liverpool, Inter Milan and Barcelona

To tell you that Ricardo Quaresma has been compared with the world’s best player, compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, intimates just how much ability Porto’s attacking midfielder has, and the bright future which lies ahead for the former Barcelona man.

Yet it has been a frustrating journey thus far. Pacy and prodigious, Quaresma has all the right attributes but failed to demonstrate them on a consistent basis. That is why, despite being 16 months older than Ronaldo, the 24-year-old is still plying his trade in the lowly BWIN Liga while the Manchester United player of the year is celebrating the ultimate success in the Champions League.

Quaresma was given an opportunity to star at Barcelona, but a solitary year in Catalunya proved an unhappy time for the versatile playmaker as he failed to find his feet. His immaturity as a player and as a person came to the fore in Spain, and a return to Portugal after just ten starts indicated just how much Quaresma needed to develop in order to be picking up Champions League winners medals with one of Europe’s elite clubs, as he so desired.

Since returning to his home country, Quaresma has mellowed somewhat and attained a greater level of consistency. Porto have won the league for three years in succession – with Quaresma arriving four years ago – and interest from the peninsula’s top clubs has gradually returned.

Quaresma’s final pass is still often wayward and he frequently goes quiet in the crucial games, like in this season’s Champions League home tie with Schalke as Porto were dumped out on penalties. Yet his immense raw talent is what’s convincing Europe’s big-hitters like Liverpool, Inter Milan and even Barcelona again to take an interest.

He is yet another extremely gifted midfielder from Portugal, a country that is punching way above their weight in terms of producing endowed footballers and progression in major tournaments. Their recent record is fantastic for a nation with little more than 10 million inhabitants, and Quaresma joins the likes of Simão, Deco, Ronaldo, Nani and Veloso in the ranks of electrifying midfield talent.

For the next few weeks, Quaresma will be fully focused on the Euros but a move abroad appears inevitable, especially in the wake of Porto’s expulsion from the Champions League next season after they were deducted six points for bribery of referees in the 2003/04 season. Seemingly the only thing keeping Quaresma at the Estádio do Dragão was the promise of playing in Europe’s top competition, but with that removed his dreams of joining a major side are close to becoming reality.

The Portuguese playboy, whose cocksure attitude is another facet that likens him to Ronaldo, is not shy in declaring that a transfer is imminent, “I have never hidden that I would like to play for a foreign club again. It is time to leave, I have publicly expressed that wish many times. Let’s see what happens.”

For the moment, however, an impressive Euro 2008 tournament is on top of his agenda, “I am going to focus on the Euros in order for us [Portugal] to have a good campaign.”

And Quaresma knows that the tournament is the perfect opportunity to demonstrate his patent ability, with potential future employers watching on in interest. In the shop window for the next three weeks, Quaresma can at last show that he is ready to perform in more testing surroundings after flopping at Barcelona all those years ago.

Now re-born, expect fireworks from the Lisbon-born wing wizard in Austria and Switzerland.

Tags: Barcelona, Cristiano Ronaldo, Euro 2008, FC Porto, Inter Milan, Portugal, Ricardo Quaresma

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