Football fans will regret the end of the international career of Juan Roman Riquelme The midfielder had earned the nickname “The Lazy Magician ” because of his ability to decrease the pace and tempo of a game in his team’s favour by retaining possession of the ball through sheer skill and ingenuity .
Riquelme cited his mother’s ill health — as the reason for his retirement. “It was a decision that I made fairly easily. Since the end of the World Cup, my mum has been hospitalized twice and I always made this clear: my family comes before football. Moreover, my old lady is the greatest thing that I have in my life. I don’t have any right to make her suffer.”