Football Player's Biography 7: Ricardo Quaresma

Full name	Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo
Date of birth	26 September 1983 (1983-09-26) (age 27)
Place of birth	Lisbon, Portugal
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Winger

Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo (born 26 September 1983, in Lisbon, Portugal) is a Portuguese footballer of Romani descent,^[1]^[2] who currently plays as a winger for Turkish Super League side Beşiktaş and the Portuguese national team. Quaresma began his career at Sporting CP, and has also played for Barcelona, Porto, Inter Milan and Chelsea

Club career

Sporting CP

While a trainee at Sporting's famed academy, Quaresma made his professional debut during the 2000–01 season playing 15 games for the B Team. In the next season, he was promoted to the senior squad by then club manager László Bölöni, playing 28 matches and scoring three goals and was a key player in Sporting's league and cup double triumph.
2002–03 was a poor season for Sporting, finishing third in the league, which prompted speculation about Quaresma's future at the club.

Barcelona

Quaresma was then sold to Barcelona for a reported €6M and loan of Fábio Rochemback.^[3] His stint with the Catalan side could be best described as unlucky. In his debut season, he made 10 starts and 11 substitute appearances, scoring only one goal. In the final weeks of the season, he injured his right foot badly, forcing him to miss the 2004 UEFA Under-21 Championship.^{[citation needed]}
During UEFA Euro 2004, he announced his refusal to play for Barça as long as Frank Rijkaard was in charge, incurring the interest of many other clubs.^{[citation needed]}

Porto

Quaresma signed for Porto in the summer of 2004 when they sold Deco for a fee of €15 million cash, plus Quaresma's playing rights which were evaluated at the time at €6 million.^[4]
Quaresma started his campaign with Porto on a high note, scoring in his debut game in the 2004 UEFA Super Cup^{[citation needed]} and netting the only goal in Porto's triumph against Benfica in the Portuguese SuperCup.^{[citation needed]} He went on to score five goals in 32 league matches and was ever-present in Porto's run to the first knockout round of the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League.^{[citation needed]} He also contributed to Porto's dramatic win against Once Caldas in the 2004 FIFA Intercontinental Cup, scoring in a thrilling penalty shoot-out which ended 8–7 in Porto's favour.^{[citation needed]}
Quaresma was heavily criticised^{[by whom?]} during his first year with Porto for being selfish and frequently trying to dribble past defenders rather than making a simple pass. However, he gradually began to incorporate his teammates into the game, and by his third year with Porto, he had become a fan favorite and a key component of the squad. His sublime performances in both the Portuguese Liga and the UEFA Champions League drew interest from various clubs,^{[citation needed]} and despite having a contract with Porto running until 2011, he soon found himself being transferred to a major club for the second time in his career.

Inter Milan

On 1 September 2008, Quaresma signed for Italian champions Inter Milan on a cash/player exchange fee of €18.6 million with young Portuguese midfielder Pelé joining Porto.^[5]^[6] He played his first game for the club in a friendly against Locarno, playing on the left wing.^{[citation needed]} The game ended 2–2, and Quaresma was voted Man of the match following an impressive performance.^{[citation needed]}
He was decisive in his first Serie A match against Catania, with one of his trademark Trivelas^{[clarification needed]} resulting in a Giuseppe Mascara own goal. The game finished 2–1 for Inter.

Chelsea

Quaresma's omission from Inter's squad for the knockout stage of the 2008–09 Champions League led to speculation of him leaving the club. On 2 February 2009, transfer deadline day, he signed on loan for Premier League club Chelsea, until the end of the season.^[11] He was given the number 18 shirt. On 7 February, he made his debut for Chelsea against Hull City.^{[citation needed]} Quaresma was mostly used as a substitute, making noticeable contributions, including providing the cross for Alex to score against Coventry City.^{[citation needed]} After a disappointing start to life at the San Siro, Quaresma claimed his move to Chelsea had restored his confidence after he struggled to impress José Mourinho at Inter. The 25-year-old Portuguese international told The Star on 29 March 2009: "When I was at Inter, I wasn't feeling very confident. I wasn't playing well and wasn't happy, I already feel more confident here at Chelsea. It has brought the joy back for me, which I didn't have at Inter."^{[citation needed]} Subsequently, with Guus Hiddink's temporary position as Chelsea manager, Quaresma found it hard to find space in the Chelsea line-up and returned to Inter at the end of his loan.

Return to Inter Milan

Quaresma returned to Inter after his loan at Chelsea ended.^[12] Despite desperate attempts made by Inter to offload him,^[13] Quaresma did not manage to attract any interest. With the retirement of Luís Figo, Quaresma inherited the number seven, and José Mourinho said he would give Quaresma another chance for the new season.^[12] Quaresma made his debut for the new season against Bari, coming on as a substitute for Patrick Vieira. Despite the odd impressive performance, he continued to find first team football hard to come by. After the arrival of Goran Pandev, Quaresma did not feature in Jose Mourinho's plans on their quest for the treble.

Besiktas

On 13 June 2010, Quaresma joined Turkish side Besiktas JK after long and arduous negotiations with Inter.^[14]^[15] Besiktas paid a € 7.3 million for his transfer. He signed 3-year contract, which entitled him to €3.5M in the first season and €3.75M in next 2 seasons.^[16] He scored his first goal for the club against Viktoria Plzeň in the UEFA Europa League Third qualifying round.
Despite struggling with injuries in the first half of the season Quaresma has put in several spectacular performances for the Black Eagles and is already becoming a fan favorite.

International career

A UEFA Under-17 Championship winner with Portugal in 2000,^{[citation needed]} Quaresma made his full international debut for the Portuguese national team in June 2003, in a friendly against Bolivia.^{[citation needed}
Poor form during his time with Barcelona and an injury prevented Quaresma from taking part in the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship, Euro 2004, and the 2004 Olympics.^{[citation needed]} However, sparkling displays with Porto won him a role in Portugal's 2006 World Cup qualification campaign and the winger helped his country to a vital 2–0 win against Slovakia.^{[citation needed]} However, Quaresma was left out of the 23-man squad named by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to represent Portugal in the 2006 World Cup.^{[citation needed]}
He was later called up to play in a friendly game against Brazil at the Emirates Stadium, where Portugal won 2–0. Quaresma provided two assists and was named Man of the match.^{[citation needed]} On 24 March 2007, Quaresma scored his first goal for the national team in Portugal's 4–0 win in a Euro 2008 qualifier against Belgium.^{[citation needed]} He was also a member of the 23-man squad for Portugal in Euro 2008, but appeared only sparingly for Scolari's Portugal during the tournament, but he did start in the Portugal secondary team in a 3rd group stage match, a 2–0 loss to host nation Switzerland where nine of the 11 regular team starters were rested.^{[citation needed]}
Quaresma was not called up for Portugal's 2010 World Cup campaign.
On 31 August 2010 Quaresma was called to play in Euro 2012 qualifying matches against Cyprus and Norway to replace injured Cristiano Ronaldo.^{[citation needed]} On 3 September 2010 Quaresma led Portugal against Cyprus in an entertaining encounter that ended 4-4. He was named Man of the match after two years of absence from the national team.^{[citation needed]} 19 Gamee 16 goalls