Chelsea new boy: Ricardo Quaresma
Ricardo Quaresma may only be 25 years old but his loan
move to Chelsea looks
like his last shot at the big time.
While Andrei Arshavin was capturing the headlines with his
drawn-out move from Zenit St Petersburg to Arsenal,
Chelsea’s loan signing from Inter Milan almost slipped under the
deadline-day radar.
Yet, if Quaresma is to make it on the game’s biggest stages, he
cannot go unnoticed for long. After being dumped by Jose Mourinho
at Inter and by Barcelona before that , the Portugal winger has
less than half a season to prove he can handle the pressure and
expectation heaped on the world’s best players.
Quaresma has arrived at Stamford Bridge with the Special One
doubting he has the right mentality to thrive in the big time and
former Italy manager Arrigo Sacchi insisting a change of
environment will not improve his performances.
Chelsea manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has signed him as cover for
the injured Joe Cole, who is out for the rest of the season after
knee surgery, but Quaresma knows a return to the form he showed
when he made his reputation at Porto could earn him a permanent
move.
Quaresma said: ‘I am proud to represent such a great club. I
didn’t have many opportunities to show my qualities at Inter but I
want to show what I am made of.’
Quaresma was one of Mourinho’s first buys for Inter last summer,
when the former Chelsea boss paid £15million to sign him from
Porto. A product of Sporting Lisbon’s youth academy along with
Cristiano Ronaldo, the man they call ‘Mustang’ for his speed and
‘The Little Gypsy’ for his Romany heritage was a flop during his
one season with Barcelona five years ago.
He resurrected his career during his four-year stint with Porto
but lasted just eight games into Inter’s Serie A campaign before
Mourinho dished out some very public criticism.
His arrival in England had Sacchi claiming: ‘Honestly, I doubt
Quaresma will do better in new surroundings at Chelsea.’ Quaresma
did well for Scolari with Portugal but according to sources in
Lisbon he has a track record for rebelling against authority.
‘Like most gypsy families, his travelling around, rather than
putting down roots anywhere, has got him a reputation for being
difficult to handle,’ said one.
‘Scolari is the one coach who has consistently been able to get
the best out of him. 'Everyone acknowledges that here, so maybe
this move to Chelsea will work out.
‘He had a couple of great seasons at Porto but has been a complete
flop in Milan.
‘Jose Mourinho is embarrassed about how much he paid for him and
so is Ricardo. He cost more than Ronaldinho, which seems
ridiculous.’
