Ricardo Quaresma
Portuguese winger known for his trivela and rabona, a key figure in Portugal's Euro 2016 victory.
Ricardo Andrade Quaresma Bernardo (born 26 September 1983) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a winger. He began his career at Sporting CP and went on to play for Barcelona, Inter Milan, Porto (twice), Chelsea, Beşiktaş (twice), Al-Ahli Dubai, Kasımpaşa and Vitória de Guimarães. A Portugal international for 15 years, Quaresma won 80 caps and played at three European Championships, including the victorious Euro 2016, and the 2018 World Cup.
- Role
- Winger / Attacking Midfielder (left-sided)
- Affiliation
- Portugal National Team (Seleção)
- Nickname
- O Fado
- Caps
- 94
- Goals
- 23
- Notable Tournaments
- 2004 UEFA Euro, 2006 FIFA World Cup, 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2012 UEFA Euro
- Status
- Retired from international football
Lore & Background
Regarded as a mercurial talent, his tricks, including the rabona and trivela (a bending shot with the outside of his right foot) made him a popular figure among fans around the world. He was given the Bidone d'oro award for the worst footballer in the Italian top division after his season at Inter Milan. Quaresma scored a trademark trivela goal against Fenerbahçe in the Istanbul derby in February 2018.
In Their Own Story
The floodlights at the Estádio da Luz hummed like a living thing. Quaresma stood over the free kick, thirty-five yards out, slightly to the left of the penalty area. The wall had set. The crowd — twenty thousand strong, a sea of red — fell into that particular silence that only Portuguese fans know, the kind where you can hear the wind off the Tagus.
He placed the ball. Stepped back. Took three touches, each one a small conversation with the leather. Then the run-up, short and almost lazy, like a man walking to the bar. The strike was not powerful — it was *precise*, a whip that kissed the top of the wall and arced into the top corner so cleanly that the keeper's glove never left the grass.
The roar that followed was not a cheer. It was a release. And Quaresma, arms wide, head tilted back, let the moment wash over him like a fado he'd been composing his entire career.
Reader's Guide
Quaresma began his career at Sporting CP, promoted to the first team at age 17, and won the double in 2001–02. He was sold to Barcelona in 2003, then moved to Porto in 2004 as part of a deal involving Deco. He signed for Inter Milan in 2008, was loaned to Chelsea in 2009, and joined Beşiktaş in 2010. After a stint at Al-Ahli Dubai, he returned to Porto in 2014, then returned to Beşiktaş in 2015. Later he played for Kasımpaşa and Vitória de Guimarães. He made his Portugal debut in 2003 and scored his first international goal in 2007 against Belgium.
Did You Know?
- Quaresma scored a trivela goal in his first Serie A match for Inter Milan against Catania.
- He was named man of the match in the 2011 Turkish Cup final, scoring the opening goal.
- Quaresma scored twice in the first ten minutes of Porto's 3–1 win over Bayern Munich in the 2015 Champions League quarter-final first leg.
- He was suspended indefinitely by Beşiktaş in 2012 after a dressing-room altercation with manager Carlos Carvalhal.
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