Argentina's Juan Roman Riquelme scores from a free kick against Chile during a World Cup 2010 qualifying soccer match in Buenos Aires on Saturday. - Reuters

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters)

Argentina's enigmatic midfielder Juan Roman Riquelme emerged from three months of inactivity to score two majestic free kicks and get his team off to a winning start in the World Cup qualifiers. His performance in Saturday's 2-0 win over Chile suggested once again that Riquelme, at his best an elegant playmaker in the best South American tradition and at his worst a ponderous passenger, is a law unto himself.

Coach Alfio Basile appeared to have taken a huge gamble in building his team around a player who has become an outcast at his club Villarreal after falling out with coach Manuel Pellegrini.

Riquelme has not kicked a ball in anger at Villarreal this season and his last match was exactly three months ago when Argentina lost 3-0 to Brazil in the Copa America final.

On that occasion, Riquelme performed one of his famous disappearing acts as he was muscled out of his stride by the ruthless, physical Brazilians, barely getting a touch of the ball.

Yet, on Saturday, a capacity crowd at the River Plate stadium was treated to Riquelme at his best as he scored both goals in the 2-0 win over Chile.

Both came from free kicks which he planted into the top right hand corner of Claudio Bravo's goal with stunning precision.

No ill-effects

Apart from that, Riquelme pulled the strings in midfield and appeared to have suffered no ill-effects from his enforced layoff as he gave a performance which confounded football logic.

Many feel that Riquelme's thoughtful, unhurried style is out of place in the physical, modern game. Former Argentina coach Marcelo Bielsa, who on Saturday was on the opposing bench as he made his competitive debut in charge of Chile, gave Riquelme only a handful of openings when he was in charge from 1998 to 2004.

Bielsa's immediate successor Jose Pekeramn, on the other hand, built the 2006 World Cup side around him. According to La Nacion newspaper, former Argentina forward Jorge Valdano once said of Riquelme: "He is surviving a trend which has not made any concessions to his type of football, so he needs a coach who understands him, respects him and makes his style of play relevent."

At the moment, the gruff, gravel-voiced Basile appears to be that coach.

"He's a phenomenon, an amazing strategist," purred Basile after Saturday's game. "Now, I'm going to watch his goals again on the television, to enjoy them.

"This isn't a personal conquest for me, I simply put my cards on a player who is in a category of his own.

"As long as he's in reasonably good shape physically, he makes the difference."