Tim Vickery column

By Tim Vickery South American football reporter

Read my answers to this week's questions

Before Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Chile, Argentina coach Alfio Basile said that his playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme was 'different class'.

And then Riquelme went out to prove the point.

At club level he has been left in limbo, condemned to inactivity after falling out with the coach and directors of Villarreal.

Riquelme joined current club Villarreal from Barcelona in 2003

Before Saturday, his last proper match was the ill-fated final of the Copa America way back on 15 July, when he was part of the Argentina side beaten 3-0 by Brazil.

There may not be another player around who could come straight in after three months enforced idleness and prove the decisive force in a fiercely competitive World Cup qualifier.

But that is exactly what Riquelme did in Buenos Aires on Saturday, scoring both goals in Argentina's 2-0 win.

Admittedly, both came from free-kicks, a skill which can be trained in isolation and which requires relatively little athletic effort.

But this is missing the point - and even the fact that the two free-kicks were gorgeously struck does not do justice to the importance of Riquelme's presence on the field.

The free-kicks did not come from nowhere; they were a reflection of Argentina's dominance against a highly motivated Chile side with attacking intentions of their own.

But Chile, as their coach Marcelo Bielsa confessed after the game, were unable to win the ball back. They had great problems interrupting the circuit of Argentina's passing and were forced into fouls, thus conceding the free-kicks from which Riquelme was so deadly.

As ever, Riquelme was at the heart of Argentina's passing. Indeed, it was he who suffered the foul that led to the second goal.

Riquelme's performance on Saturday was like a large billboard announcing the fact that football starts in the brain. Even at full tilt he will never be an athlete - at times when he is wandering about it appears as if he is wading through water.

But if he is not a natural mover, he can make the ball move around the field as if he was directing the spectacle from the best seat in the house.

The exchanges between the dynamic flea Messi and the plodding playmaker Riquelme were the highlight of the game

To play the Riquelme way two things are fundamental: first, the technical quality to place the ball wherever he wants it; second, an understanding of the game to help him choose the right option - when to go short or long, when to switch the play, when to up the tempo and when to slow it down.

When building up the play, according to an old saying in Argentine football, forget about the goal and look for a team-mate. If you keep looking, sooner or later the path to goal will appear.

Riquelme carried this philosophy out on Sunday and he'll try again on Tuesday, because after three months without a game suddenly two come along at once - and this next one takes him back to the scene of the disaster on 15 July.

Argentina take on Venezuela in Maracaibo, the hot and windy venue for that Copa America final, when Brazil were so successful at negating Riquelme's patient, passing approach.

Venezuela are not Brazil. But they are on a high after Saturday's remarkable 1-0 win away in Ecuador and a good result on Tuesday will really have them dreaming of making their World Cup debut in South Africa.

So it will not be easy. But on Saturday there was an interesting development in Argentina's play.

Instead of spending most of his time out on the right flank, Lionel Messi was frequently cutting across trying to operate close to Riquelme.

Their exchanges were the highlight of the game, and the partnership between the dynamic flea and the plodding playmaker will be fascinating viewing against Venezuela.

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Got a question about South American football for Tim Vickery? Email him at [e-mail]

I often see you mention the Brazilian Alexandre Pato. I wondered if you could tell me more about him - you once said he was "touched by the hand of god". Is he really going to be such a success at Milan? ?
Jim, Melbourn, England

Before his debut for Internacional a year ago, Pato's team-mates had been banned from telling the press how good he was looking in training.

Then he stepped straight into senior football just past his 17th birthday and won the game for his side within half an hour.

He is a bit reminiscent of the young skinny Ronaldo who first broke through as a 17-year-old - especially in the extraordinary coolness of his finishing, with the added bonus that he is excellent in the air.

As for a weakness - choosing the right option, which I suppose can't be easy with the sheer quantity of things he can do. But there were times earlier this year when he wasn't playing the simple ball enough.

It will be interesting to see whether going to Milan so early interrupts his momentum - Ronaldo went to PSV first, which worked out well for him on the way up.

Just wondering if there are any promising full-backs in the Brazilian game that could replace Cafu and Roberto Carlos in the national team long-term? Maicon and Daniel Alves are obviously doing well in Europe and competing for the right-back spot, but there can't be that many outstanding talents around if somebody as ordinary as Gilberto can be Brazil's regular left-back?
Ian Walford

Strange how things can go in cycles - a while back Brazil had more left-backs than they could possibly use, but not a lot of depth at right-back - now it's the opposite.

As well as Maicon and Daniel Alves, on the right there's Cicinho and Rafinha. Gilberto gets the nod at left because he's a safe pair of hands.

His reserve Kleber is a strange case - very gifted, lovely crosser of the ball, is a star in domestic Brazilian football but hasn't done much anywhere else - either in the national team or in spells in Germany and Switzerland.

But producing these attacking full-backs is such a strong Brazilian tradition that it won't be long before more are pushing through.