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BUENOS AIRES, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme, unwanted by his club Villarreal, has been picked by his country for the opening two matches of their 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign.
Riquelme was among 20 foreign-based players named by coach Alfio Basile on Thursday for games against Chile in Buenos Aires on Oct. 13 and away to Venezuela on Oct. 16 or 17.
The surprise absentee was Inter Milan striker Hernan Crespo, also short of match practice with his club.
After building his team around the mercurial Riquelme at the Copa America, where Argentina finished as runners-up to Brazil, Basile has gambled on a player who has been sidelined since returning to Spain's Villarreal for the current season.
Riquelme spent the first half of the year on loan to Boca Juniors, where he scored eight goals and inspired the team to victory in South America's Libertadores Cup, the equivalent of the Champions League.
But Boca were unable to agree terms to extend his loan or buy him outright and, with no other clubs coming forward, Riquelme was forced to return to Villarreal, who had already announced that he did not figure in his plans.
Argentina will play 18 matches in their World Cup qualifying campaign, in which all 10 South American teams compete in a single group over a two-year period.
The match against Chile pits them against former coach Marcelo Bielsa, who was in charge of Argentina from 1998 to 2004. Bielsa took over as Chile coach last month.
Goalkeepers: Roberto Abbondanzieri (Getafe), Oscar Ustari (Getafe)
Defenders; Daniel Diaz (Getafe), Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid), Gabriel Milito (Barcelona), Fabricio Coloccini (Deportivo Coruna), Javier Zanetti (Inter), Nicolas Burdisso (Inter), Martin Demichelis (Bayern Munich)
Midfielders: Fernando Gago (Real Madrid), Maximiliano Rodriguez (Atletico Madrid), Jonas Gutierrez (Real Mallorca), Juan Roman Riquelme (Villarreal), Esteban Cambiasso (Inter), Javier Mascherano (Liverpool), Federico Insua (America-Mexico)
Forwards: Javier Saviola (Real Madrid), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Sergio Aguero (Atletico Madrid), Carlos Tevez (Manchester United)
(Writing by Brian Homewood in Rio de Janeiro)
