Basile has wealth of riches at his disposal

RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug 1 (Reuters) Alfio Basile, named Argentina's new coach, had only a few words to say after being appointed yesterday but one of his sentences summed up his decision to return for a second time.

''I'm looking forward to it greatly, especially seeing the quantity of great players we have,'' he said.

Few coaches in the world, possibly not even Brazil's Dunga, have the same attacking potential and talent at their disposal.

Furthermore, Basile, despite being a rugged central defender in his playing days, has impeccable attacking credentials as a coach.

The gravel-voiced 62-year-old seems perfectly suited to lead a team which only lost to hosts Germany at the World Cup after coach Jose Pekerman appeared to lose his nerve.

With Argentina leading 1-0 and the Germans all at sea, Pekerman hauled off his playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme and brought on holding midfielder Esteban Cambiasso instead.

Meanwhile, teenager striker Lionel Messi was left on the bench when his pace would have probably demoralised the hosts even further. The Germans gratefully accepted the lifeline, equalised and won on penalties.

It was a huge shame as the World Cup could have done with Argentina in the closing stages.

The South Americans provided the best performance of the tournament when they thrashed Serbia&Montenegro 6-0 in the group stage and notched the best goal of the competition in the same match.

TOURNAMENT HIGHLIGHT Their second-round clash with Mexico, which they won 2-1 in extra time, was regarded as another of the tournament's highlights.

Messi and fellow striker Carlos Tevez gave glimpses of their potential in Germany while 18-year-old Sergio Aguero, who joined Atletico Madrid from Independiente in the European close season, is another player of huge promise.

Basile's first stint as coach lasted from 1991 to 1994 and was a breath of fresh air after his predecessor Carlos Bilardo and his ruthless win-at-all-costs approach.

Argentina won the Copa America in 1991 and 1993, enjoyed a 33-match unbeaten run, and made a promising start to the 1994 World Cup as they romped to wins over Greece in Nigeria in their first two games.

Then came Diego Maradona's failed doping test, a trauma from which the team never recovered as they lost 3-2 to Romania in a memorable second-round tie.

Ironically, Basile had only recalled Maradona after the low point of his reign, a 5-0 home defeat by Colombia in a World Cup qualifier.

Despite his tough-guy image, Basile was criticised for losing control of his players during his last year and he was replaced by the iron-fisted Daniel Passarella, whose first measures were to ban ear-rings and long hair.

Basile has since longed for a second chance and football, increasingly suffocated by safety-first tactics, will be grateful if he can get it right this time.

Reuters DH RN1717