Basile is taking more risks with inexperienced players such as Daniel Bilos (left). Denis Doyle/Getty Images

It may take time before Basile finds a suitable replacement. Although this is one of his main concerns, he has said that if he doesn't find a new Riquelme in the next couple matches, he may go without an anchor-man role on the team and adopt a typical 4-4-2 formation.

But here's the biggest surprise. Basile may gamble on an unlikely player in former national-teamer Juan Sebastián Verón. The stylish midfielder has been in good form since returning to Argentina at Estudiantes de La Plata, and Basile recently said he hasn't ruled out the possibility of Verón's return to the national team. But the "Bruja" is clearly in a race against time -- he'll be 35 by the time the 2010 World Cup rolls around.

Spanish silver lining

Argentina arguably put more talent on the field than Spain did Wednesday, but its 2-1 defeat wasn't all that surprising. This version of the Albicelestes has yet to find its identity under Basile, but time and experience will change that.

For its second test of the new era, Argentina wasn't all that bad, but the team clearly lacked ideas when it came to breaking down Spain's defense. Argentina was outplayed at times, and it was clearly evident that it needs a lot of work before it can defeat one of the world's top sides.

Argentina was a shadow of its World Cup team, and similar to the Brazil match, it allowed its opponent far too much possession. Its defense also looked particularly unstable, as it came under fire time and time again against the Spaniards. If it wasn't for some imprecise finishing from the Furia Roja, Argentina could easily have lost by a much larger margin.

One positive of the match is that Basile was able to find a good mixture between players from the Pekerman era and his new players. Seeing some players who have limited or no national-team experience was interesting. Sergio Agüero, Rodolfo Arruabarrena, Daniel Bilos and Leandro Somoza -- to name a few -- did enough to demonstrate that they could be essential to Basile's plans in the future.

Looking to local talent

Although the entire squad that faced Spain was European-based, Basile has expressed his intent to field as many players as possible that play their club soccer in Argentina.

"We must give the good players that we have here an opportunity now since they haven't yet been sold," he said. "We will be giving them a shot while we still have them here."

This is a very positive sign since many believe there has been a lot of talent in Argentina that has been overlooked by past managers Pekerman and Marcelo Bielsa. In the past two World Cups, more than 95 percent of Argentina's players were selected from European clubs, and it has often been difficult for managers to work with them, as they haven't always been released by their clubs.

Basile is in favor of the idea of using as much new blood as possible, and has confirmed that he will begin to work with a local-based national side in January, in order to help him select a good mix between Argentina's top local and foreign-based stars.

"I can't say that all the players from here or from there will play," he said. "But it's much easier for me to add the stars from Europe to those from here if I've already had time to work with them. All of them are Argentines and we must do our utmost to put together the best team possible."

Other locally based players that have impressed, and could soon become part of Basile's team, include Fernando Gago and Rodrigo Palacio (Boca Juniors), Daniel Montenegro (Independiente), Mauro Zárate (Vélez Sarsfield) and Fernando Belluschi and Gonzalo Higuaín (River Plate).

The future of Argentine soccer is in the hands of players like these, and that of more established youngsters like Lionel Messi, Agüero and Carlos Tévez. These are some of the most promising players that have emerged from Argentina in the past few years, and Basile sees them as key players for the new generation of the national team. They're all still developing, but they're likely to be important contributors as Argentina looks ahead to next year's Copa América and the 2010 World Cup.

Basile is also a big fan of Argentina's shorter players. He likes the idea of utilizing them to play the ball on the ground, and get past opponents with skill and speed. Argentina has traditionally fixated its success in attack on a target man, such as someone like Hernán Crespo. But from what we've seen so far, Basile's system is likely to be much different. He'll likely make the most of the trademark of Argentine soccer: speed and ball-handling skills.

Sudamericana: Join the club

The power of Argentina's domestic league has been on display in this year's Copa Sudamericana. On Wednesday night, San Lorenzo, Lanús and Gimnasia La Plata advanced to the quarterfinals with big wins over tough Brazilian opponents. River Plate and Boca Juniors will be looking to complete what will be a historic triumph for all five Argentine clubs in their second-leg clashes Thursday night. Although both are behind the ball after first-leg defeats, they still have good opportunities of keeping the streak alive.