BUENOS AIRES – Soccer star Juan Roman Riquelme is refusing to play for the Argentine national team, citing differences of opinion with new head coach Diego Maradona.

“We can’t continue working together,” the Boca Juniors midfielder told Buenos Aires’ Canal 13 on Tuesday, marking the second time the player has declined to play for his national squad.

Riquelme also refused to play for Argentina after being harshly criticized by the press following the 2006 World Cup in Germany, although then-head coach Alfio Basile convinced him to change his mind and suit up for the Copa America event the next year in Venezuela.

The differences with Maradona came to a boil last week when the manager said in a TV interview that Riquelme may not start for Argentina because he had not performed at a high level for Boca in 2009.

“I want Roman as a playmaker, to make a difference in the last 20 meters with his mental quickness, to feed our strikers and create goals, but the other day I saw him on the field for Boca and, I don’t know if he’s having physical problems or what, but that’s not what I need,” Maradona said.

“Some really strange things are happening with the team,” Riquelme told Canal 13 before announcing his decision.

Shortly after Riquelme’s announcement, Maradona told Radio Mitre that he is sorry to see Riquelme go but that he and the team have no choice but to move on.

“The fact he doesn’t want to join the selection leaves me with a big feeling of sadness, but I can’t start crying over Riquelme not (being here). I have a lot of players to think about,” the coach said.

Argentina’s next qualifying matches for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa are against Venezuela and Bolivia, on March 28 and March 31, respectively. EFE