Sergio Daniel "Checho" Batista (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈseɾxjo ðaˈnjel ˈtʃetʃo βaˈtista];[a] born 9 November 1962) is an Argentine football manager and former international player for Argentina.

Sergio Batista
Batista in 2011
Personal information
Full name Sergio Daniel Batista
Date of birth (1962-11-09) 9 November 1962 (age 62)
Place of birth Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
Venezuela (General Manager)
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1988 Argentinos Juniors 253 (25)
1988–1990 River Plate 52 (2)
1991 Argentinos Juniors 19 (0)
1992–1993 Nueva Chicago 5 (0)
1993–1994 PJM Futures 95 (5)
1997–1999 All Boys 60 (1)
Total 484 (33)
International career
1985–1990 Argentina 39 (0)
Managerial career
2000 Bella Vista
2001–2003 Argentinos Juniors
2003 Talleres
2004 Argentinos Juniors
2004–2005 Nueva Chicago
2007 Godoy Cruz
2007–2009 Argentina U-20 / Olympic
2010–2011 Argentina
2012–2014 Shanghai Shenhua
2015–2016 Bahrain
2018–2020 Qatar SC
2023- Venezuela (General Manager)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Argentina (as player)
FIFA World Cup
Winner 1986 Mexico
Runner-up 1990 Italy
Copa América
Third place 1989 Brazil
Representing  Argentina (as manager)
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2008 Beijing Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

As a footballer he played as a midfielder for Argentinos Juniors, River Plate, Nueva Chicago, Tosu Futures and All Boys. He represented his national team 39 times from 1985 to 1990 where the team won the 1986 FIFA World Cup.[2] After retiring he moved into coaching with Bella Vista before returning to his former club Argentinos Juniors, as well as spells at Talleres, Nueva Chicago and Godoy Cruz. He led the Argentine Olympic team to the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics, which led to him being head coach of the Argentina national football team from July 2010 to July 2011.

Playing career

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Club

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Batista played youth football in Argentinos Juniors, and debuted with the first team in 1981. With Argentinos, he won the 1984 Metropolitano and 1985 Nacional of the Argentine Primera División, as well as the 1985 Copa Libertadores.[3]

In 1988, Batista moved to River Plate; they won the 1989–90 league title. In 1992, he moved to Nueva Chicago. In 1993, he moved to PJM Futures in Japan. He retired as a player in 1994 and for two years from 1995 served as an assistant coach of 2 Japanese clubs. In 1997, he returned to play for All Boys in Argentina.

International

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After his impressive displays for Argentinos Juniors in the 1985 Copa Libertadores, the Argentine coach Carlos Bilardo called Batista up for a friendly against Mexico on 14 November 1985 in a game that ended in a 1–1 draw.[4] With the 1986 FIFA World Cup soon looming, Batista quickly went on to establish himself as a first choice player within the Argentina national football team. Despite his limited international experience, he played each tournament game, Argentina won.[5] An established regular within the squad, Batista played in the 1987 Copa América, 1989 Copa América and 1990 FIFA World Cup, which Argentina came runner-up in.

Managerial career

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Batista started his managerial career with Uruguayan club Bella Vista in 2000. He then had two spells with Argentinos Juniors, one with Talleres de Córdoba and one with Nueva Chicago. Between 2005 and 2006, he was assistant to Oscar Ruggeri in San Lorenzo.

In October 2007, the former midfielder was appointed as the head coach of the Argentine U-20 national team, replacing Hugo Tocalli. He managed the gold medalist Argentina Olympic football team at the 2008 Summer Olympics.

After the 2010 World Cup, Argentina national team manager Diego Maradona did not renew his contract, and Batista was appointed as caretaker manager on 27 July 2010.[6] In his role, Batista led Argentina to two wins (1–0 over Ireland and 4–1 over World Cup holders Spain) and suffered a defeat against Japan 0–1. Three months later, he was named the official head coach of the Argentina national team. In his first match after being officialized as Argentina's coach, his team defeated Brazil 1–0, with a 90th-minute goal by Lionel Messi.[7] On 25 July 2011, the AFA announced that Batista had stepped down as manager of the Argentina national team after poor results in the Copa América.[8]

Honours

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As a player

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Argentinos Juniors
River Plate
Argentina

Individual

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  • South American Team of the Year: 1986, 1988, 1989

As a manager

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Argentina

Notes

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  1. ^ In isolation, Daniel and Batista are pronounced [daˈnjel] and [baˈtista] respectively.

References

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  1. ^ "Ficha Estadistica de SERGIO BATISTA". bdfa.com.ar.
  2. ^ rsssf: Argentina record international footballers
  3. ^ "Colombian clubs in Copa Libertadores". RSSSF. 11 December 2004. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Argentina v Mexico, 14 November 1985". 11v11.com. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Sergio Batista". fifa.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. Retrieved 1 April 2014.
  6. ^ "Sergio Batista succeeds Diego Maradona in Argentina job". BBC Sport. 3 November 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
  7. ^ "Sobre la hora: Messi le devolvió al seleccionado la sonrisa del éxito". Cancha Llena (in Spanish). 17 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  8. ^ "Sergio Batista removed as Argentina coach after poor Copa America". BBC Sport. 26 July 2011. Retrieved 30 August 2011.
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