Sergio Daniel "Checho" Batista (; born 9 November 1962) is an Argentine football manager and former international player. As a footballer he played as a midfield for

Argentinos Juniors Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of th ...

, 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. 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. With the Argentine Olympic team, he won 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

Club

Batista played youth football in

, 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. 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

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 Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

on 14 November 1985 in a game that ended in a 1–1 draw. 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. 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

Batista started his managerial career with

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

an club Bella Vista in 2000. He then had two spells with

, 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 The Argentina Olympic football team (Argentina U-23 since 1992) represents Argentina in international football competitions during Olympic Games and Pan American Games. The selection is limited to players under the age of 23, except three overage ...

at the 2008 Summer Olympics. After the 2010 World Cup, Argentina national team manager

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona (; 30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two joint winners of the FI ...

did not renew his contract, and Batista was appointed as caretaker manager on 27 July 2010. In his role, Batista led Argentina to two wins (1–0 over

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and 4–1 over World Cup holders

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

) 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 Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

1–0, with a 90th-minute goal by

Lionel Messi Lionel Andrés Messi (; born 24 June 1987), also known as Leo Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Paris Saint-Germain and captains the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the ...

. 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 The Copa América ( en, America Cup) or CONMEBOL Copa América, known until 1975 as the South American Football Championship (''Campeonato Sudamericano de Fútbol'' in Spanish and ''Campeonato Sul-Americano de Futebol'' in Portuguese), is the t ...

Honours

As a player

;Argentinos Juniors * Argentine Primera División: 1984 Metropolitano, 1985 Nacional * Copa Libertadores: 1985 ;River Plate * Argentine Primera División: 1989–90 ;Argentina *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the ' (FIFA), the ...

: 1986

As a manager

;Argentina * Summer Olympics Tournament gold medal: 2008

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Batista, Sergio 1962 births Living people Footballers from Buenos Aires Argentine footballers Association football midfielders Argentinos Juniors footballers Club Atlético River Plate footballers Nueva Chicago footballers Sagan Tosu players All Boys footballers Argentine Primera División players Primera Nacional players Japan Football League (1992–1998) players Argentina international footballers 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1987 Copa América players 1989 Copa América players 1990 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players Argentine expatriate footballers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate footballers in Japan Argentine football managers C.A. Bella Vista managers Argentinos Juniors managers Talleres de Córdoba managers Nueva Chicago managers Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba managers Argentina national under-20 football team managers Argentina national football team managers Shanghai Shenhua F.C. managers Bahrain national football team managers Qatar SC managers Uruguayan Primera División managers Argentine Primera División managers Primera B Nacional managers Chinese Super League managers Qatar Stars League managers Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Argentina 2011 Copa América managers Argentine expatriate football managers Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Uruguay Argentine expatriate sportspeople in China Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Bahrain Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Qatar Expatriate football managers in Uruguay Expatriate football managers in China Expatriate football managers in Bahrain Expatriate football managers in Qatar Argentine Internet celebrities