Argentina will always be one of the highest profile national teams in soccer so it is big news that they officially announced Maradona's replacement as head coach - Sergio Batista.
Batista was appointed as coach of Argentina on Tuesday, just over three months after Diego Maradona departed in the wake of the country's loss to Germany in the World Cup quarterfinals.
Batista had been the acting coach since Maradona's contract was not renewed in late July and his appointment to a four-year contract by the Argentine Football Association was widely expected. In charge for three matches, he has won two, including a 4-1 victory over World Cup winner Spain. The only blemish was a 1-0 loss last month against Japan.
Batista's first match as the permanent coach will be Nov. 17 against archrival Brazil in Doha, Qatar. The team for the match was also announced Tuesday, headed by Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Batista, who turns 48 next week, was Maradona's teammate and a defensive midfielder on the 1986 team that won the World Cup. A youth coach for the Argentine Football Association, his name began to take on a higher profile after leading Argentina to the gold medal in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
The new coach seems to have the support of stars like Messi, who also spoke favorably about Maradona's 21 months in charge. In that period, Argentina won 18 of 24 games but also suffered shocking losses, including a 6-1 hammering at Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier. The 4-0 loss to Germany in the quarterfinals was humiliating for one of soccer's most fervent nations and two-time champions.
Maradona still has his supporters and, as recently as last week, said in an interview he expected to return one day as the national team coach.
"It is my destiny," said Maradona, who turned 50 on Saturday.
First of all, Maradona is a clown and I have to applaud Argentina for finally getting it right and kicking him to the curb. They walked a tight rope having him in charge and while it went well for a while, it predictably went down in flames when they played a great team (Germany).
Maradona is a legend obviously but he's not a good coach by any means. I can't say that I know too much about Batista or his coaching style but I'm going to guess he's a little more organized and knowledgeable of the game since he's had to work his way up, rather than just bank on being a God in his homeland.
It will take time to judge Batista while he's in charge of Argentina but this is definitely one of the most interesting developments in the coaching world to follow in the near future.
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