Maybe it was just a preemptive move to avoid being fired, but Sergio Batista has resigned as Argentina manager after a shockingly awful Copa America in which hosts Argentina were eliminated in the quarterfinals. Argentine Football Association spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo held a news conference on Monday in which he said that Batista had handed in his resignation and that the AFA board had accepted it.
Sergio Batista Resigns As Argentina Manager After Copa America Flameout
“I dont know the reasons,” Bialo said. “What I know is that yesterday we saw people play in the Monumental and Argentina wasn’t there.”
With a team full of stars and being the tournament hosts, Argentina was expected to compete for a record 15th Copa America title. Instead, they won just one match all tournament and saw Uruguay go on to win the trophy to claim their 15th title and knock Argentina from the top spot in all-time South American championships. As a result, it was expected that the AFA would fire Batista, but it appears as if he has beaten them to the punch by resigning.
It wasn't just the disappointing results that did Batista in. His team played poorly for most of the tournament and Batista completely changed his team halfway through the competition. He has a plethora of attacking options and never seemed to settle on the right combination, meanwhile his midfield was often disjointed. Javier Pastore did not get a start all tournament, which left many bewildered, and it never seemed as if Batista had a tactical plan for his team. Add in rumblings of discontent within the team and little went right for him.
With Batista out, the AFA must now find a new manager to lead Argentina with 2014 World Cup qualifying set to start on October 7. It is expected that they will take at least a week before naming Batista’s successor with former Argentina player and Estudiantes manager Alejandro Sabella is the popular name to get the post.
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