Batista quits as Argentina coach after Copa failure

Buenos Aires: Sergio Batista has stepped down as Argentina coach after his team was knocked out of the Copa America in the quarterfinals, the Argentinian Football Association (AFA) said on Monday. “The national teams commission has decided to rescind the contract,” AFA spokesman Ernesto Cherquis Bialo told a news conference. “Batista wasn’t sacked,” Bialo added. “(Batista) put his future at the head of the national team up for consideration by the (AFA) executive committee. [caption id=“attachment_48160” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Local media have made former Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella as favourite to replace Batista. Victor R Caivano/AP”]  [/caption] Bialo also said a friendly Argentina were due to play against Romania next month had been canceled. “The coaching staff of Argentina teams at all levels are under evaluation by the national teams commission,” he added. “There are no deadlines, there’s no rush, no urgency (to name a new coach) so there will be a process of consideration and study.” National teams director Carlos Bilardo, who as coach steered Argentina to their second World Cup triumph in Mexico in 1986, has also come under scrutiny and risks losing his job. Best player Argentina were favourites to win the Copa America they hosted but the loss to eventual winners Uruguay in the quarterfinals on penalties left Batista, who succeeded Diego Maradona after the 2010 World Cup, under pressure. A debate in Argentinian media grew over the days since that 16 July defeat concerning Batista’s competence and whether Argentina had lost their way. Previously Batista, holding midfielder in the 1986 World Cup-winning team, had steered the Argentinian Olympic side to their second successive soccer gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games. But despite boasting the world’s best player in Lionel Messi and gifted strikers in Gonzalo Higuain and Carlos Tevez, Batista failed to build a team around the Barcelona ace capable of winning the South American crown. The failure extended Argentina’s wait for a major title to 18 years when they won the Copa America in 1993 in Ecuador. Their youth sides, world under-20 champions five times between 1995 and 2007, have also fallen into a rut. Local media have made former Estudiantes coach Alejandro Sabella as favourite to take over the head coaching vacancy. Sabella steered Estudiantes to the South American club title with victory in the Libertadores Cup in 2009. That came after a long spell working as Daniel Passarella’s assistant, including four years at the Argentina helm ending at the 1998 World Cup finals in France. Reuters