Sebastián Alejandro Battaglia (born 8 November 1980) is an Argentine former
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
and manager.
He spent most of his career with Argentine club Boca Juniors, but also had a brief spell with Spanish side
Villarreal
Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.
The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
. At international level, he made 10 appearances for the Argentina national team between 2003 and 2009. Battaglia has been described in his club profile as displaying good positioning, being a ball-winner and possessing good aerial ability.
Battaglia is the most decorated player in Boca Juniors' history, having won 17 titles with the club between 1998 and 2012. His last championship playing for Boca was the
2011–12 Copa Argentina
The 2011–12 Copa Argentina was the third edition of the Copa Argentina, and the first since 1970. The competition began on August 31, 2011 and ended on August 8, 2012. The tournament featured 186 clubs from the top five levels of the Argentine f ...
.
Club career
Even though he was born in
Santa Fe Province
The Province of Santa Fe ( es, Provincia de Santa Fe, ) is a province of Argentina, located in the center-east of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise Chaco (divided by the 28th parallel south), Corrientes, Entre R ...
, Sebastián began his career with the Boca Juniors' reserve team. He made his professional debut on 31 May 1998, and quickly became an important player for Boca Juniors'. He played for 5 years at the club, when in the middle of the 2003–2004 season,
Villarreal CF
Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...
of
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")
, i ...
bought 50% of his contract for 2.8 million
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
s and acquired his services. Villarreal was considered an excellent destination for Battaglia as there were already plenty of former Boca players such as
Martín Palermo
Martín Palermo (; born 7 November 1973) is an Argentine football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Platense.
Palermo played for Boca Juniors and the Argentina national team. A prolific goalscorer ...
,
Juan Román Riquelme
Juan Román Riquelme (; born 24 June 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer and current vice-president of Boca Juniors, the club where he spent the majority of his playing career.Diego Cagna, Rodolfo Arruabarrena and
Fabricio Coloccini
Fabricio Coloccini (; ; born 22 January 1982) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Coloccini began his club career at Boca Juniors in his native Argentina attracting the attention of A.C. Milan. He failed ...
at the club.
Battaglia played only a season and a half at Villareal, and never displayed the form that had made him such a hot property in Argentina. His family also had trouble adjusting to their new life in Spain. After an injury stopped him playing for almost 6 months, he decided to return with his family to Argentina. In July 2005, after some prolonged negotiations between Boca Juniors and Villarreal, he got his wish.
Back at Boca Juniors he recaptured his old form and started to improve his game, becoming club captain and being called up to the
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
on 8 October 2005. He was also a starter in the
friendly match
An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...
against
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...
in November of the same year.
During the 'Torneo de Verano' of 2008, Battaglia scored in the Superclásico against arch rivals River Plate, in a game where which Boca Juniors won 2–0. On 4 May 2008, in the 'Torneo Clausura' Battaglia would again score against River Plate, by heading in a goal from a corner which won Boca the game at 1–0.
On 11 December 2011, Battaglia entered the pitch as a substitute to play the last minutes of the final match of the 2011 Apertura (that Boca Juniors had already won two matches earlier), therefore being part of the title-winning squad. Thus, he became the most successful player in Boca Juniors history, with 18 trophies.
Coaching and later career
On 20 March 2018, Battaglia was appointed manager of
Primera Nacional
Primera Nacional (usually called simply Nacional B, in English "National B Division", and known as Primera B Nacional until the 2019–20 season) is the second division of the Argentine football league system. The competition is made up of 37 team ...
club
Club Almagro
Club Almagro is an Argentine sports club from José Ingenieros, Buenos Aires, although its headquarters are in the Almagro district. The football team currently plays in the Primera Nacional, the second division of the Argentine football league s ...
, following the resignation of
Alfredo Grelak
Alfredo Grelak (born 20 June 1970 in Berazategui, Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a defender for clubs in Argentina, Chile, Spain and France.
Clubs (player)
* Quilmes 1987–1994
* Racing de ...
. This was his first ever experience as a coach. He made his debut against the Instituto on 21 March in a 0-0 draw. Failing to secure promotion on May 11, Battaglia was fired.
A week after being fired at Almagro, Battaglia was appointed assistant coach of Julio César Falcioni at Banfield. The duo left the club at the end of 2018.
In the beginning of 2020, Battaglia was appointed manager of Boca Juniors' reserve team. In July 2021, Battaglia was named as an interim replacement for Boca Juniors manager
Miguel Ángel Russo
Miguel Ángel Russo (born 9 April 1956) is an Argentine professional football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder. He is the current manager of Rosario Central.
Playing career
Club career
Russo was a one club man; ...
, who was in isolation together with the majority of the first team squad, after a defeat to Atletico Mineiro after a player had been tested positive. He was in charge for two games.
On 17 August 2021, Battaglia was named interim manager of Boca until December, after Russo left.
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
Copa Intercontinental
The European/South American Cup, more commonly known as the Intercontinental Cup and from 1980 to 2004 as the Toyota European/South American Cup (abbreviated as Toyota Cup) for sponsorship reasons, was an international football competition end ...
(2):
2000
File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
*
Copa Argentina
The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...
Copa Argentina
The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...