Nick Dorrington

 

Boca Juniors claimed their 23rd Argentine title on the Tuesday before Christmas at the end of a tumultuous season that saw their president Pedro Pompilio unexpectedly die of a heart attack and a number of key players miss the campaign through injury.

In such adversity, it is often the case that the most experienced players step up and take on more than their usual share of responsibility. Juan Román Riquelme certainly did his bit, but it was the role of defensive midfielder Sebastián Battaglia that was the most impressive in Boca’s title triumph.

A poll conducted by Argentine sports daily Olé on the day following the final game of the season saw 63.4% of the participants vote Battaglia as Boca’s best player of the campaign, a significant distance ahead of Riquelme (18.5%), Jesús Dátolo (4.8%), Lucas Viatri (2.5%) and Fabián Vargas (2.1%). Not bad for a player who spent a fair chunk of 2007 sat on the substitutes bench following the emergence of Éver Banega.

It was Banega’s move to Europe, with Valencia, in January of 2008 that allowed Battaglia to resume his duties at the bottom of Boca’s midfield diamond on a regular basis. After a stuttering start to the year he has really come into his own, returning to the sort of form that made him such a vital component of Carlos Bianchi’s highly successful Boca side of the late 90s and early 21st century.

A defensive midfielder in the classic sense of the phrase, Battaglia goes about his work quietly, breaking up opposition attacks with precise tackling and providing accurate distribution to the team’s more creative players. A paltry four yellow cards during the Apertura campaign illustrated the advantages of positional sense and well-timed tackling in a position that is often misinterpreted by European sides, who appear to favour physical build and lung-power over technical proficiency.

One coach of a European side who perfectly understands the advantages of an accomplished defensive midfielder is Villarreal’s Chilean coach Manuel Pellegrini. Pellegrini was a successful coach in South America before making the move to Europe, winning titles in Chile, Ecuador and Argentina, and has a deep understanding of the importance of the role within any side. It should therefore come as no surprise that it was with Villarreal that Battaglia embarked on his only European adventure to date, albeit an unsuccessful one.

With Riquelme already on his books, Pellegrini was keen to reunite the playmaker-defensive midfielder combination that had been so central to Boca’s Copa Libertadores triumphs, and thus paid €2.8M for Battaglia’s services in December of 2003. However, Battaglia struggled to replicate his Boca form in Spain, as a series of injuries and problems with his family adapting to life away from Argentina limited his effectiveness. In July 2005, just a year and a half after joining, he returned to Boca.

An encouraging start back in his homeland faltered as Fernando Gago established himself as the defensive midfielder of choice under Alfio Basile, with Battaglia often forced onto the right hand side of a midfield diamond. His form dipped to the point that even when Gago was sold to Real Madrid in December of 2006, it was youth team product Éver Banega that took over duties at the bottom of the diamond.

It wasn’t until Banega left for Europe and Carlos Ischia replaced Miguel Angel Russo as coach that Battaglia rediscovered his touch, and began to show the sort of form that made him such a highly-rated commodity in the first place. A recall to the national team followed as the Clausura came to a close, but it was in the Apertura that Battaglia firmly re-established himself as one of the best defensive midfielders in world football.

He started each and every one of Boca’s eighteen regular season Apertura games, improving as the campaign progressed. By the time Boca faced San Lorenzo in their first game of the three-way playoff to decide the title, Battaglia was back to his imperious best, breaking up San Lorenzo’s attacks and providing the backbone for a 3-1 victory that all but sealed Boca the Apertura crown. That such a performance came against a team coached by Russo will have made it an even sweeter return to prominence.

Battaglia’s re-emergence has not got unnoticed, with his agent suggesting that he has received offers from a club in London, as well as two Italian sides, one of which is rumoured to be AC Milan. At 28, time is running out should Battaglia wish to give Europe another try, and with Boca academy product Exequiel Benavídez pushing for a first team place, it could be the perfect time for him to showcase his talent on a wider stage once more.

However, with a good chance of adding to his four Copa Libertadores titles in 2009, he may favour waiting until next summer before waving Buenos Aires good-bye for a second time.