Batista is the successor to Maradona

The Argentinian Football Association have confirmed Sergio Batista as the head coach of the national team.

The 47-year-old has been given a contract to the end of the qualification period for the 2014 World Cup, which will be extended to included the finals should they qualify for the tournament in Brazil.

Batista, who took the under-23 side to gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, had been in caretaker charge since Diego Maradona left the post following the Albicelestes' run to the World Cup quarter-finals.

Under Batista's interim stewardship, the team recorded two friendly wins and one defeat, beating the Republic of Ireland 1-0 in August and world champions Spain 4-1 the following month, before suffering a 1-0 defeat in Japan.

Batista said: "I'm very happy. This is a big responsibility. I'm looking forward to carrying on working the way we've been doing and working towards our aims. I had faith on myself. When you take up a coaching role at a team, you set yourself goals and the biggest one is the national team."