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\tBatista's come!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n \tFormer Argentina manager Sergio Batista has been appointed head coach of Shanghai Shenhua on a six-month deal to replace the sacked Jean Tigana, the big-spending club said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n \tShanghai, who are ninth in the Chinese Super League, fired Frenchman Tigana in April after a poor start to the season, replacing him with interim coach Jean-Florent Ibenge.<\/p>\n \n \tShanghai Shenhua FC<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \t"I hope that Shanghai Shenhua will be the best. There is perhaps no one word to describe my hopes," Batista, with the help of a translator, told a news conference.<\/p>\n \t"Perhaps the current situation of the team is not too ideal, but overall I think we will do something important and have a good result.<\/p>\n \t"This project is a challenge for me so I will do my best to win the league. But it is also a gamble. I believe if we do our best, we can do it," the 49-year-old added.<\/p>\n \tBatista, who said he wanted to sign Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, coached Argentina to Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games before replacing Diego Maradona as national coach.<\/p>\n \tHe was sacked after only a year following Argentina's failure to end an 18-year wait for a major title at the 2011 Copa America.<\/p>\n \tFrench striker Nicolas Anelka, who joined Shanghai from Chelsea in January and was player-coach after Tigana left, said he was unhappy at being kept in the dark about the appointment.<\/p>\n \n \tAnelka wasn't happy<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \t \tGood relationship<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n \tBut former Argentina midfielder Batista, who has the option of a one-year contract extension, said Anelka was a key part of the club's future and they already got on well together.<\/p>\n \t"First of all, I have a good relationship with Anelka. We have had good communication during the past few days. So we have been talking and, as a player, Anelka plays a very important role," Batista said.<\/p>\n \t"…he can bring a level of experience to help this team. Also, he has been very welcoming of my arrival…"<\/p>\n \tShanghai have been strongly linked with a move for Anelka's former Chelsea teammate Drogba, who has announced that he is leaving the Champions League winners at the end of June.<\/p>\n \tBatista, who will take charge for the first time in a friendly on Sunday against South African club Moroka Swallows, fuelled the speculation surrounding the Cote d'Ivoire striker.<\/p>\n \t"My initial thought is to bring Drogba to the club. He is a very good player and we will welcome him here… I very much hope that Drogba can join us," he said.<\/p>\n
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