Daniel Batista Lima
Daniel Batista Lima (Greek: Ντανιέλ Μπατίστα Λίμα; born 9 September 1964) is a Greek former professional footballer of Cape Verdean descent who played as a forward. He has been given the title "Gullit of the poor" (Greek: "Γκούλιτ των φτωχών") by the Italian press after an impressive display against Torino.[1] He is the Technical Director of Ethnikos Piraeus.
| Batista playing for Olympiacos | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Daniel Batista Lima | ||
| Date of birth | 9 September 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | São Vicente, Cape Verde | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Forward | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Ethnikos Piraeus (technical director) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1983–1986 | Feyenoord Rotterdam | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1987 | Feyenoord Rotterdam | ||
| 1987–1989 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 67 | (14) |
| 1989–1992 | AEK Athens | 90 | (39) |
| 1992–1995 | Olympiacos | 78 | (16) |
| 1995–1999 | AEK Athens | 77 | (28) |
| 1999–2001 | Aris | 5 | (0) |
| Total | 317 | (97) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994–1997 | Greece | 14 | (2) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2003–2007 | Diagoras | ||
| 2007–2008 | Fostiras | ||
| 2008–2009 | Nea Ionia | ||
| 2009–2013 | AEK Athens U20 | ||
| 2013 | Peramaikos | ||
| 2014–2015 | Niki Volos (technical director) | ||
| 2021– | Ethnikos Piraeus (technical director) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Club career
Batista started his football career at the academies of Feyenoord Rotterdam. After playing there a while a good friend of him and also a Feyenoord supporter brought him to Greece to follow his career there. Batista played for Ethnikos Piraeus in whose colors he impressed and soon became an interest of the big clubs of Athens. Finally, in the summer of 1989, he prefers to transfer to AEK Athens, while Olympiacos also strongly claimed him.
It didn't take long for him to impress at AEK as well. He started very well from his very first season at AEK, even though he had some injuries. Alongside Patikas and Christodoulou, he formed a very good trio in the "yellow-black" offense. The following season was not a good one for the team, but Batista again had a very good season, while among other things he also scored the winning goal against Olympiacos.[2] In both of these years, Batista played mainly as a striker, but the arrival of Dimitriadis and Alexandris in the summer of 1991, made Bajević to play Batista behind the two strikers, in order to "fit" them all in the starting eleven. Batista formed an excellent duo with Dimitriadis in attack and helped AEK to win the championship. He also has excellent performances for the UEFA Cup.
In the summer of 1992, with the expiration of his contract and during a period of administrative changes at AEK, he decided to move to Olympiacos, displeasing the people of the "yellow-blacks". In the club of Piraeus, he had a good presence, but did not reach the high standards he at AEK. However he scored many goals in the matches against his former club. In the summer of 1995, he returned to AEK and got an excellent performance again, as he played a big part in winning the cup, scoring 2 times in the final with Apollon Athens.[3] The following season was also great, despite facing some injuries, creating an excellent trio in the attack with Kostis and Nikolaidis, in a season where AEK was again crowned cup winner. In AEK he played for another 2 seasons and despite the new injuries contributed to club. With AEK he won 1 championship, 2 cups, 2 Super Cups and 1 League Cup.[4] In the summer of 1999, he was released from the club and moved to Aris.[5] Batista retired after the end of the 2000–01 season.
International career
Batista naturalized a Greek citizen, and debuted in the Greece national team on 12 October 1994. He holds the distinction of being the only Greek athlete of black ethnicity to do so. He played 14 times scoring twice.[6]
Managing career
After his playing days were over, Batista coached Diagoras, Fostiras, he was the director of football of Lamia, head coach of AO Nea Ionia, AEK Athens U20, Peramaikos and a technical director of Niki Volos. From the summer of 2021 he is the Technical Director of Ethnikos Piraeus.[7]
Personal life
Batista's uncle, Noni Lima was a former footballer who had a successful career in Greece at Panionios. His nephew and Noni's son, Konstantinos is a player of Episkopi.
Career statistics
| National team | Season | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | 1994 | 6 | 1 |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 2 | 1 | |
| Total | 14 | 2 | |
Honours
AEK Athens
- Alpha Ethniki: 1991–92
- Greek Cup: 1995–96, 1996–97
- Greek Super Cup: 1989, 1996
- Greek League Cup: 1990
- Pre-Mediterranean Cup: 1991
Olympiacos
- Greek Super Cup: 1992
References
- ^ "Ο «Γκούλιτ των φτωχών» που έκανε πλούσιο το ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο. Ο Ντανιέλ Μπατίστα στο Sport-Retro.gr". 9 September 2019.
- ^ "Ιδού η Ρόδος, ιδού και το πήδημα". 6 February 2020.
- ^ "«Ενέργειες που γίνονται με κομπιούτερ»: Η ιστορική επτάρα της ΑΕΚ στον Απόλλωνα στον τελικό του '96". sport-fm.gr.
- ^ "Ντανιέλ Μπατίστα". kitrinomavro.gr.
- ^ "Απομένουν οι λεπτομέρειες για να πάει στον Άρη". tanea.gr. 16 July 1999.
- ^ "Greece matches 1990–1995" (PDF). epo.gr.
- ^ "Εθνικός: Προπονητής ο Καλύβας – Τεχνικός διευθυντής ο Μπατίστα". onsports.gr. 10 July 2021.
External links
- Daniel Batista Lima at UEFA
- Daniel Batista Lima at FootballDatabase.eu
- Daniel Batista Lima at National-Football-Teams.com
- Daniel Batista Lima at WorldFootball.net
- RSSSF – Rec.sport.soccer Player of the Year 1998