José Néstor Pékerman Krimen (; born 3 September 1949) is an Argentine professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
coach and current manager of the
Venezuela national team. As a youth level coach for Argentina, he won the
FIFA World Youth Championship
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...
three times, and the U20
South American Youth Championship
The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American ...
twice. He coached the
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in men's international football and is administered by the Argentine Football Association, the governing body for football in Argentina.
Nicknamed ''La Albiceleste'' ('The White and S ...
in the
2006 FIFA World Cup
The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...
and became coach of the
Colombia national team in 2012. He subsequently managed the Colombia national team during the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups where he led the team to their best result in 2014, their first World Cup qualification after 16 years of absence.
Player career
Pékerman's career as a footballer was uneventful. 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 ...
, he played from 1970 to 1974 for
Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...
scoring 12 goals in 134 matches. He was transferred to
Independiente Medellín
Deportivo Independiente Medellín, also known as Independiente Medellín or DIM, is a Colombian professional football club based in Medellín that currently plays in the Categoría Primera A. They play their home games at Estadio Atanasio Girardo ...
, in Colombia, where he scored 15 goals in 101 matches.
His player days ended at age 28 with a serious knee injury. Pékerman supported himself and his family with various odd jobs, including a stint as a taxi driver.
Coaching career
Youth coaching
![Sorin pekerman copa juvenil](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Sorin_pekerman_copa_juvenil.jpg)
Back in Argentina, Pékerman worked as a youth coach for
Chacarita Juniors
Club Atlético Chacarita Juniors (usually known simply as Chacarita) is an Argentine football club headquartered in Villa Crespo, Buenos Aires, while the stadium is located in Villa Maipú, General San Martín Partido of Greater Buenos Aires.
...
and then occupied the same position with
Argentinos Juniors
Asociación Atlética Argentinos Juniors is an Argentine sports club based in La Paternal, Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its football team, which currently plays in the Argentine Primera División, and was recognized as one of the ...
. He then moved to Chile to coach
Colo-Colo
Club Social y Deportivo Colo-Colo () is a Chilean professional football club based in Macul, Santiago. Founded in 1925 by David Arellano they play in the Chilean Primera División, from which they have never been relegated. The team has played ...
's youth divisions.
In 1994, he was offered to coach the Argentina national under-20 and under-17 sides by the
Argentine Football Association
The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torn ...
. This caused some surprise as his
résumé
A résumé, sometimes spelled resume (or alternatively resumé), also called a curriculum vitae (CV), is a document created and used by a person to present their background, skills, and accomplishments. Résumés can be used for a variety of re ...
did not include any major achievements at this stage. He teamed up with
Hugo Tocalli
Hugo Daniel Tocalli (born 21 January 1948) is an Argentine former professional football player and coach. He played over 400 games as a goalkeeper, and went on to coach a number of clubs as well as the Argentina under-20 team.
Playing career
To ...
and coach Eduardo Urtasun.
Pékerman's success, however, silenced the critics: his under-20 team won the
FIFA World Youth Championship
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 wh ...
three times,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
(Qatar),
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
(Malaysia), and
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
(Argentina), thus giving the names to his three pet dogs - Qatar, Malaysia and Argentina. The team also won the two
South American Youth Championship
The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American ...
s in 1997 and 1999.
When the national coach
Daniel Passarella
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
resigned after the
1998 World Cup, Pékerman was offered his position. He declined, assuming instead the position of general manager of all national teams.
Marcelo Bielsa
Marcelo Alberto Bielsa Caldera (, nicknamed ''El Loco Bielsa'' , meaning "The Crazy Bielsa"; born 21 July 1955) is an Argentine professional football manager who was most recently the head coach of Premier League club Leeds United. He is a forme ...
was hired as coach on Pékerman's recommendation, and remained in charge until after Argentina's gold medal performance in the 2004 Summer Olympics.
In 2003, Pékerman moved to Spain at the behest of Argentine businessman
Daniel Grinbank, who had acquired
Spanish Second Division
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
side
CD Leganés. After a few months serving as director of football, the project crumbled and Pékerman left Spain.
When Marcelo Bielsa resigned as coach, Pékerman was one of the two candidates for the coaching job, alongside
Carlos Bianchi
Carlos Arcesio Bianchi (born 26 April 1949), nicknamed ''El Virrey'' (''The Viceroy''), is an Argentine former football player and manager. A prolific goalscorer, although he had a bright career as a forward in Argentina and France, Bianchi is ...
, who had left
Boca Juniors
Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine sports club headquartered in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is mostly known for its professional football team which, since its promotion in 1913, has always played in the A ...
a few months earlier, and wanted to take a
sabbatical year
A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work.
The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
away from football.
Argentina
On 15 September 2004, Pékerman was named coach of
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 ...
, which qualified for the
2006 World Cup. The nation dominated its initial two group stage matches and drew with the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
in the third match, emerging on top of their group on goal difference. The ''Albicelestes'' then moved on to the round of 16, beating
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
2–1
after extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played onl ...
in a comeback victory.
In the quarter-finals, Argentina went ahead 1–0 against hosts
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, but shortly before the end of the match, Germany equalised through a
Miroslav Klose
Miroslav Josef Klose (, pl, Mirosław Józef Klose; born 9 June 1978 as Mirosław Marian Klose) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who is the head coach of Austrian Footb ...
header. Germany would go on to win on penalties, sending Argentina out of the tournament. Pékerman made defensive substitutions, including taking off
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.[Esteban Cambiasso
Esteban Matías Cambiasso Deleau (; born 18 August 1980), nicknamed ''"Cuchu"'', is an Argentine former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
During his career, Cambiasso won 21 official titles, the majority of which were won dur ...]
, and after the loss, announced his resignation.
Argentine Football Association
The Argentine Football Association ( es, Asociación del Fútbol Argentino, ; AFA) is the governing body of football in Argentina based in Buenos Aires. It organises the main divisions of Argentine league system (from Primera División to Torn ...
(AFA) President
Julio Grondona
Julio Humberto Grondona (September 18, 1931 – July 30, 2014) was an Argentine football executive. He served as president of the Argentine Football Association (''Asociación del Fútbol Argentino'') from 1979 until his death in 2014. He also se ...
tried to dissuade Pékerman from leaving, but it was later announced that
Alfio Basile Alfio () is an Italian given name. Notable people with the name include:
* Alfio Basile, Argentina football coach
* Alfio Bonanno, Australian tenor
* Alfio Caltabiano, Italian actor
* Alfio Contini, Italian cinematographer
* Alfio Fazio, Italian ...
, who had previously coached Argentina during the
1994 World Cup, would replace him as coach.
Coaching in Mexico
![José Pekerman Deportivo Toluca 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Jos%C3%A9_Pekerman_Deportivo_Toluca_2007.jpg)
On 30 May 2007, Pékerman resumed his coaching career, taking up the position of head coach of
Club Toluca
Deportivo Toluca Fútbol Club S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Club Deportivo Toluca, is a Mexican football club, playing in the Primera División de México, the top-flight of Mexican football. Toluca's stadium, Estadio Nemesio Díez Riega i ...
in Mexico, replacing fellow Argentine
Américo Gallego
Américo Rubén "El Tolo" Gallego (born 25 April 1955) is an Argentine football coach and former player. As a midfielder, he played 73 times for the Argentina national team during his playing career.
Playing career
As a player, Gallego debuted ...
. At the end of the
Clausura 2008 tournament, he was replaced by
José Manuel de la Torre
José Manuel de la Torre Menchaca (born 13 November 1965), popularly nicknamed ''Chepo'', is a Mexican former professional footballer and a manager. As a player, de la Torre played as an attacking midfielder.
Playing career
"Chepo" came up ...
.
On 23 February 2009, Pékerman was appointed as the head coach of
UANL Tigres
Club de Fútbol Tigres de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León, simply known as Tigres UANL or Tigres, is a Mexican professional football club based in San Nicolás de los Garza, a city in the Monterrey metropolitan area, Nuevo León. Foun ...
after the sacking of
Manuel Lapuente
Manuel Lapuente Díaz (born 15 May 1944) is a Mexican former professional footballer and manager.
Playing career
He has played 13 matches for Mexico and scored 5 goals.
Career as manager
He coached Mexico at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and lead ...
following a series of bad results. After the end of
Clausura 2009, however, he was terminated and replaced by
Daniel Guzmán.
In July 2010, it had been reported that Pékerman was in serious talks with the
Australian national team, as well as talks with the
Japanese national team about taking over the role as senior manager following the resignation of their managers.
Colombia
In January 2012, Pékerman became the new coach of the
Colombia national team, replacing ousted coach
Leonel Álvarez. Pékerman was the third coach of the Colombia team during the South American World Cup qualifiers; before Álvarez,
Hernán Darío Gómez
Hernán Darío Gómez Jaramillo (; born 3 February 1956), also known as El Bolillo (; ''The Baton''), is a Colombian former football manager and former player who played as a defensive midfielder.
Career
He was an active player from 1966 to 1 ...
was at the helm. For his first match, a friendly against Mexico, Pékerman impressed, with the Colombians completely taking control of the friendly in an eventual 2–0 victory. In his first
qualifying match for the
2014 World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
, a struggling Colombia managed to win 0–1 over
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
in
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...
. Pékerman, however, was criticized for using a long-range style of play rather than a close midfield passing control. This resulted in a weak Colombia side that lost to
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
1–0 away from home, his first defeat.
In his home debut, Pékerman orchestrated an astonishing comeback as Colombia demolished
2011 Copa América
The 2011 Campeonato Sudamericano Copa América, better known as the 2011 Copa América or the Copa América 2011 Argentina, was the 43rd edition of the Copa América, the main international football tournament for national teams in South Americ ...
champions
Uruguay
Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
4–0 in the seventh round of World Cup qualifiers. Under his direction, Colombia also won 1–3 away over
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and 2–0 over
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
at home in
Barranquilla
Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...
. A few days later, Pékerman experimented without many star players such as
Radamel Falcao
Radamel Falcao García Zárate (born 10 February 1986) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Rayo Vallecano and often captains the Colombia national team. Nicknamed "''El Tigre''" (Spanish for ''The Tige ...
and
James Rodríguez
James David Rodríguez Rubio (born 12 July 1991) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Super League Greece club Olympiacos and the Colombia national team. He has been praised in the past ...
against
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, resulting in a comfortable 3–0 home victory. For the last match of 2012, Colombia drew 2014 World Cup hosts
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
1–1 despite missing two of the squad's star players.
In the opening match of 2013, Pékerman experimented yet again, this time against the
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
side; he used only substitutes in a 4–1 victory, opting not to deploy senior stars, including Radamel Falcao. During the next round of qualifiers, Pékerman continued with the promising 4–2–2–2 formation that facilitated Colombia's comfortable defeat of
Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
in a 5–0 home victory. Pékerman, however, decided to use a different formation in the match, 4–4–1–1, which led to a shocking 1–0 away loss to neighbours
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
. He was heavily criticized for experimenting with his side's formation, a loss that took the nation from second to third place in the qualifying table. In the match against his home nation Argentina, Pékerman changed the lineup and formation to better "deal" with the South American giants, which led to a hard-fought 0–0 draw. Despite this, Pékerman was again questioned with his lineup choices.
After Colombia qualified for the 2014 World Cup after a 3–3 home draw against Chile, Pékerman expressed his joy for helping Colombia return to the World Cup for the first time in 16 years, considering it to be "one of the greatest joys in his life." Following Colombia's qualification, Pékerman was granted Colombian citizenship from
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
An economist by profession and a journalist by trade, ...
, the
president of Colombia
The president of Colombia ( es, Presidente de Colombia), officially known as the president of the Republic of Colombia ( es, Presidente de la República de Colombia) or president of the nation ( es, Presidente de la Nacion) is the head of stat ...
.
However, he did not accept it.
Colombia won all three of its group matches (scoring nine goals and conceding only two) and went on to defeat Uruguay in the Round of 16 before losing to the host nation of Brazil in the quarter-finals. In August 2014, Pékerman extended his contract with Colombia until 2018.
For the second consecutive time, Pékerman qualified Colombia for the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
this time for the
2018 edition in Russia. Colombia suffered a controversial defeat in their first group stage game against a well-organized and determined
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, but then came out much stronger to inflict a 3–0 victory over
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
(effectively knocking them out of the tournament in the process). After beating
Senegal
Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...
1–0 in the last game of the group stage, Colombia qualified to the round of 16 as first in their group. After a bitter and contested match, Colombia lost 4–3 on penalties to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
after a 1–1 draw. In September 2018, Pékerman decided not to renew his contract, and left his position as Colombia manager after six years in charge.
Venezuela
In November 2021, Pékerman became the head coach of
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
Honours
Manager
;Argentina U20
*
South American Youth Championship
The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American ...
:
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
,
1999; runner-up
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
,
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
*
FIFA U-20 World Cup
The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members’ men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 whe ...
:
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
,
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
,
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
;Argentina
FIFA Confederations Cup
The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...
runner-up:
2005
File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...
Individual
* South American Coach of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2014
* IFFHS Best National Coach of the Year Nominee: 2013 (5th)
Management style and legacy
Pékerman is known for his tactical management style, often selecting the players that fit his style of coaching, regardless of how talented a player is. Pékerman can make controversial selections with line-ups against certain teams. He experimented heavily with the Argentinean youth squads when he was coaching them.
Before the 2006 World Cup began, Pékerman made the controversial decision to drop established defenders
Javier Zanetti and
Walter Samuel
Walter Adrián Samuel (; born Walter Adrián Luján; 23 March 1978) is an Argentine former professional footballer. Samuel has been regarded as one of the best centre-backs of his generation, and as one of football's toughest defenders, with f ...
. When Argentina was eliminated by Germany in the quarter-finals, his substitution decision caused storms of criticism, as well. Despite the dramatic loss, Pékerman was still hailed by many fans and press as a very effective coach and the "Pékerman Era" is regarded as one that brought a lot of pride to the country. His team lost its temper after the elimination and instigated a huge brawl, which was believed to be a major factor in his resignation.
Managerial statistics
:''Statistics accurate as of 20 November 2022''
Personal life
Pékerman was born in
Villa Domínguez,
Entre Ríos. His grandparents, who were
Ukrainian Jews
The history of the Jews in Ukraine dates back over a thousand years; Jewish communities have existed in the territory of Ukraine from the time of the Kievan Rus' (late 9th to mid-13th century). Some of the most important Jewish religious and ...
, immigrated from Ukraine and settled in the agricultural colonies of
Entre Ríos Province
Entre Ríos (, "Between Rivers") is a central province of Argentina, located in the Mesopotamia region. It borders the provinces of Buenos Aires (south), Corrientes (north) and Santa Fe (west), and Uruguay in the east.
Its capital is Paraná ( ...
.
Following Colombia's qualification for the 2014 World Cup, Pekerman stated his desire to be a naturalized Colombian, which was granted by President
Juan Manuel Santos
Juan Manuel Santos Calderón (; born 10 August 1951) is a Colombian politician who was the President of Colombia from 2010 to 2018. He was the sole recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize.
An economist by profession and a journalist by trade, ...
the following day.
References
External links
Biographyby
FIFA
FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...
About Pekerman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pekerman, Jose
1949 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Entre Ríos Province
Association football midfielders
Argentine footballers
Argentinos Juniors footballers
Independiente Medellín footballers
Argentine Primera División players
Categoría Primera A players
Argentine expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Colombia
Expatriate football managers in Chile
Expatriate football managers in Mexico
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Chile
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Mexico
Argentine expatriate sportspeople in Colombia
Argentine football managers
Argentina national under-20 football team managers
Argentina national football team managers
2005 FIFA Confederations Cup managers
2006 FIFA World Cup managers
2014 FIFA World Cup managers
Deportivo Toluca F.C. managers
Tigres UANL managers
Colombia national football team managers
Argentine Jews
Jewish footballers
Jewish Argentine sportspeople
Argentine people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent
Argentine emigrants to Colombia
2015 Copa América managers
Copa América Centenario managers
2018 FIFA World Cup managers
Argentine expatriate football managers
Argentine taxi drivers
Venezuela national football team managers