Pekerman to lead Colombia
Saturday, 14th January 2012 at 07:08am
Former Argentina national coach Jose Pekerman is set to become the new coach of Colombia, the Colombian Football Federation has announced.
The Argentine, 62, who led the albicelestes to the quarterfinals of the 2006 World Cup in Germany where they were eliminated by the hosts, will fill the void that was created when previous incumbent Leonel Alvarez was fired after a poor start to the 2014 Brazil World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Colombian Football Federation released a statement on its website stating: "The executive committee of the Colombian Football Federation, headed by president Luis H Bedoya Giraldo, has reached an agreement in the last hours with Argentinian Jose Pekerman to become the new head coach of the senior Colombia team.
"In the coming days it is expected the contract will be signed, which will unite the nation ahead of the remaining South American qualifiers for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil."
Colombia last reached the World Cup finals back in 1998 where they failed to progress from a group containing Romania, England and Tunisia, finishing third.
Former England captain David Beckham scored a trademark free kick in England's 2-0 win over Los cafeteros (the coffee growers), which eliminated them from the competition.
Pekerman's new side currently sit in sixth place in the CONMEBOL qualification standings with four points from their opening three games.
The Argentine's first competitive match in charge of Colombia will see him and his side travel to Peru, a team currently below them in the standings.
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