How and why was José Pékerman kicked out of the Colombian National Team after Russia 2018?

Joseph Pekerman He is one of the South American coaches who knows better than anyone how the games are played. playoffs. After his passage with great success by the Argentine national team, the Colombian Football Federation went to look for him and managed to classify the Colombia selection to the World Cups in Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018. However, after years of celebrations and good times, the Colombian board decided to remove the strategist in a press conference that is remembered to this day.

Although everyone saw Colombia As one of the best teams in South America and coming to rub shoulders with the top in the world, the press of the northern country maintained criticism of the Argentine coach. Not even his advance to the second phase of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil was enough to end the questions.

Pekerman, 72, was appointed Venezuela’s technical director in November last year, when there were no longer any chances of qualifying for Qatar 2022. His goal? Develop a project that allows the only nation in South America that has not qualified for a World Cup to be a real contender for a place in the 2026 edition, which will be jointly organized by the United States, Mexico and Canada.

HOW AND WHY JOSÉ PÉKERMAN WAS KILLED FROM THE COLOMBIA NATIONAL TEAM

More than six years lasted the successful relationship between the Colombia selection and Joseph Pekerman. The end, as the Colombian press points out, was not in the best way, or at least as the DT would have imagined it, especially for everything that was achieved during his tenure. On September 4, 2018, the president of the FCB, Ramon Jesurun announced the departure of the Argentine coach citing “personal reasons”. “José Pékerman has expressed his decision to withdraw from the Colombian National Team, he considers a cycle that was highly successful to have been completed”said.

Over the years, it has been known that this version of the Colombian director did not adjust to the truth of the facts. According to El Tiempo de Colombia, the then leaders of the Colombian Federation, Jesurún and Álvaro González Alzate, decided to leave Pékerman, while the 2018 World Cup in Russia was being played.

“The truth is that Jesurún and González Alzate took Pékerman out. They took him out because of Pascual Lezcano”said a manager of that time to Time. Lezcano is known to have been the businessman of the Argentine DT and had sports manager roles in the Colombian National Team. Today, in the Venezuelan team, he fulfills the same functions alongside José Néstor.

“That was decided since the new executive committee was elected, basically due to the influence of Lezcano. Jesurún and González could not stand that Pascual was the one who imposed the guidelines for logistics, concentration, travel, hotels and access to the dressing room and the approach to the players ”, explained a leader to the Colombian media.

“Lezcano made that group very closed and that caused great annoyance to the directors, especially Jesurún and González, who, whatever it was, were the bosses. They did not understand how a subordinate decided the logistics, the concentrations, the trips and gave them orders. That kept them very upset.”added another manager who is still active in El TIEMPO.

WHAT PÉKERMAN SAID AFTER ASSUMING AS DT OF VENEZUELA

“There was a bit of everything. I have no proof that someone tried to get me out. There are times when there is a crisis and it seems that nobody wants to grab anything. But there are also other moments when things are going well, when you see that there is potential and other desires and other situations begin to appear. Competition is like that and, above all, everywhere there is always a desire to achieve something more”expressed Pekerman to TNT Sports about his departure from Colombia.

This Tuesday destiny and football will make Pékerman and Colombia face each other again in Puerto Ordaz. In Colombian lands they know what the Argentine teams are capable of and they assure that despite the fact that Venezuela is eliminated it will make things difficult for Rueda’s team.

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