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Argentina name Pekerman as new coach
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-09-17 10:20
Argentina named triple World Youth Cup winner Jose Pekerman as their new
national coach on Thursday, 48 hours after the shock resignation of Marcelo
Bielsa.
"We wish him all the best, we know who he is, he has a great track
record and personally I'm very happy he's back with us," said Argentine Football
Association (AFA) president Julio Grondona.
Pekerman, an exponent of flowing football, all-out attack and fair
play, was in charge of Argentina's under-20 team from 1994 to 2002, when they
won the World Youth Cup in 1995, 1997 and 2001.
Bielsa, who led Argentina to their first Olympic soccer gold medal last
month, left on Tuesday, saying he had run out of energy after six years in the
high-pressure job.
The introverted, eccentric Bielsa departed just as he appeared to have
won back the confidence of the public following his team's spectacular failure
at the 2002 World Cup, when they were knocked out in the first round.
Pekerman was second choice to step into the void but was given his
chance after former Boca Juniors coach Carlos Bianchi turned down the job,
saying he had other priorities outside football.
"I'm happy to be here again and I hope to repay the confidence which
Julio Grondona has placed in me," Pekerman told reporters. "I'm aware of the
responsibility I'm taking on."
TALENTED TEAM
Pekerman inherits a team brimming with young talent, much of which he
helped develop as the Under-20 coach.
His proteges include Pablo Aimar, Juan Roman Riquelme, Javier Saviola,
Walter Samuel, Esteban Cambiasso and Fabricio Coloccini.
Bielsa's resignation came after he had managed to blend a team
containing several players in their early 20s along with members of the older
generation such as Javier Zanetti, Cristian Gonzalez and Roberto Ayala.
Twice world champions Argentina are second in the South American World
Cup qualifying group, which is nearing the halfway mark, and are comfortably
placed to reach the 2006 tournament in Germany.
Pekerman faces a tough start to his reign, however, with World Cup
qualifiers against two of Argentina's fiercest rivals in four days.
They host Uruguay, their neighbours from across the River Plate, on
October 9 and travel to Santiago to meet Andean rivals Chile on October 12.
Pekerman was offered the job in 1998 following the departure of Daniel
Passarella but turned it down, saying he did not have the experience to coach
the senior side.
There was also speculation that he would take over from Bielsa after
the 2002 World Cup, but instead he resigned from his post with AFA and Bielsa
kept his job.
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