(Reuters) – Former Argentina and Colombia coach Jose Pekerman has been appointed to handle Venezuela, the Venezuela Soccer Federation (FVF) mentioned on Tuesday.
Venezuela are the one South American nation by no means to achieve the World Cup finals and sit backside of the 10-team qualifying group with seven factors from 14 video games.
Venezuela are presently 10 factors adrift of fourth-placed Colombia and Peru in fifth.
With the highest 4 groups qualifying robotically for Qatar, Pekerman has little likelihood of taking his new fees to the Qatar 2022 finals however mentioned he arrived “crammed with hope.”
“I do know I’m in the fitting place,” the 72-year-old Argentine instructed reporters on Tuesday.
Pekerman is without doubt one of the area’s most skilled and extremely revered coaches, with time spent at membership sides in Argentina, Chile and Mexico.
He has additionally managed Argentina, who he led on the 2006 World Cup, and took Colombia to the World Cup quarter-finals in Brazil in 2014.
He shall be Venezuela’s fourth coach because the qualifiers for Qatar started after Rafael Dudamel, Jose Peseiro and interim boss Leo Gonzalez.
FVF president Jorge Gimenez mentioned Pekerman’s appointment on a five-year contract marked a “second of transformation for our nationwide soccer.”
(Reporting by Andrew Downie; Modifying by Ken Ferris)
