Jose Pekerman, the coach who guided Colombia’s national team to the World Cup 2014 quarterfinals has been linked to the position as head coach for Argentina, according to international sports media.
The engineer behind Colombia’s surprising road to World Cup quarterfinals, Jose Pekerman, requested for a leave of absence for personal reason Saturday. The coach’s contract ended after the World Cup.
Colombian Football Federation will have to wait until the beginning of August before negotiating a new contract with the popular coach, who has been in charge of the Colombian team since 2012.
MORE: Colombia’s soccer federation wants Pekerman to stay on as head coach
“Jose Pekerman has requested a period of rest for personal reasons, and it is a situation that deserves our respect. We will hold talks with him over his continuing future with the Colombian national team in the first days of August,” said President of the Colombian Football Federation Luis H. Bedoya Giraldo, quoted by Eyewitness News.
But with latest rumors linking Pekerman to the Argentina national team, negotiating might get trickier.
The coach, who is originally from Argentina, had been head of the Argentina national team before from 2004-2006, and with current coach Alejandro Sabella resigning from the head coach position Tuesday it is possible that Pekerman will be going home, Sports news site Bleacher Report reported.
The same site speculated that Pekerman might be satisfied with his current job as coach for the Colombian team, but an offer from his home country could be difficult to turn down.
MORE: Santos wants Pekerman to stay on as Colombia coach
In the beginning of July the Colombian Football Federation expressed their desire to re-sign Pekerman. President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos also stated his wish for the Argentinean coach to stay on after leading the national squad to and through the most successful World Cup in history.
Sources
- Alejandro Sabella Resigns as Argentina Manager: Latest Details and Reaction (Bleacherreport)
- Pekerman to discuss Colombia future (Goal.com)
- JOSE PEKERMAN WANTS LEAVE OF ABSENCE (Eyewitness News)
