Colombia's National Team: From Leonel Álvarez to José Pékerman

After a mediocre start to the qualifiers (4 points out of a possible 9), the Colombian Federation decided to dismiss coach Leonel Álvarez and appoint José Pékerman as his replacement. Pékerman is a highly experienced strategist in both youth and senior World Cups, and is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable men in South American football.

Pékerman was introduced as the new coach of the National Team on January 18, 2012, and his first friendly match was against Mexico on February 29 in Miami. Colombia won 2-0.

"Since I started the conversations, I felt that both parties were going the way we wanted. For me, there must always be a defined plan and a union to achieve the goals. That's not easy to find now, but I found it here," said the coach on his official presentation day.

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Then, three months of work for the Argentine and his coaching staff followed. Everything was focused on preparing for the double qualifying match that would take place in June.

Don José's official debut finally came on June 3 at the National Stadium of Lima against Peru. Colombia lined up that day with David Ospina; Luis Amaranto Perea, Mario Yepes, Pablo Armero; Juan Guillermo Cuadrado (Aldo Leao Ramírez), Carlos Sánchez, Fredy Guarín (Alex Mejía), James Rodríguez (Jackson Martínez); Dorlan Pabón, and Falcao García.

The Colombian team had an acceptable game. The first few minutes were dominated by Colombia, but then Peru confined them to their own half. Colombia relied on counterattacks at various points in the match.

The winning goal came from Guarín's feet, then Dorlan with a great touch, and James Rodríguez finished it off past goalkeeper Diego Penny.

"The players showed commitment, and that seems very positive to me. We have to maintain balance. The important thing is that the team rose to the occasion," commented Pékerman after the game.

With that away win, Colombia got back on track and climbed to fifth place in the table with 7 points, only 3 points behind the leader Argentina.

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