Venezuela, already without possibilities of qualifying for Qatar 2022, announced on Tuesday at a press conference the Argentine José Pekerman as the new national coach.
"Welcome, José Néstor Pekerman. Pekerman is Vinotinto," read a video broadcast at the event of the Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) before Pekerman and the organization's president, Jorge Giménez, entered the press room of a hotel in Caracas.
"I know I'm in the right place," Pekerman said in his first words as Venezuela's coach, the only South American country that has never been in a World Cup. "We share a common idea: leaving a mark," added the 72-year-old veteran coach.
"It is a day of joy for Venezuelan football," expressed Giménez.
Pekerman takes office with Venezuela out of the race in the South American qualifiers for the Qatar-2022 World Cup, with only 7 points, and with the goal of developing a project for 2026.
The new Vinotinto coach led his country, Argentina, in the 2006 World Cup and Colombia in Brazil 2014 and Russia 2018.
The Argentine replaces Leonardo González, coach of Deportivo Lara in the Venezuelan league, who had taken over as coach last August in place of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who terminated his contract by denouncing a 14-month salary debt.
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