Jose Pekerman steps down as Colombia manager

This Tuesday, September 4, 2018, the Colombia national football team officially announced that Jose Nestor Pekerman was stepping down as manager of the team. The Argentine boss had been with Los Cafeteros since 2012 and led Colombia to two World Cups.

Pekerman finished as the longest-tenured and most successful manager in La Tricolor’s history and will be missed dearly by the fans. With Pekerman, Colombia qualified to the World Cup after 16 years of missing the global competition and returned with a splash by making the quarterfinals in 2014.

In 2018, Los Cafeteros had a respectable run and were knocked out by England on penalties in the round of 16. The 69-year-old led a new golden generation in Colombia with players like James Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao and Juan Cuadrado.

Pekerman finished his tenure with La Tricolor with 42 wins, 20 draws and just 15 losses in 77 games. The Argentine manager will surely not find any trouble looking for a job, while Colombia should struggle to find a suitable replacement.

Juan Carlos Osorio was one of the prime targets, but the Colombian manager just signed with Paraguay which leaves managers like Carlos Queiroz and Gerardo Martino on the market.