![]() ![]() Pékerman made defensive substitutions, including taking off Juan Román Riquelme for Esteban Cambiasso, and after the loss, announced his resignation. Germany would go on to win on penalties, sending Argentina out of the tournament. In the quarter-finals, Argentina went ahead 1–0 against hosts Germany, but shortly before the end of the match, Germany equalized through a Miroslav Klose header. The Albicelestes then moved on to the round of 16, beating Mexico 2–1 after extra time in a comeback victory. The nation dominated its initial two group stage matches and drew the Netherlands in the third match, emerging on top of their group on goals difference. On 15 September 2004, Pékerman was named coach of the Argentine national team, which qualified for the 2006 World Cup. When Marcelo Bielsa resigned as coach, Pékerman was one of the two candidates for the coaching job, alongside Carlos Bianchi, who had left Boca Juniors a few months earlier, and wanted to take a sabbatical year away from football. After a few months serving as director of football, the project crumbled and Pékerman left Spain. ![]() In 2003, Pékerman moved to Spain at the behest of Argentine businessman Daniel Grinbank, who had acquired Spanish Second Division side CD Leganés. Marcelo Bielsa was hired as coach on Pékerman's recommendation, and remained in charge until after Argentina's gold medal performance in the 2004 Summer Olympics. He declined, assuming instead the position of general manager of all national teams. When the national coach Daniel Passarella resigned after the 1998 World Cup, Pékerman was offered his position. The team also won the two South American Youth Championships in 19. Pékerman's success, however, silenced the critics: his under-20 team won the FIFA World Youth Championship three times, 1995 (Qatar), 1997 (Malaysia), and 2001 (Argentina), thus giving the names to his three pet dogs - Qatar, Malaysia and Argentina. He teamed up with Hugo Tocalli and coach Eduardo Urtasun. This caused some surprise as his résumé did not include any major achievements at this stage. In 1994, he was offered to coach the Argentina national under-20 and under-17 sides by the Argentine Football Association. He then moved to Chile to coach Colo-Colo's youth divisions. Youth coachingīack in Argentina, Pékerman worked as a youth coach for Chacarita Juniors and then occupied the same position with Argentinos Juniors. Pékerman was then forced to support himself and his family with various odd jobs, including a stint as a taxi driver. His career as a player ended at age 28 with a serious knee injury. He was transferred to Independiente Medellín, in Colombia, where he scored 15 goals in 101 matches. A midfielder, he played from 1970 to 1974 for Argentinos Juniors scoring 12 goals in 134 matches. Pékerman's career as a footballer was uneventful.
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