Confirmed: Riquelme and Pékerman face to face

CONFIRMED! Boca Juniors president Juan Román Riquelme and José Pékerman met, and it appears he will be the club’s next manager.
The meeting between the current president of Boca Juniors and the man who spearheaded one of the most successful youth projects in the Argentina National Team from 1994 to 2001 has been confirmed. He coached the U-20 squad, winning three editions of the FIFA U-20 World Cup and becoming the most successful coach at that level, developing, among other stars, JR10, the club’s current president.

We are talking about José Néstor Pékerman, born September 3, 1949. A true “Gentleman of Football” who went from being a former player (defensive midfielder) to a highly experienced head coach.
After gaining experience at clubs such as Argentinos Juniors, Club Atlético Estudiantes, and Chacarita Juniors, where he was assistant to Ricardo Trigilli (the coach who gave him his playing debut), he began his coaching career with Chacarita Juniors’ youth teams. He later coached the youth squads of Argentinos Juniors and Colo-Colo in Chile. In 1994, despite having a modest résumé, Pékerman won the Argentine FA’s call to manage the country’s youth national team, leading them to three FIFA U-20 World Cup titles (1995, 1997, 2001), two South American U-20 Championships (Chile 1997, Argentina 1999), and the 1998 Toulon Tournament. In 2000, he received the Platinum Konex Award as the best coach of the decade, sharing the honor with Carlos Bianchi.

He also managed Deportivo Toluca and Tigres UANL in Liga MX. From 2012 to 2018, he coached the Colombia National Team, qualifying for the 2014 and 2018 FIFA World Cups. Between late 2021 and 2023, he was in charge of the Venezuela National Team.

A familiar face in Argentine football

In the 2002 FIFA World Cup, Pékerman served as General Coordinator of the Argentine National Teams. After Marcelo Bielsa resigned in 2004, he accepted the position of head coach, a role he had turned down in 1998 following Daniel Passarella’s departure. His debut couldn’t have gone better: a 4-2 victory over Uruguay at the Monumental Stadium in the World Cup Qualifiers.

In 2005, under his leadership, Argentina qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and finished runner-up in the FIFA Confederations Cup after losing to Brazil in the final. On August 17, 2005, he gave Lionel Messi his debut.

Will Pékerman be the man chosen to set Boca Juniors’ football direction in this new era? The answer is coming soon…