José Pekerman

Pékerman's career as a footballer was uneventful. A midfielder, he played from 1970 to 1974 for Argentinos Juniors scoring 12 goals in 134 matches. He was transferred to Independiente Medellín, in Colombia, where he scored 15 goals in 101 matches. His player days ended at age 28 with a serious knee injury. Pékerman supported himself and his family with various odd jobs, including a stint as a taxi driver.

Youth coaching

Back in Argentina, Pékerman worked as a youth coach for Chacarita Juniors and then occupied the same position with Argentinos Juniors. He then moved to Chile to coach Colo-Colo's youth divisions. In 1994, he was offered to coach the Argentina national under-20 and under-17 sides by the Argentine Football Association. This caused some surprise as his résumé did not include any major achievements at this stage. He teamed up with Hugo Tocalli and coach Eduardo Urtasun. 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 (hosted by Argentina, where the team defeated Ghana in the final). As a result of these championships, Pékerman gave the names to his three pet dogs – Qatar, Malaysia and Argentina. The team also won the two South American Youth Championships in 1997 and 1999. When the national coach Daniel Passarella resigned after the 1998 World Cup, Pékerman was offered his position. He declined, assuming instead the position of general manager of all national teams. 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. In 2003, Pékerman moved to Spain at the behest of Argentine businessman Daniel Grinbank, who had acquired Spanish Second Division side CD Leganés. After a few months serving as director of football, the project crumbled and…

Pékerman is known for his tactical management style, often selecting the players that fit his style of coaching, regardless of how talented a player is. Pékerman can make controversial selections with line-ups against certain teams. He experimented heavily with the Argentinean youth squads when he was coaching them. Before the 2006 World Cup began, Pékerman made the controversial decision to drop established defenders Javier Zanetti and Walter Samuel. When Argentina was eliminated by Germany in the quarter-finals, his substitution decision during the match (substituting Juan Román Riquelme for Esteban Cambiasso in the 72nd minute) caused storms of criticism, as well. Despite the dramatic loss, Pékerman was still hailed by many fans and press as a very effective coach and the "Pékerman Era" is regarded as one that brought a lot of pride to the country. His team lost its temper after the elimination and instigated a huge brawl, which was believed to be a major factor in his resignation.

Manager

Argentina U20 South American Youth Championship: 1997, 1999; runner-up 1995, 2001 FIFA U-20 World Cup: 1995, 1997, 2001 Argentina FIFA Confederations Cup runner-up: 2005 Colombia Copa América Third-place: 2016

Individual

South American Coach of the Year: 2012, 2013, 2014 IFFHS Best National Coach of the Year Nominee: 2013 (5th)