Jewish Argentine coach, Jose Pekerman, is leading Colombia’s national soccer team to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Colombia qualified for next year’s World Cup in Russia with a 1-1 draw against Peru last week in the final round of matches in the CONMEBOL South American group.
The Jewish coach was born in Villa Dominguez in the Argentine countryside, one of the main centers of Jewish immigration to Argentina. His grandparents came from Ukraine. As an adult, Pekerman lived in the Buenos Aires Jewish neighborhood of Villa Crespo.
Jose Nestor Pekerman coach of Colombia gesturing during a match between Colombia and Ecuador in a FIFA 2018 World Cup Qualifiers match at Roberto Melendez Stadium in Barranquilla, Colombia, March 29, 2016. (Gal Schweizer/LatinContent/Getty Images)
Pekerman, a former midfielder with the Argentine national team, took over as Colombia’s coach in January 2012 and led Colombia to return to the FIFA World Cup in 2014, following a 16-year absence from the world championships of soccer’s governing body. In June 2016 he led Colombia to a third place in the prestigious Copa America, held in the United States.
In more than five years as a coach of “the cafeteros,” or coffee makers, team he has skippered 70 games, with more wins than ties and losses: 38, 17 and 15 respectively.
— JTA
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you, David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
From the Liveblog of
Sunday, October 15, 2017
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
