The Venezuelan Football Federation officially confirmed this Wednesday the departure of José Pékerman, from the coaching staff of the Venezuelan National Team, after a cycle that barely lasted 15 months and, at the gates of the start of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The Venezuelan organization specified in the statement “for the FVF it is essential that all those who make up our work team share the highest standards of commitment and delivery.” However, it did not provide further details about the reason for closing this contract.
Likewise, he pointed out that he will continue working to guarantee that these standards are met, “giving his best”, with “professionalism, seriousness and rigor”.
At the moment, it is unknown who will replace Pékerman in the national team. Despite this, international media point out that several names have emerged to replace the Argentine coach at Vinotinto; although they warn about the possible arrival of Rafael Dudamel.
Let’s remember that Pékerman assumed command of Vinotinto in November 2021 with the promise of leading a restructuring of football in the only country in South America that has never qualified for the World Cup.
The Argentine assumed the technical direction of the Venezuelan team on November 30, 2021, replacing Leonardo González, who held the position eight games on an interim basis after the resignation of the Portuguese José Peseiro, who had not received his salary for a year.
During his official presentation, Pékerman assured that the commitment to the selection of the Caribbean country was “total” and said that he hoped to be in charge of Vinotinto during the 2026 World Cup.
On that occasion, he stated that he was aware of the non-payments that led to the departure of Peseiro, but he stressed that it was “an action by another leadership” of the FVF, so he was confident, then, that it would be fixed.
According to the Argentine press, the breach of payments and working conditions demanded by Pékerman, were the trigger for the rupture, between the FVF and the coach; therefore, José Pékerman resigned.
Although reports in Venezuela indicate that the cause of the break would have been the “irregularities” in the management of Lezcano, which would have been detected in an audit.
Finally, the technical director leaves the selection with five wins, one draw and four losses in the 10 official matches played since joining Red Wine.