as Colombia coach, but he will never be forgiven
in his homeland for his suspect substitutions as
Argentina lost to Germany in 2006
By Ben Hayward in Chile
Jose Pekerman was speaking ahead of Colombia's
game against Greece in Belo Horizonte at last
year's World Cup when a journalist reminded him
he had described Lionel Messi as "a blessing for
Argentine football" in 2005. "Thanks for
remembering that," he replied. "Because most
people only remember that I left him on the bench
against Germany!"
He was right. Whatever Pekerman goes on to
achieve in the game, football fans in his homeland
will always look back on that day at the 2006
World Cup when his suspect substitutions arguably
cost the Albiceleste a place in the semi-finals and
possibly a third title in football's greatest
competition.
The 2006 World Cup was wide open. There were
no strong favourites going into the competition and
after the group games, many were backing
Pekerman's Argentina to go all the way.
The South Americans beat Ivory Coast 2-1,
thrashed Serbia & Montenegro 6-0 and drew 0-0
with Netherlands to top the group and seal a
last-16 match against Mexico which was won in
extra time thanks to a stunning strike by Maxi
Rodriguez.
That meant a meeting with hosts Germany in the
quarter-finals, but even though Jurgen
Klinsmann's side were gathering momentum on
home soil, this was no vintage Mannschaft. The
feeling was that Germany could be beaten and
Argentina were favourites to emerge victorious in
Berlin.
They should have. With Juan Roman Riquelme in
fine form, Argentina went ahead four minutes into
the second half as Roberto Ayala headed home a
corner from the playmaker. Chances to make it two
came and went and Pekerman was forced to make
a change after 71 minutes as Leo Franco was sent
on for the injured Roberto Abbondanzieri in goal.
But in the following minutes he made two more
substitutions that have left many Argentines
annoyed ever since. First, he replaced Riquelme
with the more defensive-minded Esteban
Cambiasso after 72 minutes in an attempt to shore
up the Argentina midfield. Then, with 11 minutes
remaining, he sent on striker Julio Cruz for Hernan
Crespo.
And almost as soon as the Inter man had ran onto
the pitch, Germany equalised through Miroslav
Klose. Suddenly, everything had changed and
Argentina, in order to avoid penalties against the
shootout specialists in front of their own fans, now
needed both creation and inspiration.
With no Riquleme and no Messi on the pitch,
however, it unsurprisingly never arrived and the
Albiceleste ended up losing 4-2 on penalties. And
back in Argentina, Pekerman - predictably - was
slated. Three times he had led the nation to
Under-20 World Cup wins, but failure on the
biggest stage is what people remember.
Messi had turned 19 days before the Germany
game and was playing in his first World Cup. The
Barcelona forward had ended the season with an
injury but recovered to make Argentina's squad
and came off the bench to score a great goal in
the rout against Serbia & Montenegro. It was the
start of something special.
"I couldn't believe what I was seeing when I first
worked with Messi," Pekerman explained last year
in Brazil. "I had no doubts about what Lionel would
become - I always dreamed he would go on to
achieve what he has. We knew we were looking at
a player who was going to be the biggest star for
the next few years."
And ahead of Colombia's showdown against
Argentina in the quarter-finals of the Copa America
on Friday, he added: "If I could speak to him
before the game, I would tell him that I have
always admired him and that I always dreamed he
would go on to become all that he has. But I
would tell him we have to win this game."
Unfortunately for Pekerman, however, he won't be
able to leave Leo on the bench this time.
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