Caracas (EFE).- The Argentine Fernando ‘Bocha’ Batista was presented this Friday as the coach of Venezuela, replacing José Pekerman, who held the position for one year and three months, after the end of the contract he had with the Venezuelan Federation of Soccer (FVF).
“I am here to also announce who will be in charge of our men’s team, it will be Mr. Fernando Batista, together with Leandro Cufré, Jorge Vidal, Vicente Rosales and all the medical staff, video analysts, Venezuelan and foreign physiotherapists who decided to accompany us. and continue leading this great Vinotinto project”, said the president of the FVF, Jorge Giménez, at a press conference.
Giménez indicated that the contract for Batista and the rest of the coaching staff will be for four years, hoping that he can complete the qualifying cycle for the 2026 World Cup, to be held in Canada, Mexico and the United States.
“Batista’s contract is for four years, the idea is that he completes the entire World Cup cycle that we have at the door to reach our dream,” he added.
Batista worked as coach of the Venezuelan U23 soccer team. He previously was the coach of the sub’20 of Argentina.
Venezuela project continues without Perkerman
Regarding the breach of the contract with Pekerman, he maintained that he cannot give further details about the case, because there is a “process that is in progress”, but he denied any responsibility on the part of the federation for breach of clauses.
“There is very little that I can say about the process that is underway, the only thing that I can assure is (that it is) totally negative and resoundingly negative that the federation had any responsibility,” he added.
The Federation officially announced on Wednesday the termination of the contract it had with the Argentine José Pekerman, as well as with the member of the coaching staff Pascual Lezcano, after one year and three months in their positions.
“For the FVF it is essential that all those who make up our work team share the highest standards of commitment and delivery,” said the Venezuelan organization.
Pekerman 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.
The qualification of Vinotinto to a World Cup was the challenge for Pekerman, who leaves the national team with five wins, one draw and four losses in the 10 official matches played since his entry.