To speak of Néstor Lorenzo is to immediately recall the most important achievement of the Colombian National Team: the quarterfinals of the unforgettable 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
He was one of José Pékerman’s trusted men, the architect of that happiness, which today contrasts with the photo of the elimination from the World Cup in Qatar, signed a couple of months ago after a painful elimination phase.
Lorenzo was Pékerman’s technical assistant not only in his six years at the head of the national team, with his two World Cup processes in tow (Brazil and Russia), but also since 2004, when DT took charge of the senior team of Argentina and the He took him to the 2006 World Cup in Germany, and later when he coached Toluca and Tigres in Mexico. He was his faithful squire until 2018, when the Colombian Football Federation (FCF) decided to give a gray farewell to an otherwise successful cycle.
Lorenzo gained Pékerman’s trust for reasons that had to do with his past and his present. As a player he was a defender in Argentinos Juniors, Bari in Italy, Swindon Town in England, San Lorenzo, Ferro, Boca Juniors and finally Banfield. But the pearl of his resume was the subtitle with Argentina in the 90 World Cup in Italy. As an assistant he was a student of the rival’s faults, a good reader of the game and a man very close to the players, as Carlos explained on ESPN Valdés, who was part of the Colombian team under his mandate.
However, today Lorenzo is making his solo career, far from Pékerman and his nascent process in the Venezuelan National Team.
In his new role he debuts with Melgar from Peru, a team he arrived in December 2020 and is fighting for the League 1 title and is leader of the standings with 28 points, one more than Sport Huancayo and three more than Sporting Crystal and Alliance. His total balance is 29 wins, 10 draws and 15 losses.
In addition, Lorenzo’s current team is fighting for a place in the round of 16 of the Copa Sudamericana (playing this Wednesday against Racing Club in Argentina).
It must be said that it is not the first time that Lorenzo sounds like a possible coach of Colombia, because after Pékerman’s departure he was a name that was mentioned in the FCF, because, apparently, he has good relations with some managers and the respect of several of the players he directed and are still in the national cast.
